Everything You Need to Know About Increasing Fertility
Knowing what to expect during pregnancy — both during and after — tends to be the most common uncertainty amongst expecting couples. You may want your obstetrician to tell you about the changes your body might experience, the lifestyle alterations you should make to best prepare for childbirth, and much more.
Still, what happens if you’re not sure whether you can get pregnant in the first place?
Though this worry might be scary to think about, it’s an increasingly important situation to cover — even if you don’t have a known underlying condition.
Simply understanding how to enhance fertility can help any woman optimise their chances of getting pregnant. So, in this article, we’ll go over some of the best tips to improve your odds in accordance with advice from your obstetrician.
1. Know Your Menstrual Cycle
Do your period cycles change length each month? Or, are they regular and easily predictable?
Identifying your menstrual cycle is one of the best ways to help predict ovulation, which is when the ovaries release an egg and increase pregnancy chances. Fortunately, there are dozens of websites and apps that can act as a digital period tracker, identifying the times when the egg is most fertile (the day of ovulation and the five days before it).
2. Have Intercourse Every Other Day During Fertility
A woman’s six-day fertility interval is the best time to have intercourse for the purpose of pregnancy.
Research has shown little difference between couples who did so every day during this period and those who did so every other day, which means the latter could be an easier task for couples to pull off. Regardless of which frequency you choose, taking advantage of this window could be all you need to improve your fertility.
3. Don’t Worry About the Myths
If you’ve already been attempting pregnancy for a while, you’ve probably come across the diverse range of myths surrounding fertility and childbirth.
For decades, rumours have swirled that the position you have intercourse in, what you do following intercourse, and more can impact your chances of getting pregnant. However, there is no solid evidence backing these claims. Furthermore, they can simply prove to be a distraction and make it even more difficult for you and your partner to enjoy the process.
As such, avoid falling into the deep rabbit-hole of fertility myths. Instead, talk with your obstetrician about any advice you’re considering and to receive science-backed instructions to inform your efforts.
4. Take Care of Yourself
This might seem like an obvious strategy, yet it’s easy to let the stresses of achieving pregnancy take focus, causing you to ignore the most important piece of the puzzle: you!
Taking care of your own health will only help you in your efforts to increase fertility, both mentally and physically. For instance, studies have found women with a normal body-mass index can get pregnant nearly twice as fast as those who are overweight, and four times faster than those who are underweight.
Some ways to keep your body in top-shape include:
A Healthy Diet: Avoid foods that are high in mercury and caffeine, and try to fill your diet with clean, nutrient-heavy options such as fruits and vegetables.
Take a Supplement: Prenatal vitamins, including folic acid and iodine have been found to help prevent birth defects and prepare a woman’s body for pregnancy.
Focus on Low-intensity Workouts: Exercise that is too frequent or strenuous can cause disturbances in a woman’s menstrual cycle and ovulation, so be sure to talk to your obstetrician about your current routine. However, maintaining regular exercise is a great thing to do for both your physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Eliminate Drinking and Smoking (and recreational drugs): Premature ovarian ageing, egg depletion, and other concerns could be caused by smoking and drinking. Even second-hand smoke can interfere with a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant (hint: this is a good time to encourage your partner to quit smoking).
If you are overweight, working on weight reduction will not only assist you in getting pregnant but it will increase the chances of you having a healthier pregnancy
Managing your stress. Whilst there is no definite evidence that high levels of stress reduce fertility there is some anecdotal evidence. At any rate, it is a good opportunity to think about your general life stresses and develop some strategies for reducing or managing these whilst you are trying to get pregnant. These strategies are likely to be helpful in pregnancy also. This includes developing good sleeping patterns.
Optimise your general health. As you are planning to get pregnant it is a good time to make sure that any other health issues you have are being well managed and that any medications you are taking will be safe for pregnancy. Seek advice from your GP and definitely do not stop any medications without medical advice.
Be patient. Even if you are in perfect health with normal and regular cycles it can still take months to conceive. In fact it is normal to take up to 12 months. If your cycles are longer than 5 weeks you should seek medical advice early. If you are approaching 12 months without conceiving you should consider seeking medical advice.
5. Talk to a Professional
Chances are, you still have (and will continue to have) questions about your fertility rate and expectations.
Fortunately, that’s exactly what an obstetrician is there for. So, don’t be afraid to reach out to your medical expert to discuss your progress, concerns, and anything else that comes to mind. It might not seem like it, yet you’d be surprised at how much pregnancy proves to be a team effort!
