what can i do to improve my chances of getting pregnant
How to become pregnant: Tips and facts to increment fertility
You may have many questions about how to get pregnant, particularly if y'all have an underlying condition. Taking care of your body is a good start pace to optimize your fertility. But what else tin yous practise to ameliorate your odds of having a baby?
The most important communication for a adult female who wants to get pregnant is to get to know her body, specifically her menstrual cycle, said Dr. Mary Ellen Pavone, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist, and medical director of the in-vitro fertilization program at Northwestern Medicine's Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility division in Chicago.
"It's important to know how far autonomously her cycles are and then she can more accurately time intercourse to try to get meaning," Pavone said.
Nosotros've highlighted the pinnacle ten tips that may assistance increase your chances of becoming significant. Every bit e'er with this type of information brand sure to speak to a medical professional person as this advice is broad and y'all may require specialist attention. Yous should still detect this commodity and accompanying video on how to get significant useful.
In addition, because pregnant women are more likely to get a severe example of COVID-xix compared with non-significant individuals, the Centers for Illness Control and Prevention (CDC) strongly recommends you lot get a COVID-19 vaccine. "The CDC health advisory strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccination either before or during pregnancy considering the benefits of vaccination for both pregnant persons and their fetus or infant outweigh known or potential risks," the CDC said in a argument on Sept. 29, 2021.
How to go pregnant: Step-by-pace instructions
1. Record menstrual wheel frequency
A adult female who wants to have a infant should monitor whether the beginning days of her periods tend to occur the aforementioned number of days apart every month, which is considered regular. Conversely, her periods may be irregular, meaning her bike lengths vary from month to month. By tracking this data on a calendar, a woman can ameliorate predict when she might exist ovulating, according to inquiry published in The New England Periodical of Medicine. This is the time every month when her ovaries will release an egg. There are also some apps that can assistance with the tracking, such as GlowOvulation menstruum tracker (see below).
A adult female's egg is fertile for only 12 to 24 hours after its release, while a man's sperm can survive in a woman's trunk for up to 5 days according to the American Pregnancy Clan.
2. Monitor ovulation
Women with regular cycles ovulate near two weeks earlier the arrival of their periods, Pavone said. Information technology's harder to predict ovulation in women with irregular cycles, merely it usually occurs 12 to xvi days earlier the start of her next period.
According to a 2019 newspaper published in the periodical North a ture, there is a broad variety in the lengths of cycles of people who menstruate, and the time and duration of ovulation changes over a person's lifetime. This variability ways that it is best to monitor ovulation to find out when the person is near likely to excogitate.
There are several methods women tin utilise to help determine their nearly fertile days each month.
Related: Signs of labor: 6 clues infant is coming shortly
—Home ovulation-prediction kits tin can reduce the guesswork needed to figure out when a woman is ovulating. Sold at drug stores, the kits test urine for luteinizing hormone, a substance whose levels increase each month during ovulation and cause the ovaries to release an egg. The iii days right after a positive test result are the best fourth dimension for couples to take sex to increment their odds of becoming meaning, the American Pregnancy Clan said.
—Another method to predict ovulation is to track cervical fungus, which involves a woman regularly checking both the amount and advent of fungus in her vagina. Just before ovulation, when a woman is almost fertile, the amount of mucus increases, and it becomes thinner, clearer and more glace, according to the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization that campaigns for maternal and babe health. When cervical fungus becomes more slippery, it can assist sperm make its way to the egg. A report published in 2013 in the periodical Fertility and Sterility plant that women who checked their cervical mucus consistently were 2.3 times more likely to become pregnant faster, over a vi-month period.
—Basal body temperature is likewise a good style to monitor ovulation in most cases, according to research in the periodical Fertility and Sterility. To do this, check your temperature every morn at the same fourth dimension, before you lot go out of bed, and keep a chart or tape of each day'due south reading. Why mensurate this at-remainder temperature? Correct before a woman ovulates, meaning one of her ovaries is about to release an egg, basal trunk temperature dips slightly, with an average trunk temperature of between 97 and 97.five degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 and 36.4 degrees Celsius), co-ordinate to the University of Michigan Health Arrangement; and so, 24 hours after the release of the egg, your basal body temperature rises and will stay at that level for several days. A adult female's basal body temperature right after ovulation averages between 97.6 and 98.6 F (36.4 and 37 C), the University of Michigan Wellness Organization reported.
This egg will remain fertile for nearly 12 to 24 hours afterward ovulation, the university said.
Considering your basal temperature alter volition be slight, it'due south important to use either a digital thermometer or a special basal thermometer, the university recommended.
iii. Accept sex every other solar day during the fertile window
The "fertile window" spans a six-twenty-four hour period interval — the v days prior to ovulation and the day of it, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Every month, a woman is virtually fertile on these days.
Many women are turning to new engineering tools, such as fertility-tracking apps and websites, to help them go along tabs on when they may exist more than likely to conceive, simply a 2020 review in the periodical BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health suggests that there is express contained enquiry on their accuracy. In a report published in 2016 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, scientists analyzed fifty pop fertility-tracking websites and apps with a hypothetical woman, and found that the results varied wildly, with many mistakenly tagging days outside of the fertility window, Live Science reported.
When a woman has identified that fertility window, should they have sex activity every 24-hour interval? Research has shown that there hasn't been a big difference in pregnancy rates between couples who had sex every mean solar day during the "fertile window" (37%) compared with couples who did it every other twenty-four hour period (33%), Pavone said. "And having sex activity every other day might exist easier for a couple to pull off," she added.
Related: Trying to conceive: 10 tips for men
Researchers evaluated hundreds of fertility and menstruation apps in the Apple app store, specially for the quality of the app. The app quality score was based on several factors, such as the app'southward usability, accuracy of information and tools provided, general features and specific fertility features, they reported in 2019 in the Periodical of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada. While 31 of the apps showed serious inaccuracies, a few rose to the top. Here are the tiptop 3 starting with the apps with the highest AQS scores:
- Glow Ovulation, Period Tracker
- Fertility Friend FF App
- Clue: Health & Catamenia Tracker
In that location are plenty of pregnancy myths about conception. For example, there's no bear witness that sex position will influence a couple's chances of having a baby, nor does a woman lying on her dorsum for a certain amount of time after intercourse increase the odds of conceiving, Pavone told Live Science.
But she said in that location are some water-based vaginal lubricants that can decrease the movement of sperm, so Pavone recommended using Pre-Seed rather than Astroglide or K-Y Jelly when lubrication is needed.
4. Strive for a healthy body weight
A woman's weight tin also touch on the chances of conceiving: Existence overweight or underweight may reduce those odds. Research has shown that a woman who is overweight can take twice every bit long to become pregnant every bit a woman whose body-mass index (BMI) is considered normal weight, Pavone said. A woman who is underweight might take four times as long to conceive, she said.
Having too much body fatty produces backlog estrogen, which can interfere with ovulation, according to the Cleveland Clinic. A 2017 study suggested that couples in the study in which both partners were very obese, with BMIs of at least 35, took from 55% to 59% longer to become significant, compared with couples who were not obese, the researchers reported in the journal Human Reproduction.
In a study published in 2020 in the journal PLOS Ane, researchers looked at information from more 50,000 couples in China trying to conceive over the course of a year; they found that women'due south ability to conceive inside a given timeframe decreased as their BMI increased.
Male obesity, which can disrupt the male person endocrine arrangement as well equally sperm viability and concentration, can as well affect a couple'due south power to become meaning, scientists reported in 2020 in the journal Andrologia.
Women who are underweight, with a BMI less than 18, might not be getting regular periods or could stop ovulating, which also hinders their power to go pregnant, according to the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority.
5. Take a prenatal vitamin
Pavone recommends that women who are attempting to conceive start taking a prenatal vitamin even before condign pregnant. This mode, a woman tin can find ane that'due south more amusing to her arrangement and stay on it during pregnancy, she said.
Another possibility is to take a daily multivitamin, as long as it contains at to the lowest degree 400 micrograms (mcg) per mean solar day of folic acrid, a B vitamin that'south important for preventing birth defects in a infant'south brain and spine, Pavone said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges women to take 400 mcg of folic acid every day for at to the lowest degree i month before getting pregnant, to help foreclose birth defects.
Getting a head start on folic acid supplementation is a good idea considering the neural tube develops into the brain and spine 3 to 4 weeks after conception occurs, before many women may realize they're expecting.
vi. Eat healthy foods
Although there may non be a specific pregnancy nutrition, eating a variety of healthy foods can assistance prepare a woman'south body for pregnancy by giving her adequate stores of critical nutrients, such every bit calcium, protein and iron, according to the Mayo Clinic. This means eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, dairy and healthy sources of fat.
Besides taking a supplement containing folic acid, a woman can also obtain this vitamin from foods such as dark green leafy vegetables, broccoli, fortified breads and cereals, beans, citrus fruits and orange juice.
When trying to get pregnant, eat lower amounts of loftier-mercury fish, such equally swordfish, shark, male monarch mackerel and tilefish. This is because mercury can accumulate in a pregnant woman's bloodstream, which affects a baby's evolution, according to the Mayo Dispensary. Also, limit albacore (white) tuna to 6 ounces (170 grams) per week to reduce exposure to this toxic metal, the Food and Drug Administration recommends. A 2019 review institute that mercury consumption could as well impair men's and women's fertility.
Also, some scientific discipline suggests that significant women should avoid caffeine: Wellness authorities in the United states of america, Europe and the Britain said that a woman having about 200 mg of caffeine (less than two cups of coffee) will not affect her baby, merely a 2020 review report, published in BMJ Prove Based Medicine, establish that there was no safe level of caffeine consumption for meaning women or for those trying to get pregnant.
7. Cutting back on strenuous workouts
Being physically agile most days of the calendar week tin can aid a woman'south body set for the demands of pregnancy and labor, and has been associated with a reduced adventure of fertility problems, scientists reported in the March 2020 event of the journal Human Reproduction. But getting also much exercise or doing frequent strenuous workouts could interfere with ovulation, Live Science reported.
Doctors see a lot of menstrual disturbances in women who exercise heavily, and a lot of times these women need to cut back on their workouts if they want to get meaning, Pavone told Live Science.
Related: Tin you run while meaning?
8. Be aware of historic period-related fertility declines
Equally women get older, their fertility decreases. This is because of age-related changes in the ovaries that cause a decline in the quantity and quality of her eggs. With advancing age, there's also an increased risk for some health issues, such equally uterine fibroids, endometriosis and blockage of the fallopian tubes, which can contribute to a loss of fertility.
There's a gradual fertility decline in women kickoff in their 30s, a sharper decline after historic period 37 and a steep fertility decline after age twoscore, Pavone said. These declines mean that it may take longer to become pregnant.
9. Kick the smoking and drinking habits
Smoking tin can lead to fertility problems in both women and men. Chemicals plant in cigarette smoke, such as nicotine and carbon monoxide, speed upwards the loss rate of a woman's eggs, according to the American Guild for Reproductive Medicine.
Smoking ages a adult female's ovaries and depletes her supply of eggs prematurely, co-ordinate to the Mayo Clinic. In a study published in 2020 in the journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology, researchers looked at scientific findings effectually smoking, booze, addiction and fertility; they found that smoking is linked to decreased fertility.
It'due south as well a skillful idea for women to stay away from secondhand smoke, which may impact their chances of becoming pregnant, according to a 2009 study published in BMJ Journals. Taking marijuana while pregnant or attempting to conceive should likewise be avoided.
It's safest for a adult female to avert alcohol when she is hoping to become pregnant. A woman should besides stop consuming alcohol if she stops using nascence command because she wants to get significant. That said, a 2019 Danish study of 1,708 women over a v-year period did not find a link betwixt regular alcohol consumption and rampage drinking, and fertility, co-ordinate to the study published in the journal Human Reproduction.
Even so, a 2017 written report published in the periodical Obstetrics & Gynecology establish that in the United States, half of all pregnant women drink booze around the time they conceive or during early pregnancy, usually before they know they are expecting.
Drinking booze at moderate (one to two drinks per day) or heavy (more than two drinks per twenty-four hour period) levels can make information technology hard for a adult female to become pregnant, co-ordinate to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Once a woman becomes pregnant, there's no safe amount of alcohol, Pavone said.
10. Know when to seek help
Both the woman and the human being should consider having an infertility evaluation if the woman is 35 or older and has not go meaning later on vi months of having sex regularly without using birth control, Pavone said.
Pavone also recommended that a adult female who is under 35 and her partner should consult a fertility specialist if she hasn't become significant afterwards one year of having unprotected intercourse on a regular basis.
What if yous have polycystic ovarian syndrome?
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal disorder, is ane of the about mutual reasons for female person infertility. It affects between 6% and 12% of American women of reproductive age.
There is no single examination to place PCOS, merely a doctor will determine if a woman fulfills two of the post-obit three criteria, the CDC said:
- Irregular periods or no periods, caused from lack of ovulation
- Higher than normal levels of male hormones that may event in excess pilus on the face and body, acne or thinning scalp hair
- Multiple small cysts on the ovaries
It is not clear why some women develop this syndrome, although it is ofttimes diagnosed when they struggle to get pregnant.
There is a strong link between PCOS-related infertility and weight. About xl% to 60% of women with PCOS are overweight or obese, and healthy eating and exercise have been shown to amend reproductive bug in women with PCOS, according to a 2019 article in the journal Therapeutic Advcances in Reproductive Health. A number of prescribed medications may also induce ovulation and regulate insulin levels, such as letrozole and metformin. High levels of insulin push the pituitary gland to release large amounts of hormones that disrupt ovulation.
Some other intervention is laparoscopic ovarian drilling, in which a surgeon makes pocket-size holes in a woman's ovaries to help reduce the amount of male hormones they produce, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. This procedure, which is washed nether general anaesthesia, is not without risk, and can also negatively touch fertility if at that place is too much damage to the ovaries.
Doctors recommend in-vitro fertilization if other interventions have not worked, or as a primary treatment if monitoring, cost and accessibility are not issues.
How to become pregnant if yous have endometriosis
Endometriosis is another mutual reproductive condition, affecting more than one in 10 women in the United States. It occurs when tissue establish in the uterus grows in other parts of the trunk, such as the ovaries or fallopian tubes.
Even balmy endometriosis tin reduce fertility, while severe endometriosis can misconstrue a woman'due south pelvic anatomy and, for case, block her fallopian tubes, according to a 2015 study in The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of India.
Information technology is still possible for a woman with endometriosis to get pregnant, and, once meaning, the pregnancy is expected to be no different to that of a woman without endometriosis. Medical treatment through drugs does not better fertility, according to Endometriosis UK, an endometriosis-focused charity. These medications involve regulating a person'southward hormones, and tin tiresome the growth of endometrial tissue and prevent new pieces from developing, said the Mayo Dispensary. Only because these drugs are based on hormones (such as birth control therapies, and drugs that block ovulation or reduce the amount of estrogen), they actively stop a woman from getting meaning.
Related: Three weeks pregnant: What to await
Endometriosis presents differently in unlike women, so its treatment depends on the individual, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
Surgery to excise the endometrial and scar tissue may improve fertility rates and assistance reduce pain associated with endometriosis, researchers reported in the 2015 written report in The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India.
Other fertility treatments –– such as IVF, ovulation consecration, bogus insemination and techniques that stimulate a adult female'due south ovaries to produce more eggs –– can as well aid a woman with endometriosis to become pregnant. But the option depends on the severity of the endometriosis, the woman's historic period and whether other fertility issues are involved. One concern about fertility treatments is that they can overstimulate ovaries and give rise to high-gild multiple pregnancies, as multiple eggs are fertilized, Endometriosis Uk said.
Other questions about getting pregnant
Tin you get pregnant while breastfeeding?
Yes, a woman can get pregnant while breastfeeding. It is possible to get meaning as soon as 3 weeks after giving nascence, even if the person is exclusively breastfeeding and has yet to begin menstruating once more according to the U.Thou.'s National Wellness Service (NHS).
Can you become meaning on your period?
Yes, it is possible to get pregnant if a woman has sexual activity during their period, according to the Cleveland Clinic. A woman is less likely to get meaning during menstruation, but information technology is still possible. Women are nigh fertile around the fourth dimension they ovulate, but predicting this window is non an exact science — and this is peculiarly true for women who accept irregular periods.
How to get pregnant fast
Many people want to know how to get pregnant as chop-chop as possible. There is no sure-fire way of ensuring a speedy conception, however by following the science and evidence the in a higher place tips tin help y'all find the almost optimal times to have sexual practice and get pregnant.
Are pregnancy tests accurate?
When used properly, pregnancy tests are claimed to exist upward to 99% effective, co-ordinate to the Mayo Clinic. If your examination reads positive, this is rarely an error, all the same imitation negatives are more common, according to the NHS.
Some pregnancy tests are designed to discover pregnancy equally soon every bit eight days after conception, while the majority are authentic 21 days after unprotected intercourse. Equally pregnancy tests tin can differ, it is essential to read the instructions earlier taking a pregnancy test.
A pregnancy test works by detecting the homo chorionic gonadotropin hormone (hCG). Around half-dozen days subsequently successful fecundation, the body produces this hormone.
Boosted resources
- Lookout man: How to Take Charge of Your Fertility
- Read more scientifically proven strategies for How to Go Meaning Fast
- How to increase your chances of getting pregnant: National Wellness Service
This article was updated with additional data past Ailsa Harvey. Likewise, this article is for informational purposes only, and is not meant to offering medical communication.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/44221-how-to-get-pregnant.html
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