I want pregnancy

7 Easy Tips To Conceive Quickly

Written by Denise Mann

You are ready to get pregnant. Now. Once you are ready to start a family, waiting is the last thing you want to do.

Although Mother Nature has a hand in the timing, there are some things you can do -- or not do -- to help increase your chances of getting pregnant ASAP. Read on for seven expert-approved tips for getting pregnant.

1.Get a preconception checkup.

Before you officially start trying, get a checkup. Ask your doctor about prenatal vitamins that have folic acid, which helps protect against some birth defects, such as spina bifida. Folic acid works during the early stages of pregnancy, so that's why it's important to make sure you're getting enough folic acid even before you get pregnant.

"Do this the cycle before you start trying," says Paula Hillard, MD, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University. "If you have any underlying medical problems, they need to be under control before you can safely become pregnant. "

2. Get to know your cycle.

How much do you know about your menstrual cycle? Really understanding helps you know when you're most fertile, says Hillard. Ovulation is the best time to get pregnant. "This is the time to focus on having sex," Hillard says.

It helps to become aware of the signs of ovulation, such as a change in your cervical mucus. It usually becomes thin and slippery when you are most fertile. Some women may also feel a one-sided twinge of pain.

Ovulation prediction kits can also help you predict the best time to get pregnant, says James Goldfarb, MD, director of the infertility service at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland. Not only can they help assure you that you are ovulating, "if you are having infrequent intercourse, this tells you when to have it to increase your chances of getting pregnant," he says.

Here's how it works: The first day of your menstrual period is considered day one. "Start testing on day nine and keep going until you get a positive," advises Joanne Piscitelli, MD, an associate professor of gynecology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N. C. Women with a 28-day cycle tend to ovulate on day 14. But many women have longer or shorter cycles, so casting a wide net can help you be sure.

What if you've been using birth control? Do you need to wait a while before trying to get pregnant? Not really, says Goldfarb. "Years ago, the conventional wisdom was to wait a certain amount of time after stopping birth control to try to get pregnant but that is no longer true. You can start trying to conceive right after you stop birth control," Goldfarb says. The only thing to keep in mind is that you could get pregnant before you get your period, so tracking ovulation may be difficult, and it might be harder to figure out your due date. For this reason, "some people may feel better waiting until they get one period on their own," he says.

3. Don't worry about the best positions for getting pregnant.

Myths abound about the best positions for getting pregnant, but they are just that -- myths. There is really no scientific evidence saying that the missionary position is better than the woman being on top when it comes to maximizing your chances of making a baby.

"Very rarely, a woman's cervix is in an unusual position where certain positions can make a difference," Goldfarb tells WebMD.

Certain gravity-defying positions, such as sitting or standing during intercourse, however, may discourage sperm from traveling upstream. "It's a matter of gravity [and] you don't want all the semen to run out -- and semen are quick little critters," Hillard says.

4. Stay in bed right after intercourse.

You have probably heard this one -- lie in bed with your feet in the air after having sex to increase your chances of getting pregnant. The verdict? Not (totally) true.

"It's good advice to lay in bed for 10 to 15 minutes after intercourse, but you don't need your feet in the air," Goldfarb says. "Your pelvis does not move when you put your legs in the air." Don't go the bathroom during this time either, he says. "If you wait 10 to 15 minutes, the sperm that is going to get into the cervix will be in the cervix."

5. Don't overdo it.

Having sex every day even during ovulation will not necessarily increase your chances of getting pregnant. "In general, every other night around the time of ovulation helps increase your chance of getting pregnant," Goldfarb says. Sperm can live up to 5 days inside your body. The best suggestion is to have sex regularly -- when you're ovulating, and when you're not.

Speaking of sperm, "wearing tight-fitting clothing can negatively affect sperm count," Piscitelli says. So too can spending time in hot tub or Jacuzzi. Your man's cell phone habits may also also need some work. A study in the journal Fertility and Sterility showed that men who used a hands-free device with a cell phone and kept their phone close to their testicles had poorer sperm quality.

They might need to pass on the edamame and other soy foods for a while, too. Men who eat a lot of soy foods may have a lower sperm concentration than men who don't eat soy foods, according to a study published online in Human Reproduction.

6. De-stress any way you can.

Try not to get stressed out about starting a family. You may roll your eyes if someone says, "Just relax and it will happen," but stress can actually interfere with ovulation. So the more relaxed you are, the better!

Whatever helps you de-stress is fine, as long as it's healthy. "There is some evidence that acupuncture can help reduce stress and increase your chances of becoming pregnant," Goldfarb says. And although drinking too much alcohol when trying to get pregnant isn't smart, a glass of wine won't hurt.

7. Live a healthy life.

Exercising is a healthy habit -- especially if it helps keep you at your ideal weight. Just like anything else, though, you can get too much of a good thing. "Too much exercise can cause you not to ovulate," Goldfarb says.

What's too much? It may be different for different women. If you are a hard-core exerciser and are still getting your period regularly, your exercise regimen is most likely not a problem, he says. But, Goldfarb adds, your menstrual period is not the first thing to go if you are exercising too heavily. "The first thing that happens is that you have a shorter second half of your cycle. You should have a period 14 days after you ovulate, but too much exercise can shorten this phase." This would be the first hint that you need to curtail your fitness regimen. He suggests tracking how long it takes you to get a period after you ovulate as the best way to know for sure.

Goldfarb says the best way to increase your chances of getting pregnant while getting the health benefits of regular exercise is to do moderate exercise -- think brisk walking -- two and a half hours each week (or at least 30 minutes, 5 days a week).

Stop smoking to increase your chances of getting pregnant," Hillard says. Aside from all the other negative health effects of smoking, this nasty habit also decreases fertility. "It affects estrogen levels and ovulation."

And don't worry too much about your day planner. "Eighty-five percent of women will become pregnant within one year of trying," Hillard says.

How to get pregnant | Tommy's

For the best chance of getting pregnant, you need to get your eggs and your partner's sperm together as often as possible.

More than 8 out of 10 couples where the woman is aged under 40 will get pregnant within one year if they have regular unprotected sex. More than 9 out of 10 couples will get pregnant within two years.

Regular, unprotected sex means having sex every 2 to 3 days without using contraception.

You don't need to time having sex only around ovulation, though it is helpful to know when you are ovulating. Having vaginal sex every 2 to 3 days will give you the best chance of getting pregnant. Sperm can live for 2 to 3 days and this means there will always be fresh sperm in your system when you ovulate (release an egg).

Remember it’s important for you and your partner to try and keep sex enjoyable by concentrating on each other and your relationship, rather than worrying about conceiving. This will help you limit stress.

Are you ready to conceive? Use our tool to find out.

How does pregnancy start?

Your cycle starts on the first day of your period and continues up to the first day of your next period.

This is what happens during the cycle and the start of a pregnancy.

• Eggs mature in your ovaries once a month.
• The lining of your womb starts to get thicker to prepare for fertilised eggs.
• Once the egg is mature it is released from one of the ovaries – this is called ovulation.
• During ovulation your cervical mucus (this is the substance in your cervix, between the vagina and the womb) becomes thinner and clearer to help any sperm to swim to the egg.
• If you have sex, millions of sperm will swim up the cervix into the uterus and the fallopian tubes to meet a mature egg.
• If sperm is present at the point of ovulation, or during the next 24 hours, the egg may be fertilised (only one sperm has to join with the egg for this to happen).
• If the egg is fertilised, it starts to move towards the womb and divide into more cells.
• Once it reaches the womb the fertilised egg has to attach the lining of the womb, this is called implantation and is the start of pregnancy. Many fertilised eggs don’t implant and are passed out of the body.
• If the egg has not been fertilised, the egg is re-absorbed by the body, the hormone levels drop, and the womb lining is shed – the beginning of your next period.

Now that you know all about how to get pregnant, use our tool to find out if you are ready to conceive.

Best time to have sex to get pregnant

To boost your chances of conceiving, aim to have regular sex (every 2 to 3 days) throughout your cycle so you know that there should hopefully be good-quality sperm waiting when the egg is released. An active sex life is all most people need to conceive.

If you know when you ovulate each month you can give yourself the best chance of getting pregnant by having sex in the days leading up to ovulation. Continue having sex during ovulation. After this your fertile time will be over for that cycle.

Use our ovulation calculator to find out more about ovulation.

Best position to have sex in to get pregnant

The position that you have sex in does not make a difference to conception so long as the man ejaculates sperm into the vagina. Once this happens the sperm can swim up through the cervix and into the womb and fallopian tubes to meet an egg if it is there.

Many people also say that if the woman raises her legs upwards after sex it helps the sperm get to the womb. There is no evidence to say that this is true. The route from the vagina to the womb is not a straight line, so you do not need to worry about all the sperm coming back out when you stand up.

When does ovulation happen?

Ovulation usually happens about 10 to 16 days before the start of your next period, so it helps to know your cycle length before you start trying to get pregnant.

You may have not known when you ovulate within your cycle, and if you have been using a hormone contraceptive such as the Pill, you won’t have had a natural menstrual cycle for a while, because the Pill prevents ovulation (egg release) from happening.

As a first step, mark on your diary the dates that you bleed during a period. You can then count how many days from the first day of your period to your next period to work out the length of your cycle.

Use our ovulation calculator to find out more about ovulation.

The following signs can also help you know when you ovulate:

Cervical mucus changes

The cervix secretes mucus throughout the menstrual cycle, starting off sticky white and gradually becoming thinner and clearer.

Before and during ovulation the mucus increases and becomes much thinner, slippery and stretchy. Women often compare it to raw egg white.

This thinner mucus is designed to help the sperm swim easily through it.

The last day you notice the wetter secretions is sometimes known as ‘peak day’ and for most women this occurs very close to the time of ovulation.

Temperature

You can also find out about your menstrual cycle by keeping a note of your temperature each morning when you wake up. Your temperature rises by about 0.2°C when ovulation has taken place.

As it only shows you when you have ovulated, and doesn’t tell you when your fertile time starts, this is not very useful for most women.

Using ovulation predictor kits (OPK)

Ovulation predictor kits are available from chemists and are fairly simple to use. They work by detecting a hormone in your urine that increases when ovulation is about to take place.

The simplest urine kit tests for luteinising hormone (LH), which increases 24-36 hours before ovulation. This will help to identify the best two days for conception, although a woman can be fertile for a day or so before and after this time.

It is best to become familiar with your usual menstrual cycle to help figure out when you should start testing. If you have an irregular cycle then an ovulation predictor kit can help you identify the time of ovulation but expect to use more of the test strips.

Find out how long it takes to get pregnant.

Pregnancy in questions and answers - Useful articles

What to expect? How to eat? How to deal with difficulties? How to do everything right? These and many questions will be answered by Irina Alexandrovna Soleeva, an obstetrician-gynecologist at the Sadko clinic.

- How is due date calculated?

From the first day of the last menstruation. To determine the due date, 280 days are added to the first day of the last menstruation, i.e. 10 obstetrics, or 9calendar months.

Usually, the calculation of the due date is simpler: from the date of the first day of the last menstruation, 3 calendar months are counted back and 7 days are added. So, if the last menstruation began on October 2, then, counting back 3 months (September 2, August 2 and July 2) and adding 7 days, determine the expected date of birth - July 9; if the last menstruation began on May 20, then the expected due date is February 27, etc.

Expected due date can be calculated by ovulation: from the first day of the expected but not arrived menstruation, count back 14-16 days and add 273-274 days to the found date. nine0003

- And if you know the exact date of conception, how many days to add?

A large-scale study was conducted with a large number of pregnant women, according to various indicators, the gestational age and, accordingly, the date of birth were determined. It turned out that the woman most often remembers the date of the last menstruation. And from this fixed date, as the study showed, childbirth occurs at the 40th week ± a couple of weeks. Obstetrician-gynecologists are guided precisely by this system of calculations. nine0003

- Should I change my diet, if so, how?

4 meals a day are recommended in the first half of pregnancy, 5-6 meals a day in the second. It is better to eat often, but little by little. For healthy women, there are no forbidden foods (except alcoholic beverages), only more or less preferred ones.

So, the body absorbs easily digestible milk fats and vegetable oils better. The latter are not only a source of essential linoleic acid, but also vitamin E, which has a positive effect on the course of pregnancy. nine0003

To eliminate constipation, it is worth enriching the diet with sources of dietary fiber (fiber, pectins) - vegetables and fruits, buckwheat and oatmeal.

In the second half of pregnancy, sugar, confectionery and flour products, rice should be eaten in very small quantities. Do not get carried away with fried, spicy, salty foods, because. during this period, the liver and kidneys of a pregnant woman function with tension. It is better to prefer boiled and steamed dishes.

The main thing is to include a variety of foods in your diet: vegetables, fruits, juices - and you will provide yourself and your unborn child with everything necessary for normal development. nine0003

- I really want olives, but they are canned. Can?

It depends on the gestational age. After 20 weeks, I would not recommend eating too salty foods, including olives. And in general, any canned food is not the most suitable food for a pregnant woman. Although olives, in themselves, the product is very useful. Therefore, within reasonable limits, say, a jar can be eaten in two days.

- And the grapes?

Grapes are very well digestible. It's fructose. It is immediately absorbed and quickly raises blood sugar. But if you are overweight, it is either not recommended at all, or it is allowed in small quantities. It is allowed to eat a small brush, or you can treat yourself to something else.

For some reason, it is customary for us to believe that if you are pregnant, you have to eat for three or whatever you want. As a result, pregnant women buy grapes in boxes and eat them in kilograms. Such a diet does not lead to anything good: sugar appears in the urine, blood sugar rises, babies are born large. Moreover, a large load falls not only on the mother's pancreas, but also on the child's pancreas - the baby from birth will be predisposed to being overweight. nine0003

- Is it possible to reduce excess weight during pregnancy and cleanse your body with the help of special teas?

All cleansing teas are contraindicated during pregnancy. We have drugs that improve the functions of the liver and kidneys, which have a diuretic effect. We assign everything individually. There are no special cleansing procedures during pregnancy. However, we have fasting days - here is the best cleansing procedure for you.

- Which vitamins are best for pregnancy?

Now there is a huge selection of various vitamin complexes for pregnant women. Of course, they are all close to each other in composition. One or two components or the dosage of some vitamin differ. In order not to harm yourself and the baby, to achieve the maximum effect, each patient needs to select vitamins, based on the advice of her doctor, who controls the course of pregnancy.

- How long should I take them? nine0007