Ready to Conceive? What to Know Before You Start Trying

Wednesday, 24 February 2016 04:14

If you want to have a baby, there are things you need to know–beyond the birds-and-bees basics–that can help enhance your fertility. We talked to our experts for advice on getting to that positive pregnancy test sooner:

Know Your Cycle

As you learned in biology class, the best time to conceive is right around ovulation. But do you know when you’re ovulating? “As soon as you start thinking about trying to get pregnant, it’s important to become more aware of your cycle,” says Bernadette Donovan, a One Medical Group nurse practitioner in San Francisco specializing in women’s health. Ovulation normally happens mid-cycle, but since menstrual cycles can vary tremendously from person to person, it pays to keep track of yours for several months–noting when you start your period, how long it lasts and when you are ovulating (you should notice an increase in cervical mucus around ovulation). “Your most fertile days include the two or three before and after actual ovulation,” says Donovan, so plan to have intercourse several times during that time window.

Stop Smoking

You shouldn’t smoke once you’re pregnant (it can have serious negative consequences for the fetus), so it pays to quit now. As a bonus, ditching the cigarettes may actually help you get pregnant. “There is a direct connection between smoking and reduced fertility,” says Donovan. Cigarette smoke can damage the eggs and contribute to premature aging of your ovaries, and since DNA abnormalities are a leading cause of miscarriage, smoking can affect both your ability to get and to stay pregnant.

Watch Your Weight

Being either overweight or underweight can affect your hormones, throwing off your menstrual cycle and your fertility. “Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is a metabolic condition linked to being overweight, and women who suffer from PCOS may stop ovulating,” says Donovan. Likewise, women who are underweight may lose their menstrual cycles altogether or may have irregular ovulation, making it more difficult to know when they are most fertile.

Reduce Stress

Sometimes the stress of trying to have a baby can be part of what makes it difficult to conceive. Stress causes the release of the hormone cortisol, which affects many of the body’s systems and can interfere with the normal balance of other hormones. “It can be especially hard for high-achieving women who are used to having control over when things happen,” says Donovan. “Having trouble with fertility and not having control over when you get pregnant is quite a jolt.” But being told to “just relax” can add to your stress levels. Don’t make “relaxing” just another entry on your to-do list, but try to take positive steps toward reducing the amount of stress in your daily life. Getting enough sleep, eating well, and exercising regularly can help–as can more traditional stress reduction techniques like meditation, deep breathing, yoga, massage, or acupuncture. “The key is to bring balance and peace to your life,” says Donovan. “You want your body to be a nice, peaceful environment in order to encourage pregnancy.”

Don’t Delay

Even though many women are having babies in their late 30s and early 40s, fertility clearly declines with age. In this respect, biology has not evolved as quickly as modern-day society; cultural norms may be shifting pregnancy ages later, but a woman’s quantity and quality of eggs declines significantly in her 30s.

Last modified on Thursday, 25 February 2016 06:36

4614 comments

  • Comment Link apply for vietnam evisa Monday, 16 December 2024 09:56 posted by apply for vietnam evisa

    Nice blog here! Also your web site loads up very fast!
    What host are you using? Can I am getting your affiliate link to your host?

    I wish my website loaded up as quickly as yours
    lol

  • Comment Link Finance Legend Monday, 16 December 2024 09:36 posted by Finance Legend

    Greetings from Colorado! I'm bored to tears at work so I decided to browse your blog on my iphone during lunch
    break. I love the info you present here and can't wait to
    take a look when I get home. I'm surprised at how quick your
    blog loaded on my cell phone .. I'm not even using WIFI, just
    3G .. Anyhow, awesome site!

  • Comment Link Taragon Opulon AI Monday, 16 December 2024 09:23 posted by Taragon Opulon AI

    Hello, yes this paragraph is really fastidious and I have learned lot of things from it on the topic of blogging.

    thanks.

  • Comment Link apply for evisa uk Monday, 16 December 2024 09:22 posted by apply for evisa uk

    What's up, this weekend is pleasant for me, as this point in time i am reading this enormous
    informative article here at my house.

  • Comment Link Phim sex tre em Monday, 16 December 2024 09:00 posted by Phim sex tre em

    Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging
    on blogs I stumbleupon on a daily basis.
    It's always exciting to read through articles from other authors and practice something from
    other sites.

  • Comment Link BLACK SEO LINKS - BUY BACKLINKS - SOFTWARE FOR MASS BACKLINKING - TELEGRAM @SEOKAYA Monday, 16 December 2024 08:50 posted by BLACK SEO LINKS - BUY BACKLINKS - SOFTWARE FOR MASS BACKLINKING - TELEGRAM @SEOKAYA

    I have read so many articles or reviews regarding the blogger lovers however this paragraph is actually a fastidious
    paragraph, keep it up.

  • Comment Link scam Monday, 16 December 2024 08:38 posted by scam

    I've been surfing online greater than three hours nowadays, yet I never found any
    attention-grabbing article like yours. It's beautiful
    value sufficient for me. In my opinion, if
    all site owners and bloggers made excellent content
    material as you probably did, the internet shall be much more useful than ever before.

  • Comment Link قیمت استیل Monday, 16 December 2024 08:36 posted by قیمت استیل

    This is a very good tip especially to those new to the blogosphere.
    Brief but very accurate information… Thank
    you for sharing this one. A must read article!

  • Comment Link https://www.google.co.id/url?q=http3A2F2F152.42.230.134/page-sitemap.xml Monday, 16 December 2024 08:36 posted by https://www.google.co.id/url?q=http3A2F2F152.42.230.134/page-sitemap.xml

    Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I in finding It really helpful & it
    helped me out much. I'm hoping to present one thing again and aid others such as you aided me.

  • Comment Link sandibet Monday, 16 December 2024 08:35 posted by sandibet

    Undeniably believe that which you said. Your favorite reason appeared to
    be on the web the simplest thing to be aware of.

    I say to you, I definitely get irked while people consider worries that they just don't know about.

    You managed to hit the nail upon the top as well as defined out the whole thing without having side-effects , people
    can take a signal. Will likely be back to get more. Thanks

Leave a comment

Make sure you enter all the required information, indicated by an asterisk (*). HTML code is not allowed.