Once you’ve decided you want to start a family, it’s normal to wonder what you can do to increase your chances of getting pregnant. There’s an overwhelming amount of information, tips, tricks and anecdotal advice on how to “get pregnant fast,” but what’s the best method?
Unfortunately, there’s no foolproof approach to guarantee quick conception. Factors like age, general health and reproductive health all play a major role. However, there are ways to improve your chances of getting pregnant.
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Understanding Fertility and Ovulation
It might take some of the spontaneity out of your sex life, but it’s important to have a solid grasp on your menstrual cycle patterns and to understand what happens to your body during ovulation before trying to conceive.
A menstrual cycle lasts from the first day of your period to the first day of your next period, typically ranging from 25 to 35 days. Ovulation usually happens about 12 to 16 days before your next period starts.
Your “fertile window” is the five days leading up to ovulation and the day of ovulation itself, but as ovulation can vary from cycle to cycle, so can the timing of your six fertile days.
“In my experience, people vastly overestimate the probability of conceiving during a given menstrual cycle, which leads to frustration,” says Dr. Ron Beesley, medical director at Poma Fertility and reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist in Kirkland, Washington.
Noticing changes in your body can help determine the pattern of your menstrual cycle and make tracking more accurate.
Measurable indicators of ovulation include:
— Cervical mucus thickness. Cervical mucus is a clear vaginal discharge that changes throughout the month. At one to two days before ovulation, you might notice discharge with a thin, stretchy consistency that looks similar to egg whites.
— Increase in basal body temperature. Your basal body temperature is the temperature of your body at rest, which rises when the ovaries produce progesterone after ovulation. You’ll want to track your temperature with a thermometer designed for the basal body. After several months you’ll have a good idea of when you usually ovulate. However, it’s important to note that, while basal body temperatures can help you learn your cycle over a few months, waiting to try to conceive when you see the temperature increase is too late.
— Increase in hormones. Ovulation predictor kits can measure levels of luteinizing hormone (LH), one of the main hormones involved in reproduction, in your urine. Ovulation typically occurs about 24 to 36 hours after your LH level peaks, so it’s important to keep an eye out for an increase in cervical mucus around this time. A fertility monitor is a more advanced (and more expensive) option, measuring both LH and estrogen levels to determine your five most fertile days, as opposed to the 24-hour window provided by the ovulation predictor kit.
Some signs of ovulation are harder to discern — like heightened libido, headaches, breast tenderness and ovulation pain, also called mittelschmerz — and may not affect everyone the same.
Additionally, the window for conceiving may be shorter than most people think, but understanding your menstrual cycle and ovulation can make a major difference in your conception trajectory. In some cases, sperm can survive for up to five days after sex. While it’s rare, if you have a naturally short menstrual cycle and ovulate within those seven days, it is possible to get pregnant shortly after the end of your period.
[READ: Can You Get Pregnant on Your Period?]
How to Increase Fertility Before Trying to Get Pregnant
Once you know you want to start a family, there are a few steps both you and your partner can take before actually trying to get pregnant to increase fertility.
Make a preconception appointment
Even if you’re just thinking about getting pregnant, seeing a doctor can help you get a baseline of your health and assess any issues that could affect your fertility or pregnancy. They can also give you a few pointers on trying to conceive.
At this appointment, the doctor will likely ask about:
— Medical history and family’s medical history (to determine whether genetic screening is advisable).
— Current health issues.
— Menstrual cycle. If you have highly irregular periods, your doctor may recommend consulting a reproductive specialist.
— Diet and lifestyle.
— Medications and supplements you’re taking.
— Pregnancy history.
— Mental health concerns.
In heterosexual couples, many women still tend to feel responsible for fertility, but fertility is not just a women’s issue: There is an equal likelihood that subfertility, a condition characterized by difficulty conceiving, is due to the male partner. In fact, low sperm count is one of the most common issues linked to infertility.
While your doctor will be able to perform a sperm count test in the office, there are at-home testing kits available to assess male fertility and reproductive health, such as SpermCheck, a Food and Drug Administration-cleared Home Test for Male Fertility.
Get to know your cycle
For many people, the moment they start thinking about getting pregnant is the first time they really analyze their menstrual cycle. Look into cycle tracking options, like an online ovulation calendar or a fertility app, to calculate and predict your fertile window.
If the surplus of information in online trackers and apps is overwhelming, the most straightforward way to track ovulation is to record when your period begins and ends, as well as potential signs of ovulation, ideally for several months prior to trying to conceive.
Make time for movement
Moderate physical activity is beneficial in helping your body not only prepare for pregnancy and delivery, but trying to conceive. Exercise can help you naturally balance your reproductive hormones, maintain a healthy body weight and manage the stress that can arise with trying to get pregnant — all of which are strongly related to reproductive health and fertility.
If you incorporate exercise into your routine now, it will be easier to stick with during pregnancy.
Prioritize nutrition
Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet and focusing on nutrition before conception is strongly linked to fertility health in both men and women, as well as pregnancy outcomes. According to the American Pregnancy Association, people who are significantly underweight or overweight are at increased risk of ovulation disorders, so it’s important to maintain a balanced diet to ensure you’re nourishing your body.
It’s common for women to become deficient in important vitamins and minerals during pregnancy, and building up your reserves is easier than trying to make up for it later. When you start trying to conceive, it’s a good idea to start taking a prenatal vitamin to supplement any deficiencies and ensure appropriate levels of folic acid, which is crucial to brain and spinal cord formation in the early stages of pregnancy.
Preconception vitamins are also becoming more widely available, though research is limited around their efficacy in improving overall reproductive health.
Do a mental health check-in
Trying to conceive is not only a physical effort, but a mental one, as well. The process can be overwhelming and stressful, especially if it’s taking longer to get pregnant than you thought, which is why it’s important to nurture your mental health throughout the conception journey. In fact, studies indicate high levels of stress can adversely affect reproductive hormones and are associated with reduced chances of conceiving. Like incorporating more movement into your routine or prioritizing nutrition, addressing heightened levels of anxiety or depression are better addressed sooner than later.
“While day-to-day stressors do not have a direct impact on fertility potential, how we cope with stress (think changes in diet, increase in alcohol consumption, etc.) can throw finely tuned physiology off track,” Beesley says. “It’s important to address mental health concerns up front, especially as you head into active attempts to conceive.”
Evaluate your medications
This goes for both partners, as certain medications can impact fertility. Consult with your doctor about any nonprescription medications or prescription drugs that may need to be modified during pregnancy, such as blood pressure, diabetes and antidepressant medications.
“Whatever changes you plan to make during pregnancy … should be made before you get pregnant,” Beesley says. “It’s good to make those transitions sooner than later, so you’re not scrambling to make adjustments.”
Get good quality sleep
While sleep is important for your general health and well-being, it is especially important for your reproductive health as well. Several sex hormones — including luteinizing hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, prolactin and estradiol — that play a key role in reproductive function are secreted during an individual’s sleep cycle. In fact, studies have shown that sleep deprivation can negatively alter reproductive hormones in both men and women, leading to difficulty conceiving.
[READ What Is Advanced Maternal Age?]
What to Avoid to Maximize Fertility
When it comes to conceiving, knowing what not to do is just as important as knowing what you should do.
Here are some tips to keep in mind while trying to get pregnant:
— Stop smoking. Clinical studies suggest smoking is associated with decreased fertility for both men and women, from negatively affecting hormone production to damaging the DNA in sperm.
— Stop using marijuana. Using marijuana products has been associated with lower fertility in both men and women. Chronic marijuana use can lead to ovulatory dysfunction, menstrual cycle irregularity and reproductive hormones in women and testicular atrophy, low libido, sexual dysfunction, low semen count and decreased reproductive hormone levels.
— Be mindful about alcohol. Excessive alcohol consumption can affect fertility in both men and women, as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises avoiding alcohol altogether when you start trying to conceive, as you might not know you’re pregnant until you’re four to six weeks pregnant. Alcohol exposure before birth can result in fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, a group of conditions characterized by physical, behavior and cognitive impairments due
— Reduce caffeine consumption. Research on caffeine is less conclusive, but most guidance advises consuming less than 200 milligrams a day.
— Avoid strenuous physical activity. Check in with your doctor if you regularly engage in high-intensity physical activity, as it has been associated with decreased ovulation.
How to Increase Your Chances of Conceiving
While there’s no method that guarantees getting pregnant quickly, there are several science-backed approaches to increase your chances.
Stop taking hormonal birth control
Some people see their menstrual cycle go back to normal immediately after stopping hormonal contraceptives, like the pill, IUDs or implants, as well as other natural birth control methods. However, it can take several months for other people. If you use a contraceptive injection it can take up to 10 months to conceive after your last dose.
Start tracking your menstrual and ovulation cycles
Tracking your menstrual cycle allows you to better predict your ovulation window and time intercourse accordingly. It can also help you identify any irregularities that you might want to bring up with your health care provider.
Have regular intercourse during your fertile window
Experts say having sex every other day during the six-day fertile window is just as effective as having sex daily. The key is to maintain regular intercourse. And when it comes to which position works best, there’s no evidence that supports one position being more effective than another. The important thing is to do what feels most comfortable and enjoyable.
How to Tell If You’re Pregnant
There are a few early signs of pregnancy to watch out for, including:
— Fatigue.
— Breast tenderness.
— Spotting (light bleeding can be related to the embryo attaching to the uterus but can be confused with bleeding from your period, as it can last from a few hours to several days).
— Nausea and vomiting.
— A missed period.
Early detection home pregnancy tests are available, but the earlier the test is performed, the less reliable it is. Hold off on taking a pregnancy test until at least a week after a missed period for the most accurate results. At this point hormone levels are high enough that the accuracy rate can reach 99%.
When to Seek Medical Advice
About one-third of couples without health or reproductive barriers will conceive within one month of having regular, unprotected sex, and most will conceive within one year.
However, if you have trouble conceiving within a year, your health care provider will likely recommend that you see a reproductive endocrinologist, doctors who specialize in fertility. Because fertility rapidly decreases in your mid-30s, women ages 35 and above may need to see a fertility specialist if they are unable to conceive within six months.
A few other reasons to see a fertility specialist early on include:
— Past medical history. If there’s anything in your personal history that might point towards a challenge, like an irregular or infrequent menstrual cycle or if you have a condition that is a known barrier to conceiving, like endometriosis or polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
— Known genetic risk factors in your family. In this case, you might want to start with genetic testing or pursue in vitro fertilization, during which time embryos can be screened.
— Urgent health issues, like starting cancer treatment.
Some questions may seem personal or probing during your initial consultation with a fertility specialist, but they’re designed to help identify why an individual or couple hasn’t been successful conceiving.
“Unfortunately, a lot of factors are out of people’s control,” Beesley says. “It can be confusing and upsetting when it feels like your body isn’t cooperating, but it’s important to recognize those feelings are valid and completely normal. Thankfully, there’s been an increase in social acceptance and resources for those struggling with fertility.”
While referrals to a fertility specialist can be tied to insurance constraints, Beesley encourages prospective parents to be their own health advocates.
“There’s nothing wrong with seeking a consultation, if insurance isn’t a limiting factor,” Beesley adds.
Beesley suggests looking to organizations like the American Society for Reproductive Medicine for patient-centered information on fertility treatments and RESOLVE: The National Infertility Organization for resources and support groups.
Bottom Line
There’s no perfect formula to successfully getting pregnant at the first attempt, and no two fertility journeys look the same. But maintaining a healthy lifestyle, leveraging science-based fertility tracking methods and knowing when to see a fertility specialist can all help provide a more solid foundation to starting your family.
More from U.S. News
Understanding Fertility: What Happens During Ovulation
What Is Advanced Maternal Age?
Can You Get Pregnant on Your Period?
How to Get Pregnant Fast originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 03/14/24: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
