Most couples who are trying to conceive want to get pregnant as soon as possible. Although having intercourse close to ovulation certainly can help, there are a few other methods you can take advantage of to help increase your odds.
With that said, here are six ways to boost your fertility and get pregnant.
Control Your Weight
Not only does being underweight or overweight pose risks to your overall health, but it can also delay the time it takes for you to conceive. Since excess body fat leads to an overproduction of hormones that disrupt ovulation, you may want to consider looking at your diet if this has been a problem for you in the past. Foods high in sugars and certain saturated fats can offset the ovulation process while also making you susceptible to a plethora of other health problems. Also, foods high in salts can alter the blood pressure and force the body to retain excess water. If you don’t keep an eye on your dietary intake you could cause your cycles to become irregular, cause irregular ovulation resulting in a lower frequency of ovulation, and potentially decrease your chances of becoming pregnant.
To the contrary, if your body doesn’t have enough fat, you may end up lacking the hormones needed to ovulate each month or sustain a healthy pregnancy. While exercising is a fantastic way to maintain a healthy weight and a healthy overall lifestyle you must be very careful not to overexert yourself. An overabundance of exercise can lead to slow ovulation or stop it all together. Remember to talk to your physician and/or gynecologist about a workout routine that’ll meet your needs.
Watch What You Eat
Feeding your body healthy food increases your odds of getting pregnant. Pay special attention to your protein, iron, zinc, and vitamin C intake since deficiencies in these nutrients can lengthen menstrual cycles and increase the risk of having a miscarriage. Although you may take a daily multivitamin to meet your nutrient needs, it is also a great idea to eat foods rich in these vitamins and minerals, as well.
Foods like meat, fish, beans, eggs, and low-fat dairy products provide a wide variety of essential vitamins and minerals. Vegetarians can get their healthy dose of amino acids by eating beans and rice or stir-fry with tofu. There are several options for getting all of the essentials into your diet with proper supplementation.
Avoid Drinking and Smoking
Drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes not only damages a woman’s precious eggs, interfering with the fertilization and implantation process, but these vices also cause a woman’s ovaries to age. Although cutting out the alcohol and cigarettes (or other smokable substance) won’t fully recover all of your ovarian function, you better your chances of becoming pregnant with a healthy happy baby. If you need help breaking these bad habits call a friend, go to a few groups, or dial a hotline to help you kick the nasty habits to ensure a better chance of pregnancy, and a better pregnancy once you’ve conceived. Another important note is to monitor or cut back severely on your caffeine intake. Too much caffeine can be damaging to your cycle as well as the fetus once you’ve conceived. Talk to your gynecologist/obstetrician to figure out just how much caffeine is allowed during this process.
Start a “Fire” in the Bedroom
No, you shouldn’t literally start a fire. However, in order to get pregnant you and your partner should be making the most out of your time in the bedroom together. Sometimes, it’s difficult to get things going, especially if you have a highly demanding job. If that’s the case, it may be time to start looking into ways to get each other ready for a long awaited session filled with intimacy. Research suggests that women who take part in regular intercourse (at least once per week) are more likely to have foreseeable menstrual cycles and normal ovulation. So, don’t let your job hinder you from doing your body a little good during this time period.
Having intercourse on a weekly (if not daily) basis also helps you produce more estrogen. If you want to spice up the intimacy in the bedroom, try different positions and communicate your needs and desires to your partner. Having sex every 24-48 hours in the days leading up to ovulation will help you make the most out of the fertility window.
Remember About His Health
While women may be the ones carrying the fetus during the pregnancy process, men are also heavily involved. The same things that harm a woman’s fertility may also pose a threat to a man’s reproductive health too. Alcohol, cigarettes, and a poor diet can all contribute to lowering sperm count and may even harm the sperms’ ability to make the journey. If you want to produce healthy sperm, consider taking vitamins C and E along with mineral selenium and staying away from artificial dies such as red #40.
Explore Alternative Options
If you’re still having trouble getting pregnant after adjusting your lifestyle and timing your cycle, you and your partner may want to visit a doctor to explore further options and possibly locate the source of your fertility issues. Perhaps the issue is a little more on the genetic side, and your body just isn’t quite able to produce eggs the way you need it to. Your doctor may recommending visiting a clinic like My Egg Bank. This clinic, as well as others like it, help in the pregnancy process by aiding in the supply of female eggs to desiring couples. Such clinics perform extensive background checks and screening to make sure egg donors are in the best health and that there aren’t any severe issues that cannot be addressed. If you want to have a baby and are unable to do, this is a great alternative.
If you’ve gone through the pregnancy journey, feel free to share. Maybe, you’ve found a few extra things not mentioned that could help a few couples on the road to a bouncing bundle of joy.
