How To Get Pregnant Faster – All You Need To Know

According to Peyman Banooni, a doctor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, couples who are ready to start a family and are trying to have a baby can make a smart move by checking in with their healthcare provider so that they can review their medical history and conditions. This should not mean that you are clueless about how to get pregnant.

During that visit, your gynaecologist will conduct a complete gynaecological examination on you, blood tests, genetic tests based on family history and test for rubella immunity (of which you should get vaccinated). According to Elizabeth Stein, a certified nurse midwife who is based in New York, USA, you should also pay a dentist a visit so that your oral health is checked. A gum disease known as maternal periodontal has been linked by doctors to cause late miscarriage in women.

If you are on a hormonal birth control like the pill, it is recommended that you put a stop to the birth control pill 3 months in advance so that you give your body time to adjust your level of fertility back to normal. This is because there are no medications to counter the effects of these hormonal birth control pills. If you are using an intrauterine device (IUD), you should have the device removed a month in advance before you start trying to conceive.

According to Aseel Hamoudi, an Obstetrics and Gynecology assistant professor at McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, if you have been using Depo-Provera, it might take you up to 9 months before you ovulate. He, therefore, recommends that you should stop using the Depo-Provera shots a year in advance if you want to get pregnant faster.

Although sperms can last for 3 to 4 days after sex, your ovum is only fertile for 12 to 24 hours after ovulation. This means that you have a narrow window to make a baby. Therefore to increase your chances of getting pregnant, knowing the day you ovulate will increase your chances of getting pregnant when you want to get pregnant.

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According to Mayo clinic, ovulation occurs around the 14th day of your menstrual cycle (day 1 is the first day of your period), it is thus possible to determine the day that you are likely to ovulate. Other methods that can help you determine the day you ovulate include the basal body temperature method or by using ovulation predictor kits.

If you want to get pregnant faster, ‘hang tough and don’t puff’ should be your slogan. It’s a no-brainer that smoking is harmful to your health. Therefore, if you are planning to get pregnant, it is recommended that you quit smoking in advance in case you are a smoker.

Unknown to many, smoking can also damage a woman’s ovaries. If you are a smoker, you are likely to lose your eggs at a faster rate making you hit menopause four years earlier than other women. You should also encourage your partner to quit smoking since it lowers his sperm count or makes him produce abnormal sperms. According to Dr. Thomas Hannam of Toronto Fertility Clinic, smoking may lead to the blockage of your fallopian tubes hence making it difficult to get pregnant.

According to ASRM, it will take you a longer time to conceive due to your increased rate of infertility.

Though a bit expensive, using a fertility monitor will enable you to get pregnant faster since you will be able to know all your fertile days. An example of such product is the Clearblue Easy Fertility Monitor that tracks the levels of hormones like oestrogen and the Luteinizing Hormone.

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According to The National Health and Medical Research Council, a woman who drinks more than three drinks a day will have low fertility and is, therefore, likely to take a longer time to get pregnant. The National Health and Medical Research Council recommend that for women who are trying to get pregnant, the safest option is to avoid drinking alcohol at all if they want to get pregnant faster.

Recent studies have also shown that frequent consumption of alcohol leads to irregular menstrual cycles and other menstrual disorders like dysmenorrhea (painful menstruation).

Many of us rely on a cup or two of coffee in the morning to help us start our day with ease. It is not wrong to take coffee or tea when you are planning to get pregnant. However, according to Professor Sean Ward from the School of Medicine, the University of Nevada, any woman trying to get pregnant should limit the amount of caffeine she takes.

He further explains that caffeine reduces muscle activity in the fallopian tube hence hindering the movement of the eggs from the ovaries to the womb. His experiments were conducted on mice. You should, therefore, ensure that you don’t consume more than 300mg of caffeine which is more than 3 cups of coffee in a day if you want to get pregnant faster.

Did you know that being too fat can reduce your chances of conceiving? Another interesting fact is that being too slim makes it even harder to get pregnant. Research conducted by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine shows that if your Body Mass Index is greater than 35, it will take you twice as long to get pregnant as compared to a woman with a normal BMI.

If you are underweight, that is, your BMI is under 17, then you will take four times as longer as a normal person would take to get pregnant. This is because too much body fat makes your body produce a lot of oestrogens which will interfere with your ovulation while if you are very thin, you may start getting irregular periods.

You should, therefore, ensure that you have a BMI of between 19 and 25 if you want to get pregnant faster.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, embarking on the intake of prenatal vitamins right from the moment you are planning to have a baby is very important since the vitamins are needed for the baby’s early development even before you realise that you are pregnant. This is because the baby’s brain and spine are starting to form around the 3rd week of pregnancy hence taking prenatal vitamins like folic acid will be a good idea to stay ahead.

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There has also been some research that has suggested that taking folic acid prior to getting pregnant prepares the body for pregnancy.

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As a woman, you should always be aware that your fertility decreases as you age due to the changes in your ovaries which will result in the reduction of the quality and quantity of your eggs. American Society for Reproductive Medicine says that a woman’s fertility begins to decline in her 30s. Your fertility will further decline sharply when you hit 37 and steeply when you reach your 40s.

Research also shows that women who are above 40 years old have their chances of getting pregnant reduced by more than half as compared to younger women.

Eating a variety of healthy diets can help prepare your body for pregnancy by boosting your body’s store of critical nutrients like calcium, iron, proteins and vitamins. Your diet should, therefore, incorporate a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and healthy sources of fats.

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You should also avoid foods with high cholesterol levels since high quantities of cholesterol in the body make it harder to get pregnant. The Food and Drug Administration recommends that when you are planning to get pregnant, you should avoid seafood that has higher mercury contents like sharks and swordfish.

It’s always good to be physically active every day of your week so that your body is prepared for the demands of pregnancy and labour. However, doctors warn against engaging yourself in strenuous workouts frequently if you are trying to get pregnant since too much exercise may interfere with your ovulation.

“Women who do a lot of exercise experience menstrual disturbance”, says Dr. Ellen Mary Pavone, a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist at Northwestern Medicine’s Fertility and Reproductive Center based in Chicago, USA.

Some women may be suffering from vaginal dryness which usually makes sex less enjoyable for them hence lubricants may sometimes find their way into the bedroom. However, if you are trying to have a baby, you will need to encourage your partner to ramp up his foreplay skills. This is because some lubricants may be toxic to sperms hence reducing your chances of getting pregnant faster.

American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommends that if you insist on using lubricants when you get busy down there, then it will be safe to use mineral oil or hydroxyethylcellulose-based lubricants. If you can’t do without a lubricant, then I would recommend that you try Conceive Plus fertility lubricant. It contains calcium and magnesium ions that promote the process of fertilisation.

(Via verywell.com)

You have probably heard this old wives’ tale that says after having sex you should lie down in your bed with your feet in the air. My verdict is that this is not true, but whoever came up with the idea was on the right track. This is because according to Paula Hillard, a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Stanford University, it is good to lie down for 10 to 15 minutes after intercourse to make the sperms arrive in the cervix faster.

Since there is a growing evidence that stress may actually be playing a role in women’s infertility, doctors recommend that women should take it easy when trying to get pregnant and avoid things that stress them out. This may be hard to achieve especially if you are taking longer than you had hoped to get pregnant. Baby lust can only be satisfied by seeing your bump growing. You may try yoga or other stress reduction techniques to help you chillax while you are trying to get pregnant.

Foods like cookies, cakes, white rice and bread which contain bad carbs are quickly digested and turned into blood sugar. This will prompt the pancreas to release large amounts of insulin to drive down the sudden rise in blood sugar level.

Studies have shown that high insulin levels in the body inhibit ovulation hence leading to ovulatory infertility. The findings of the study conducted by the Harvard Medical School revealed that women who ate food with very high glycemic load were 92% more likely to develop ovulatory infertility than those who ate low-glycemic diets. You should, therefore, eat foods like fruits, vegetable, beans and whole grains.

Whole grains contain fibre, vitamins and immune supporting properties. Fibre will play two important roles in your body that will boost your fertility which includes helping the body to get rid of excess hormones and balancing the levels of blood sugar in the body.

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You should switch your diet from animal proteins such as beef, pork and chicken to plant proteins such as cooked beans and nuts. The study findings showed that women whose diets contain at least 5% of total calories from vegetable proteins instead of animal proteins are less likely to develop ovulatory infertility.

Trans fats which are found in foods like processed foods, fried foods and processed foods are what you should be careful about when you are planning to have a baby. This is because they will inhibit how your body reacts to insulin putting you at risks of irregular ovulation.

Fish are the main source of essential fatty acids which contain the essential omega 3. These fatty acids are very important in the body since they aid in the production of hormones and in the regulation of your menstrual cycle. Deep water fish such as tuna and swordfish should be avoided since they have high concentrations of mercury. An example of cold water fish that you should eat is salmon, cod and halibut.