Life rarely follows the schedule you imagine, so while you may be ready to have a baby, you may find it much harder to conceive when you’re trying to start a family than you imagined.
However, if you plan ahead and take a few proactive steps, you can increase your likelihood of conceiving. In today’s blog, we share four tips for improving your chance of conceiving.
Increasing Your Likelihood Of Conception
If you’re finding it harder than expected to conceive, or you hope to become pregnant shortly after you start trying, here are some tips to keep in mind.
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Track Your Cycle – Women are typically only fertile for about 4-6 days during their 28-day cycle. Oftentimes a woman will ovulate 12 to 14 days before the start of a new menstrual cycle, and your fertile window is the five days leading up to ovulation and the day of ovulation. By 12-24 hours after ovulation, pregnancy typically isn’t possible because the egg is no longer in the fallopian tube. If you’re hoping to become pregnant, you’ll want to make sure that you are trying to conceive during this fertile window, so it’s important that you begin to track your cycle. Nowadays there are plenty of apps that can assist with cycle tracking and even give you alerts when your fertile window is likely beginning.
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Manage Stress – This is easier said than done, because it can be stressful if you’re finding it hard to conceive. Stress can affect your menstrual cycle and make it less likely that you’ll become pregnant, so try to find ways to relax and don’t set any specific deadlines when it comes to your pregnancy. Everything will work out in the end, and you’ll find that the process is easier and more enjoyable if you find healthy ways to manage stress while you’re hoping to conceive. If you’re finding it hard to manage stress, consult with your partner or your OBGYN about the issues you’re facing.
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Pre-Pregnancy Checkup – Some women find it helpful to have an appointment with their women’s care provider before they start trying to conceive or if they are encountering any obstacles along the way. We can help you get a better understanding of your cycle and find healthy ways to manage stress, but we can also talk with you about other issues or ways to increase your chances of becoming pregnant. If you have questions about prenatal vitamins or a specific family history, we’re more than happy to provide answers and help put your mind at ease.
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Embrace Healthy Habits – Finally, it may be easier to become pregnant if you take on some healthier lifestyle choices that can provide an ideal environment for pregnancy. Seek out regular moderate-intensity exercise, consume a variety of essential nutrients through your diet, get a healthy amount of sleep each night and limit your intake of substances like alcohol or tobacco. Providing an ideal environment to support a pregnancy can help with conception.