Getting pregnant is natural but does not always happen easily. You can help yourself conceive by taking care of yourself and understanding when you are most fertile. Finding ways to de-stress and enjoy your relationship with your partner is also beneficial for conception.
Adopt a Healthy Lifestyle
The March of Dimes offers several tips for conceiving a healthy pregnancy, starting with a pre-conception check-up to treat health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure and thyroid disorders. Smoking and drug use can reduce your fertility and cause pregnancy complications if you do conceive. Being overweight or underweight can also interfere with becoming pregnant. Talk to your doctor about your plans to have a baby and work on any health issues that can make getting pregnant difficult.
Make Good Nutrition a Priority
Eating a healthy diet, supplemented with a daily multivitamin, can help you get pregnant, according to Dr. Jorge E. Chavarro and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health, who studied the use of daily vitamins among hundreds of nurses over a period of eight years. Nurses who used vitamin supplements containing folic acid were at lower risk of suffering from infertility, according to the article, "Use of Multivitamins, Intake of B Vitamins and Risk of Ovulatory Infertility," published in the March 2008 issue of the journal "Fertility and Sterility."
Know When You Are Fertile
Your most fertile days every month are around the time of ovulation, when your ovary releases a mature egg that is ready to be fertilized. If your periods are regular and occur approximately 28 days apart, you can expect that your fertile period would be approximately 11 to 14 days after your first day of full menstrual flow, which is counted as day one.
Look for physical signs of ovulation, such as an early morning rise in body temperature and visible thinning of cervical mucous. You can also use ovulation-predictor kits to test your urine for the rise in luteinizing hormone that occurs just before ovulation. Having sex with your partner every other day starting two to four days before you are expected to ovulate should bring sperm and egg together at the right time.
Don't Panic
Even in normally fertile women, it can take a few months to become pregnant. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine advises that women who are under 35 years of age should give themselves 12 months to conceive before seeking medical help for infertility. Older women may want to seek help sooner. Available treatments are effective for most couples. Work on ways to minimize the effects of daily stress and try to enjoy your relationship with your partner, because managing stress is also helpful in achieving pregnancy.
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