Fertility awareness offers several methods to help women get pregnant quickly and easily. These methods can help a woman understand her fertility signs, and identify her most fertile days each month. But even the most diligent fertility tracker must take extra steps to ensure a healthy pregnancy. Drinking plenty of water, eating nutritious foods, and exercising daily all help the body prepare for the development of a new life. Staying at a healthy weight and avoiding drugs, alcohol and cigarettes will also increase the chance of a healthy conception.
Plan Frequent Intercourse
Not all pregnancies are planned, and many couples find themselves expecting just by having an active sex life. Allow time for intimacy on a regular basis to increase the chances of conceiving. Women are only fertile for several days each month, but if unprotected sex occurs most days of the month, a couple can almost guarantee that the egg and sperm will meet for fertilization within a few cycles. Not all fertilized eggs implant in the uterus, so it may take a few months of trying before a pregnancy is confirmed.
Know the Signs of Fertility
When it is not possible to have sex daily, or every other day, it is important to maximize one's chances of conceiving by knowing the most fertile days of the month to have sex. A woman is most fertile for several days preceding ovulation, as the egg prepares to enter the fallopian tubes for fertilization by the sperm. A woman's body goes through many hormonal and physical changes as ovulation approaches. Some women might notice that their breasts become more tender, their sex drive increases, or lower abdominal cramping occurs.
One very common sign of fertility is how a woman's cervical mucus changes as ovulation nears. Several days before ovulation, her cervical discharge becomes more wet, copious, stretchy, clear, and is similar in texture to egg whites. Some women notice that their cervical mucus can stretch up to six or more inches at this time of the month. By checking one's cervical mucus several times a day, it is possible to predict the most fertile days of the month.
Get a Thermometer
The basal body temperature (BBT) is taken when a person wakes up in the morning, before she gets out of bed. A woman's BBT stays pretty consistent from the first day of bleeding through the next two weeks of her menstrual cycle. On the day of ovulation, when the egg is released from the ovary, a woman's BBT goes up a slight, but noticeable, amount. It then continues to rise slowly throughout the rest of the cycle, only to dip down again when the next cycle of bleeding begins. Of course, like most fertility signs, every woman will have a different pattern of temperature rises and dips. The key is to identify the patterns in the menstrual cycle over several months. Taking the BBT helps to predict the day of the month that ovulation occurs, boosting the chances of getting pregnant.
Check the Calendar
Some women find that knowing their most fertile day of the month is as easy as looking at their calendar. Most women will start their period every 28 to 32 days. Most women will also ovulate on or around day 14 of each cycle, but this is not the case for every woman. Most women can guess that day 14 is ovulation day, but for those who want to get pregnant quickly, it will be important to monitor the other fertility signs, including the BBT and cervical mucus, to best identify the day of ovulation.
