Many women who are trying to conceive are interested in finding a food, herb, or nutritional supplement that will help them get pregnant quickly. Unfortunately, there's simply no such thing -- getting pregnant can take time. However, if you eat a healthy diet that includes a variety of fruits, you may make your odds of conception better.
Conception
The process of conception is a complex one, which explains why it can take so long to become pregnant once you've made up your mind to try for a child. Most women don't know when they ovulate each month, though they may have a rough idea based upon the timing of their period. Once it has been ovulated, the egg is only viable for about 24 hours. Assuming it's fertilized, it must then travel to the uterus and implant itself successfully.
Role of Nutrition
While you can't make yourself conceive through the foods and supplements you eat, you can make it more likely that a fertilized egg will implant and thrive by eating a healthy diet and ensuring that you have plenty of nutrients in your body. The early days of pregnancy -- the time just before and after implantation -- is one of the most critical for determining whether a pregnancy will last, explains Dr. Miriam Stoppard in her book "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth." Women who aren't well-nourished may have more difficulty during these early days of pregnancy.
Fruits
Fruits, like vegetables, are valuable components of a healthy diet because they're very rich in vitamins and minerals. There's no one particular fruit that you should eat to help you get pregnant, but by eating plenty of fruit -- and a variety of different fruits -- each day, you help ensure that you're getting the vitamins and minerals you need to encourage successful implantation of a fertilized egg.
Other Considerations
Another important consideration is that provided you do get pregnant, the first few weeks of pregnancy are critical for proper embryonic development, and the process of healthy development depends upon getting enough nutrients, including vitamins and minerals. Eating lots of fruit is a way of ensuring that your diet is providing the nutrients your embryo needs to develop correctly, explain Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel in their book "What To Expect When You're Expecting."
References
- "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth"; Miriam Stoppard, M.D.; 2008
- "What to Expect When You're Expecting"; Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel; 2008
