Many women nowadays are waiting until their 40s to try to conceive a child. Unfortunately, getting pregnant when you are over 40 years old may not be as easy to do as it would have been in your 20s. However, although conception may be a bit more challenging, it is far from impossible.
Step 1
Schedule a preconception visit with your doctor. Your doctor will do blood work, look over your medical background, ask for details about your menstrual cycle and examine other factors to determine if your age may prevent you from getting pregnant naturally.
Step 2
Get healthy. The healthier you are the better your chances of conception, regardless of your age. Try to eat a nutritious diet, take a prenatal vitamin, avoid stress and stay active.
Step 3
Plan intercourse around ovulation. Using an ovulation predictor kit, charting your basal body temperature, and monitoring your cervical fluid are just a few ways to figure out when you are ovulating each month. Timing intercourse to occur right before and on the day of ovulation will increase your chances of conceiving.
Step 4
Keep your doctor updated. If you are unable to conceive naturally after a certain time period (typically three months for women over 40), talk to your doctor about using medical intervention to try to help you conceive.
Step 5
Be patient. Although the ticking of your biological clock seems to put pressure on the situation, allowing yourself to become impatient and stressed will not help. Instead, keep yourself educated about the process, remain as healthy as possible and work with your doctor to increase the odds of you getting pregnant sooner rather than later.
Tips and Warnings
- The March of Dimes recommends that all women, regardless of age, take a multivitamin that includes 400 mcg of folic acid to help prevent certain birth defects if you do become pregnant. Remember that women over the age of 35 may have a greater chance of conceiving twins, according to the March of Dimes.
- The older you are, the more complications and risk there may be with both the pregnancy itself and the baby that is conceived. It is important to learn about and understand these risks before attempting to get pregnant. The chances of conceiving naturally after the age of 44 are slim, according to Dr. Marjorie Greenfield, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Case School of Medicine and University Hospitals of Cleveland and contributor to DrSpock.com. If you are 44 years old or over, you may have to consider medical intervention in order to become pregnant.
