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Trying to conceive is an emotional time in a couple’s lives, and I am excited to share how I got pregnant quickly and naturally twice!
Trying to conceive is one of the most exciting and also the most nerve-wracking times in a couple’s life. Having experienced this a few times, I can totally empathize with everything you are feeling right now.
You are probably wondering how long it will take you to get pregnant, if you are having sex at the right time, or are you even ovulating?
Keep on reading to help answer those questions you may be having about this beautiful journey of trying to conceive!
Statistically Speaking
According to the American Pregnancy Association, the following statistics are true:
- 30 percent get pregnant within the first cycle
- 60 percent get pregnant within three cycles
- 80 percent get pregnant within six cycles
- 85 percent get pregnant within 12 cycles
- 92 percent get pregnant within 48 cycles
I know what you are thinking… 4 years?!
These are just statistics collected from data over the years. These numbers include all women including those who have infertility and continued need for advanced reproductive services.
Is Age a Factor
Of course! Age is certainly a factor. As a 20-something-year-old, your chances of getting pregnant are higher than as a 30-year-old or 40-year-old.
The American Pregnancy Association even says a 30-year-old has a 20% chance of getting pregnant each month which significantly decreases to 5% at the age of 40.
Your best chance of getting pregnant quickly is in your 20s!
Before Trying to Conceive
Stop Birth Control
Obviously, if you want to get pregnant you may want to stop your contraceptive method! However, some women think they need to stop their birth control well before they are ready to conceive and that is not the case.
The only method that you may want to discontinue sooner is Depo Provera or the shot! This method can stay in your system for a long while (up to a year!).
Talk to your OB-GYN about your current contraceptive method and when the best time to stop is!
Achieve Healthy Weight
Giving your baby a healthy home for 9 months is a priority! Being at a healthy BMI will be your best chance of getting pregnant. This goes for both sides, being underweight or overweight can seriously impact your ability to conceive.
Here’s Why:
- Ovulation can be affected by an elevated estrogen level in women who are overweight
- Being underweight can stop your body from making estrogen, therefore, leading to irregular menses and anovulation (or not ovulating at all)
Yes! Losing weight, or gaining weight, depending on your current BMI can drastically improve your chances of getting pregnant (though everyone is certainly different and everyone is in a different situation).
Exercise Regimen
Being active is overall a very healthy habit to have before even trying to get pregnant. Being active improves cardiovascular health and reproductive health.
Studies show that exercising for 30 minutes a day can improve ovulatory disorders- which is great if you want to conceive!
You must ovulate to get pregnant!
Healthy Diet
This brings us back to being at a healthy BMI. Following a diet high in vegetables, citrus fruits and vegetables, whole-fat dairy, fatty fish (such as salmon), berries, yams, and even oysters!
You can read more on pre-pregnancy nutrition here!
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Stop Smoking/Alcohol
You cannot smoke or drink alcohol while pregnant so just stop now. Smoking can lead to a wide variety of issues in your body, not just trying to conceive. But when it comes to your reproductive health, smoking can:
- Speed up the loss of egg rate (once they are gone, they are gone!)
- Speed up menopause (1-4 years earlier in smokers)
- Damage genetic material in sperm and eggs
- Increase miscarriage rates
I am not even going to talk about the effects of smoking while pregnant because there is just no excuse for it. Low birth weights, miscarriages, you name it… no no no!
Your chances of conceiving will definitely improve if you quit today (along with all of the other health benefits).
Alcohol is similar to a toxin in the body. We are trying to prepare our bodies for one of the most magical experiences ever. There is no room for any toxins.
Alcohol can cause inflammation, ovulatory dysregulation, and reserve. All of which can negatively impact your fertility!
Limit Caffeine
Research shows that caffeine can negatively affect fertility for both men and women. For men, scientists believe that caffeine can affect the quality of a man’s sperm.
Similar to men, the actual effects of caffeine on fertility for women are slightly unclear. If I were you I would just limit caffeine to one cup a day. I tell my patients two cups of coffee a day while they’re pregnant is the maximum.
Start Prenatal Vitamin
The importance of starting a prenatal vitamin stems from the idea that you should build up a level of folic acid prior to conception. Folic acid has been proven to reduce the chance of neural tube defects in babies such as spina bifida.
I recommend starting a prenatal vitamin or a multivitamin with folic acid at least three months prior to trying to conceive. If you have already started trying to conceive and have not started a vitamin, do not panic, just start now!
Are so many different prenatal vitamins out there, I recommend reading the labels and making sure you’re getting the appropriate daily recommended value of folic acid, vitamin C, iron, and vitamin D. However there are tons of vitamins that are needed for a healthy pregnancy.
Feel free to discuss this with your OBGYN!
Know Your Limitations (age, health, GYN disorders)
I think it’s really important to understand your limitations prior to trying to conceive. There are so many factors in a healthy pregnancy, including age, past medical history, and a history of any gynecological disorders.
If you know you’re older than 35, you might want to discuss this with your OBGYN prior to conception to discuss risks that you should be aware of.
If you have other medical conditions such as heart conditions or neurological conditions that could be affected or affect pregnancy, it is best to thoroughly discuss this with those specialists prior to conception.
If you have a gynecological disorder such as endometriosis, PCOS, or any ovulation dysregulation disorder oh, I highly recommend speaking with your Ob-Gyn to discuss the potential risks for pregnancy. Some of these disorders can cause a delay in conception that you may want to be aware of.
Preconception Counseling
Overall, I believe it could be beneficial to visit your OB-GYN to have a preconception counseling discussion. Each and every woman (and man) have their own story. Everyone has their own past medical history or medication list that could affect trying to conceive.
NOTE: If you were on medications for anxiety or depression, discuss this with your counselor to switch to a medication that is safe for pregnancy. There are many other medications that you should be mindful of and discuss with your provider trying to conceive.
Increase Chances of Getting Pregnant
Record Menses
You will most likely save yourself a lot of time trying to conceive if you spend a few months prior to recording your menstrual cycle. It is so easy to record your menstrual cycle nowadays with all of the apps that you can have. Some apps that I recommend include flow, glow, or fertility friend.
These apps allow you to track when you have your period, and it will give you probably ovulation dates based on when you had your period. Over time, these apps will give you a better idea of when you ovulate. The more data the better.
Track Ovulation
Obviously, you need to ovulate in order to get pregnant right? figuring out when you ovulate can be so confusing. Some apps will tell you that you ovulate on a specific day but after using ovulation predictor kits, which I will discuss in a minute, you may realize you were not ovulating when that says you are. These apps are not perfect. This is the reason why I recommend using multiple tracking devices when trying to conceive.
Have Intercourse EOD
One option when trying to conceive is to have intercourse every other day during your cycle. It may seem like a lot of sex, and it is. However, this could give you a good chance of conceiving especially if you were unsure of when exactly you are ovulating.
Again I’m about to talk about how to know when you are ovulating I’m just a little bit.
Follow SMEP Plan
For each of my pregnancies, my husband and I followed something called the sperm meets egg plan. It is exactly what it sounds like. It is a super easy plan to follow to increase your chances of getting sperm to meet the egg.
I mean, this is exactly what we want right? we want your man sperm to me your egg.
Follow along with the SMEP Plan here!
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How To Know If I am Ovulating
This is one of the most important parts of trying to conceive in my opinion. You need to know when you are ovulating so that you can time intercourse appropriately.
Ovulation Predictor Kits
OPKs, or ovulation predictor kits, are really great tools to help time intercourse to try to conceive. There are different ovulation predictor kits out there that are both cheap and expensive. I recommend getting the cheap easy-at-home ovulation predictor kits right off Amazon.
They ship right to your home and are discreet in packaging.
All of the great reviews show that so many women have had success when trying to conceive using these ovulation predictor kits.
Tips on how to use them: they recommend using the strips in the evening as you are more likely to get an LH surge in the evening hours.
Cervical Mucus
This isn’t my favorite way to track ovulation, however, is very important. You will notice an egg-white consistency to your cervical mucus around ovulation. This type of mucus will allow for sperm motility so that sperm and egg have a better chance of meeting.
Temperature
Measuring your basal body temperature is one way to know whether or not your body did ovulate. When your BBT shows an elevation in your temp by 0.4 Degrees over 48 hours, lasting for three or more days, you will know that you ovulated.
You can get a basal body temperature thermometer easily offline. These thermometers are different than the ones in the store as they have multiple decimal places for better accurate readings.
I highly recommend a vaginal temperature, however, you can obtain this orally.
You should always check your temperature first thing in the morning before you even get out of bed.
Some things that can affect your basal body temperature Include stress, illness, poor sleep, working the night shift, alcohol, and some medical conditions or medications.
Timed Intercourse
SMEP Plan
I already mentioned the SMEP Plan earlier, however, I want to talk about it really quick. In order to use this plan, you will need to purchase ovulation predictor kits. The goal is to have timed intercourse to better your chances of conceiving. Read more on How to Conceive Using the SMEP Plan!
EOD Method
Having intercourse every other day will also increase your chances of getting pregnant. However, if you were like me and already a mom of little children, finding time to have intercourse every other day with your partner can be exhausting.
This method could also cause burnout quite quickly. Trying to conceive should be fun and a journey that you and your partner are excited about.
I can’t stress enough that trying to conceive should not cause you to burn out right off the bat.
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Two Week Wait
The dreaded two-week wait (TWW), I have been there. It is the longest two weeks while you were waiting to see if you are going to become parents. I totally get it. You want to start taking a pregnancy test 4 days post ovulation when you know for sure it’s going to be negative.
I couldn’t relate more.
What to Avoid During the TWW
- Doing things harmful during pregnancy such as smoking and drinking
- Limit Caffeine
- Testing too early
- Stressing about the end result
- Symptoms spot (question every feeling you have as PMS and pregnancy symptoms are practically the same!)
What to do during the TWW
- Stay moderately active
- Eat a balanced diet
- Stay hydrated
- Stay positive
- Stay distracted
- Healthy communication with your partner for support
When to seek help
As I mentioned earlier, 80% of couples conceive in the first year. I know what you are thinking too, one year is a really long time to wait around hoping and praying for that bundle of joy.
You can seek help with fertility at any time. You can call your OBGYN with questions and I am sure they are more than happy to discuss your questions or concerns.
You may not qualify for fertility intervention until you have tried without success for one year. That’s right, one year. This can be hard for couples who try again and again and still see that negative result.
However, it is possible that if you are not having luck before one year you can speak to your OBGYN about labwork and your history to see if there is a potential cause.
Exactly What I Did to Conceive Quickly Twice!
I have been pretty open that I have been extremely lucky with my fertility journey. With my first pregnancy, we were able to conceive in the second month of trying.
What I Did Before TTC
I was using OPKs for two months before we started trying to conceive because I was coming off of the birth control pill. Naturally, I was concerned about my fertility because I had been on them for 8 straight years.
Through education, I have learned that this does not matter.
I was able to note that I got my LH surge on cycle day 16 in both of those months. This meant I ovulated later than my app would say (on day 14).
TTC
Once we started trying to conceive, we followed the SMEP Plan, which I talked about earlier!
Basically, this meant having intercourse every other day starting on CD 8 (cycle day) up until the LH surge on my OPK. Once I got that we would have intercourse three days in a row, skip a day, then one more time before waiting that dreadful two weeks.
It is really simple to follow as long as you are using OPKs and tracking your cycle!
We did this for two months and conceived.
We followed this same plan with my second pregnancy as well.
Conclusion
Whether you are in the beginning of your TTC research or have been TTC for months, this journey should be exciting! I hope I was able to ease your mind on this process and found these tips helpful!