When you want to get pregnant, you want to get pregnant now. (Being patient is okay in theory until you actually switch into babymaking mode, right?) If you want to increase your odds of getting pregnant sooner rather than later, the following tips from Ann Douglas -- author of The Mother of All Pregnancy Books (U.S. edition and Canadian edition), The Mother of All Pregnancy Organizers and The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby (first edition and the brand new second edition) -- will help you to maximize your chances of conceiving quickly and ending up with a healthy baby. (Note: If you find this list of tips helpful, you may want to read some of Ann's fertility articles (she's a columnist for Conceive Magazine), as well as The Mother of All Lenses: Pregnancy and Parenting over at Squidoo.)
* Start taking folic acid now. You reduce your chances of giving birth to a baby with a neural tube defect (for example, anencephaly or spina bifida) by 50% to 70% if you start taking at least 0.4 mg of folic acid each day two to three months before you start trying to conceive.
* Try to keep sex fun when you're trying to conceive. Use rooms other than the bedroom or schedule your babymaking rendezvous for an odd time of day. The rationale? You won't be able to keep up the babymaking pace for very long if sex starts feeling like a chore.
* Don't hop up and run to the bathroom right after you make love. Lying down for at least a few minutes (some fertility experts say five minutes) after intercourse increases the odds that the sperm will be able to keep their date with the awaiting egg and that you'll win at baby roulette.
* Make love often during your fertile period (the five days leading up to ovulation). If you've got the stamina to make love at least every 48 hours, you will ensure that there's a fresh shipment of sperm waiting in the fallopian tube at any given time. Of course, you can get too much of a good thing if your partner has a low sperm count, so if you're aware of a pre-existing fertility problem, you'll want to talk this issue over with your fertility specialist.
* Keep in mind that babymaking is a numbers game. Even if you do everything "right," you still have only a 25% to 30% chance of conceiving in any given cycle. (See The Mother of All Pregnancy Books (U.S. edition and Canadian edition), The Mother of All Pregnancy Organizers and The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby (first edition and the brand new second edition for more on how factors like age and your previous reproductive history affect your odds of conceiving sooner rather than later.
* Here's a bit of sex-related trivia, just in case you and your partner are looking for a little inspiration. There are over 114 million sex acts performed around the world.
* Are you a coffee drinker? Time to give it up or switch to decaf! Caffeine is thought to restrict the growth of a developing baby by constricting blood vessels and reducing blood flow to the uterus. What's more, a few studies have indicated that excessive consumption of caffeine (that is, more than three cups of drip coffee per day) may contribute to fertility problems. The jury is still out on this last point, however.
* Are you or your partner regularly exposed to hazardous substances in the workplace? You may need to consider a job change or job modification before you start your family. Certain substances can affect both the quality of sperm and the development of the embryo.
* Have you had your preconception checkup yet? Set up an appointment with your doctor to review your medical history and to talk about your plans to start trying to conceive. (Note: You can find a detailed discussion of preconception health issues in The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby (second edition) and The Mother of All Pregnancy Books (U.S. edition and Canadian edition).
* Are you currently taking any prescription or over-the-counter drugs? Be sure to ask your doctor if it's safe for you to continue taking them once you start trying to conceive.
* If you aren't already doing so, start keeping a menstrual calendar. Note the date when your period starts, the number of days it lasts, and anything else your doctor might want to know about. This information could prove helpful if you experience problems in conceiving. It can also prove invaluable in pinpointing the date of conception -- and consequently your due date.
* Try to book the last appointment of the day for your preconception checkup. That's when your doctor or midwife is most likely to be able to take the time to answer your questions and address your concerns without feeling rushed to go on to the next patient.
* Make your vaginal environment as sperm-friendly as possible. Avoid vaginal sprays and scented tampons (which can cause a pH imbalance in your vagina); artificial lubricants, vegetable oils, and glycerin (because they can kill off sperm); saliva (because saliva can also kill sperm); and douching (because it alters the normal acidity of the vagina; can cause vaginal infections and/or pelvic inflammatory disease; and may wash away the cervical mucus that is needed to transport the sperm).
* If you're monitoring your cervical mucus in an attempt to predict your most fertile days, do your checks before you shower, bathe, or swim. These activities can all affect the quantity and quality of your cervical mucus.
# Does your partner like to spend hours on the exercise bike at the gym? Tell him to hop on the treadmill instead. A study at the University of California School of Medicine revealed that men who cycle more than 100 km per week put their fertility at risk. The repeated banging of the groin against the bicycle seat can damage critical arteries and nerves.
# You can have too much of a good thing -- at least when it comes to exercise. Excessive amounts of exercise can lead to such fertility problems as irregular periods, anovulatory cycles (cycles in which ovulation does not occur), and luteal phase deficiencies (a problem that occurs when the second half of your cycle isn't long enough to allow for the proper implantation of the fertilized egg). The moral of the story? Stay active, but don't overdo it.
# Don't go on a crash diet if you're hoping to try for that Y2K baby. Starvation diets, purging, bingeing, and yo-yo dieting affect ovulation and consequently your fertility. (Note: You can find some other nutrition-related fertility links at our sister site, ParentingLibrary.com.)
# Unhappy with your health insurance company? The time to switch companies is now. Don't get stuck with sub-standard coverage after you win at baby roulette!
# Don't make sex into a chore. Consider these words of wisdom from one of the parents interviewed in The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby:"Do not have sex every day. If you're trying to maximize your chances of conceiving, it's better to go every other day around the time you are ovulating. You are also more fresh, and therefore can put your heart into making sex as pleasurable and romantic as possible."
# Don't hop out of bed right after you finish making love. While you don't have to stand on your head to give the sperm a chance to make their way through the cervix--they are, after all, programmed to know the way!--you don't want to put gravity to work against them.
# Worried that you're less likely to be able to conceive because you've only got one functioning ovary? Here are some encouraging words. Ovulation is a random event each month, with both ovaries vying for the honor on a first-come, first-served basis. If you only have one ovary, it wins the draw by default.
# Make sure that you've been properly screened for STDs. More than one million North American women are affected by pelvic inflammatory disease each year. The number-one cause is an untreated sexually transmitted disease.
# Wondering if you should pull out the thermometer and the temperature chart? Some couples like to try to predict their fertile days by watching for the temperature shift that typically accompanies ovulation; others prefer to let nature take its course. If you're having intercourse two to three times per week anyway, you're already doing everything possible to try to conceive, so taking your temperature could be a bit of overkill. If, on the other hand, you find it reassuring to know that you're "doing everything right," then put that thermometer to good use.
# If you decide to take your basal body temperature (BBT) to track your most fertile days, pick up a digital thermometer rather than relying on the old-style mercury thermometer. It's easier to read, it requires no shaking (which can cause your body temp to go up for no good reason), and it even beeps to remind you to record your reading if you accidentally go back to sleep. If you prefer a more high-tech approach and your budget can swing it, you may want to look into fertility monitoring software or a fertility computer.
# Don't eat, drink, or get out of bed before you take your temperature. Each of these activities can affect the accuracy of your reading.
# If your partner's sperm count is low or marginal, you may be advised to have intercourse every other day to allow his sperm count to build up. Your doctor may even recommend that your partner refrain from ejaculating during the days leading up to your most fertile period.
# Here's a clear case of use it or lose it. Studies have shown that abstaining from sex for more than seven days can decrease the male partner's fertility. Any gain in sperm counts from lack of use is more than offset by the increased number of aged sperm cells with lower fertilization potential.
# Did you get a bad night's sleep last night? Make a note on your temperature chart. Getting less than three consecutive hours of sleep can make your BBT (basal body temperature) reading unreliable. Other things that can throw it off include illness (especially fever) and using an electric blanket.
# Don't notice any sort of temperature shift on your BBT chart? Don't panic. Some women who are ovulating normally don't experience the classic temperature rise upon ovulation. Instead, their BBT remains constant throughout their menstrual cycle.
# Studies have shown that the most fertile period in a woman's cycle are the five days leading up to ovulation. If you expect to ovulate soon, this is peak babymaking season.
# As ovulation approaches, your cervix tends to rise up in your vagina, soften, and open slightly. Although it feels firm like the tip of your nose at the start of your menstrual cycle, by the time you're ready to ovulate, it feels soft and fleshy like your lips. You can monitor this particular fertility sign yourself.
# Is your menstrual cycle longer or shorter than 28 days? Chances are, you won't ovulate on Day 14. Ovulation typically occurs 14 days before the start of the next menstrual cycle--not 14 days after the end of the last one.
# Looking for a natural way to relax when you're trying to conceive? An orgasm could be just what the doctor ordered! Studies have shown that an orgasm is 22 times as relaxing as the average tranquilizer.
# This could be the big night! If you're taking your BBT to try to pinpoint your most fertile days, don't wait until your temperature starts shooting upward before you start trying to conceive. By that time, ovulation will have already occurred and you will have missed your babymaking opportunity.
# Once ovulation has occurred, the waiting game begins. There won't be enough human chorionic gonadotropin in your urine for a pregnancy test to pick up until at least 12 days after ovulation--perhaps even longer.
# Are you tracking your basal body temperatures? If you are, you might be able to save yourself the cost of a home pregnancy test. If your period ends up being late, you will simply need to note whether your luteal phase--the number of days since you ovulated--is longer than normal. If you end up with 18 consecutive elevated temperatures or your temperature remains elevated for at least three days longer than your longest luteal phase to date, you'll be able to conclude that you're pregnant.
# Tempted to lit up a cigarette or have a glass of wine? You should assume that you're pregnant until you know for sure that you're not. One of the most critical periods in embryonic development happens before a woman even knows that she's pregnant.
# Your body begins to produce hCG about a week after conception. The production of hCG combined with rising progesterone levels causes blood flow to the pelvic area to increase--something that could have you running to the bathroom at frequent intervals as your pregnancy progresses.
# Don't panic if you experience a small amount of spotting. Some women experience implantation bleeding about a week after conception--the point in pregnancy when the fertilized egg attaches itself to the uterine wall. Many women mistake this light amount of bleeding for a menstrual period--something that can wreak havoc on their ability to calculate their due dates.
# Over $206 million dollars worth of pregnancy tests are sold in the U.S. each year.
# Although pregnancy is the most common explanation for missing a period, you can miss a period for many other reasons: jet lag, severe illness, surgery, shock, bereavement, or other causes of stress. And as if that weren't enough to muddy the waters, some women continue to have menstrual-like bleeding throughout at least part of their pregnancies.
# If you purchase a pregnancy test that requires that you collect a urine sample rarther than testing your urine while you urinate, make sure that you have a clean, soap-free container on hand. Soap residue can affect the accuracy of the test.
# Contrary to popular belief, taking contraceptive pills, antibiotics, and analgesics such as acetaminophen should not affect the accuracy of your pregnancy test.
# If you're totallly losing your mind, waiting for it to be time to actually use that pregnancy test, why not kill some time reading some of the pregnancy-related articles on the articles page of this site?
# Planning to use a home pregnancy test tomorrow? Check to make sure that the test hasn't passed its expiration date and read the test instructions so you'll know what you're doing when it's time to do the test.
# Two weeks have passed since you ovulated. If your period hasn't show up yet, you should be able to get a reliable result on a home pregnancy test starting today. (If you test too soon, there won't be enough hCG in your urine to make the test show a positive.) If you get a positive test result, you're probably pregnant. When errors occur during testing, they are most likely to result in false negatives.
# Be sure to check out the preconception and fertility links at ParentingLibrary.com for more information on getting pregnant and to visit PregnancyLibrary.com for all kinds of other pregnancy-related resources. Finally, if you enjoyed reading these tips, you might also enjoy checking out The Mother of All Blogs -- Ann Douglas' home in the blogosphere!
2006-08-29 00:26:10
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answered by Cascade Ranger 3
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