Trying for a baby is one of the most exciting yet nerve-wracking experiences you can have in your life. To get pregnant, you’re probably doing everything you can think of – from tracking your cycle to taking prenatal vitamins – but if it still hasn’t happened yet, it is easy to feel frustrated or anxious about it all. Fortunately, there are quite a few things you can control in this journey that are sure to improve your chances of conceiving. Let’s walk through a few essential tips that can optimise your fertility and hopefully, get you closer to that positive test.
Learn about optimal timing for intercourse
Keep track of your ovulation
As a general rule of thumb, a woman’s fertile window spans the five days leading up to ovulation and the day of ovulation itself. Tracking when these five days begin and identifying when you ovulate can significantly improve your chances of getting pregnant. To make things easier for yourself, you can use ovulation predictor kits, track your basal body temperature, or simply pay attention to changes in your cervical mucus to figure out when you’re at your most fertile.
Have sex regularly
While the timing of your cycle matters, it’s also important to have sex regularly throughout your cycle. The sperm can survive in your reproductive tract for up to five days, so having sex periodically ensures that there’s a better chance of sperm being present when ovulation occurs.
Consider getting a fertility test
Say you’ve been trying for a while without success, and there’s no apparent reason why. In that case, it might be time to look a bit deeper into what’s going on, and undergoing a fertility test will be your first step towards the answers you need: Revealing information about your ovarian reserve, hormone levels, and whether any underlying issues are affecting your ability to conceive.
Some people think these tests are only for people who’ve been trying for years, but that is not the case. If you’re someone who has been trying for a year but without any luck, getting tested can help to identify problems early. The sooner you know what you’re working with, the better positioned you’ll be to make informed decisions about your next steps.
Optimise your lifestyle
Healthy weight
Both being overweight and underweight tend to disrupt your hormonal balance and interfere with ovulation. Research consistently shows that women with a BMI in the healthy range tend to have better fertility outcomes, so even losing or gaining just 5-10% of your body weight can help regulate your cycle and improve your chances.
Balanced diet
What you eat matters more than you might think. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats supports overall reproductive health. Try to limit processed foods and added sugar as much as you can. If you want to try a specific plan, start with the Mediterranean diet, which is often considered the best in supporting women who are trying to conceive.
Take conception supplements with folic acid
Folic acid is crucial for preventing neural tube defects in early pregnancy, but it’s also vital for fertility. Most doctors recommend taking around 400 micrograms daily when you’re trying to conceive. Start taking it at least three months before trying to conceive, as folic acid needs time to build up in your system to support healthy egg development.
Exercise regularly
Moderate exercise is great for fertility as it helps maintain a healthy weight and reduces stress. But at the same time, you don’t want to overdo things, as engaging in high-intensity exercise can actually disrupt your menstrual cycle and interfere with ovulation. Aim for regular, moderate activity rather than pushing yourself to extremes.
Manage your stress levels
While it is easier said than done, chronic stress genuinely can affect your cycle and fertility. Find techniques that work for you, whether that’s meditation, yoga, spending time with friends, or simply making time for activities you enjoy. Even small reductions in daily stress can help regulate hormones and improve ovulation – plus, don’t forget that consistency is the key to keeping your stress levels low.
Focus on good quality sleep to help hormone regulation
Your body performs many critical hormonal functions while you sleep. Poor sleep can disrupt ovulation and throw off your menstrual cycle, making it harder to conceive. To this end, aim for seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night to keep your chances of conception consistently high.
Quit smoking
If you smoke, stopping it altogether is arguably the single most impactful thing you can do to improve your fertility. Smoking damages egg quality, depletes your egg reserve faster, and increases the risk of miscarriage. When you stop smoking, not only do you improve your fertility tremendously, but you’ll also see massive improvements to your health in general.
Cut back on alcohol
While an occasional drink is unlikely to derail your chances of conception, heavy drinking definitely can and is a well-known suspect of pregnancy problems. It affects hormone levels and can interfere with ovulation and implantation. Regardless of which fertility specialist you go to, chances are that they will all recommend cutting out alcohol entirely when you’re actively trying to conceive.
Reduce caffeine
You don’t necessarily need to give up your morning coffee, but it’s worth cutting back on it. Many studies have concluded that high caffeine intake (more than 200-300mg per day) can have a negative impact on women’s fertility. That’s roughly two cups of coffee – just keep your intake to one cup per day, and you should be good to go.
Review your current medications
Some medications can interfere with conception without you realising it. Certain antidepressants, acne treatments, thyroid drugs, and even a few over-the-counter painkillers have been shown to impact ovulation, sperm quality, or implantation, so a medication review is especially important when you’re trying to get pregnant. Talk to your GP about any medicines you’re taking to ensure they’re not affecting your fertility.
Look after your partner’s fertility too
Always remember that you are not the only one whose fertility matters – your partner’s fertility levels are important too. Roughly 40-50% of fertility issues involve male factor infertility, so your partner must take steps to optimise their fertility.
Your partner should maintain a healthy weight, eat well, exercise moderately, limit alcohol, quit smoking, and manage stress. They should also avoid hot baths and tight underwear, as heat can negatively affect sperm production. If you’ve been trying for a while, it’s worth having their fertility tested too.
Know when to seek help
If there is one tip that you absolutely must take away from this guide, it’s this: you must seek professional help when there is no clear answer to your pregnancy problems without delay. If you’re under 35 and have been trying for a year without success, or over 35 and it’s been six months, it’s high time to see a specialist. Seeking a doctor’s guidance on time often means that you’ll have more treatment options at your disposal, and all of them will be more effective at increasing your chances. There’s absolutely no shame in seeking help, and the sooner you do so, the better your chances of achieving a successful pregnancy will be.
Moving forward
While getting pregnant isn’t always as simple as people would like, there are many elements at play that we have complete control over – the only thing required is to take action and put yourself in the best possible position for conception. Be patient with yourself and your body, stay informed, and don’t hesitate to seek help when you need it. With the right approach and support, your dream of raising a child is only a few steps away.
