So you want to know how to get pregnant? The simple answer is that you must have sex. Although for most of us, it’s really not that simple. Approximately, one in ten women under the age of 30 will have difficulty conceiving and two in three women over the age of 40 will have difficulty in conceiving a child (Stoppard, M 2011).
Hi, my name is Jenny and when I first tried to get pregnant, it was hard to find the information I needed. That is why; I will be covering several methods that you can use to improve your chances of getting pregnant.
The methods that I will be discussing are as follows:
Jenny and Phil (Husband)
1) Natural pregnancy (recommended starting point)
2) The use of drugs/supplements (I think this should be avoided)
3) Getting pregnant artificially with IVF (I think this should be avoided)
4) What worked for me: Pregnancy Miracle (recommended)
Natural Pregnancy
Conception has everything to do with timing – every month, hormones cause your body to release an egg (aka ovulate), once released, that egg travels to one of the two fallopian tubes. This is the time when you must have sex!
The difficulty is trying to figure out when you’re ovulating.
Generally speaking, it would occur during the mid-point of your cycle. For example, if you have a 28 day cycle, it would occur 14 days after you had your last period.
Once you’ve figured your ovulation timing, then here’s a few tips to increase your chances:
Have sex as close to ovulation as possible: Try and have sex as close as possible to ovulation. Having sex regularly during ovulation provides you with an 85% chance of getting pregnant, compared to a 25% chance during a non ovulation time. (Schmidt, 2011)
Try abstaining from sex: If you are having trouble conceiving, leading up to your ovulation period, have your man abstain from ejaculating for 3-5 days. Every time a man ejaculates, his sperm count is reduced – it needs time to replenish. (Just remember, you can have sex as frequently as you want, this is just an alternative tip you might want to try)
The best position: The man should be on top as gravity assists the sperm in the cervix (Prabha Sahgal, MD, 2011). Additionally, after sex, the woman should lay back on the bed with her vagina elevated for 2 – 3 minutes. This will assist the sperm in reaching the cervix.
Health Lifestyle: If you’re overweight, this can reduce your chances of getting pregnant by over 70% (The New England Journal of Medicine, 2009). Obviously, you should try to lose that weight! A study by the University Of Nevada School Of Medicine found that caffeine reduces muscle activity in the fallopian tubes – which carry eggs from the ovaries to the womb. You should avoid caffeine – so no more coffee. Furthermore, if you’re a smoker, quit. It’s that simple.
All these tips are great, but unfortunately 92% of women over the age of 25 will actually struggle to get pregnant in their first 6 months using purely naturally methods (American Journal of Medicine, 2009). That leads women to try drugs and supplements or expensive IVF:
The use of drugs/supplements
I don’t recommend supplements: supplements are a multi-billion dollar a year industry and there is little evidence to suggest that they increase the chances of getting pregnant. There are some supplements that increase the chances of having a health pregnancy, but the same can be said for a healthy lifestyle.
I don’t recommend drugs: in fact, a study of 3,837 who took a very common drug called Clomid, were three times more likely to develop ovarian cancer (University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1985). The side-effects can be extremely serious – in other words – drugs can be doing more harm than good.
Getting pregnant with IVF
I don’t recommend IVF: if you’re having a great deal of trouble getting pregnant, then you might be considering IVF (In Vitro Fertilisation). I’m going to say don’t. IVF is only successful in around 5-10% of women over the age of 40 and around 10-20% successful in women under the age of 40. The worst part: it can cost around USD$15,000 – $20,000 per each cycle.
If you were to ask professional gamblers whether they’d bet $15,000 on a 5% chance, they would laugh at you!
If you are successful with IVF, over 60% of the women that experience the treatment end up having twins or triplets – so you might want to consider the strain on your budget with the extra child or two!
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