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Fertility Tips

Top 10 Fertility Tips for Conceiving

  1. Maintain a healthy lifestyle including moderate exercise and a diet including lean meats and vegetables with small amounts of carbohydrates. Find a BMI calculator online and try to keep your BMI in the normal range.
  2. Take a prenatal vitamin. There is more folic acid in a prenatal vitamin than in a regular daily multivitamin. Folic acid is very important for fetal neurologic development.
  3. Stop smoking and caffeine use. Both can reduce pregnancy rates and increase miscarriage rates. Smoking reduces ovarian reserve and brings on menopause earlier in life.
  4. Treat chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes. Both can worsen during pregnancy and uncontrolled diabetes can lead to birth defects.
  5. Know your menstrual cycle. You should have regular periods that come every 24-35 days apart. If you have a 28 day cycle, then you will typically ovulate on cycle day 14 (cycle day 1 is the first day of full flow). If you have a 30 day cycle, you will ovulate on cycle day 16. Basically, subtract 14 from the total length of your cycle. Intercourse a couple of days before to a day after the day of ovulation covers your fertile time during the month.
  6. Try ovulation predictor kits that you can get from any drug store or a grocery store. The day you have a positive test is an important day for intercourse. The following two days after the positive are also fertile days.
  7. Don’t stress about basal body temperature charts. While they work great for some women, lots of women find them difficult and anxiety-provoking. They are retrospective, meaning that it tells you that you ovulated after-the-fact, so temping does not help time intercourse stick to ovulation predictor kits instead.
  8. Males should avoid lots of exposure to heat, so limit hot tub and sauna use. Loose undergarments are a consideration but usually not necessary.
  9. Consider taking over-the-counter supplements including CoQ10 and DHEA if you are 40 and older or have a diagnosis of reduced ovarian reserve.
  10. Visit a doctor if you are 35 years-old or younger and you have been unsuccessfully trying to conceive for a year, if you are over the age of 35 and you have been trying to conceive for more than six months. Visit a doctor sooner if you are having trouble trying to conceive and have very irregular menses or have had a history of an STD or an ectopic pregnancy.

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