Top 10 Fertility Tips for Conceiving
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Treat chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes. Both can worsen during pregnancy and uncontrolled diabetes can lead to birth defects.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Males should avoid lots of exposure to heat, so limit hot tub and sauna use. Loose undergarments are a consideration but usually not necessary.
- Consider taking over-the-counter supplements including CoQ10 and DHEA if you are 40 and older or have a diagnosis of reduced ovarian reserve.
- 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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