Conceiving: The Basics
For some couples, getting pregnant is as easy as deciding to become pregnant, and then having sex. But for the vast majority of men and women hoping to have a baby, it takes some planning to conceive. Taking some time to understand the underlying processes involved in becoming pregnant can go a long way toward helping you avoid frustration and increase your chances of conceiving successfully – and soon.
Signs of ovulation
When it comes to conception, timing is everything. If you aren’t “tuned in” to your body’s fertility cycles, it’s unlikely you’ll conceive. A man is ready to perform his role at any time of the month. But a woman only has a brief window of opportunity during which time she can become pregnant. This period of time is called ovulation. During ovulation, hormones from the pituitary gland trigger the release of an egg from one of your ovaries. When the egg is released, it begins its journey to your uterus, traveling through the fallopian tubes. This is the time when a woman is most likely to become pregnant.
But how can a woman tell if she’s ovulating? For most women with normal menstrual cycles, ovulation occurs about mid way through the cycle, or about two weeks after the first day of your period. The exact day can vary for each woman, sometimes by as many as four days, and some women can have variations in their cycles as a result of stress or illness. Keeping a calendar is a good start toward understanding and tracking your cycle, but it isn’t the only tool you’ll need to pinpoint your ovulation time.
Another, more accurate way to determine whether or not you’re ovulating is to check your cervical mucus periodically. Your cervix is actually the mouth of your uterus, and it is coated in a mucus that changes in texture and viscosity as ovulation comes closer. By checking your cervical mucus throughout your cycle, you can become familiar with the changes in texture that indicate ovulation is near or at hand. Checking your temperature on a regular basis is another way to chart your fertility cycle. Or, you can try using an ovulation predictor kit, or OPK, which is similar to a pregnancy test.
Increasing fertility
By making sure your body is ready to conceive, and to carry a pregnancy to term, there are some steps you can take prior to becoming pregnant to make sure your body is in the best shape possible for conception and pregnancy. Diet, exercise and vitamin supplements are all areas to be explored when attempting to conceive, and smoking and alcohol consumption should be eliminated during and even before pregnancy.
Be sure to have sex regularly – at least once daily when you are at or near ovulation – to gtreatly increase your chance of conceiving. And try to limit stress by incorporating regular exercise, meditation, or other relaxing rituals into your regular routine.
Couples conceiving for the first time, as well as those in their 30s and beyond or those who have tried to conceive without success, might want to consider meeting with a physician or health care provider for a physical, and to help guide you in lifestyle changes that could increae chances of conception.
Male fertility
In addition to lifestyle issues, fertility problems also can arise as a result of health-related problems with both the female and male partners. The good news is, there are a wide variety of procedures available today which can address most male infertility concerns successfully. Methods for sperm retrieval, techniques for washing sperm to make them more viable and motile, and procedures for transferring sperm to the uterus are all available. Fertility specialists can help determine which procedures may help correct or compensate for these and other issues.
Female fertility issues
When a couple’s infertility derives from a health issue with the female partner, there are a wide variety of causes which could be at the root of the problem. Just as with male infertility, your health care provider will perform a careful physical assessment to determine the possible causes, and prescribe treatment based on the findings. Often, irregular ovulation cycles can cause issues. In these women, doses of hormones to regulate ovulation and increase the number of eggs released can often help. Fibroid tumors, especially in women in their late 30s and beyond, pelvic inflammatory disease, and other issues can also result in difficulty conceiving and carrying a pregnancy to full term.
Infertility options
Couples who have tried to become pregnant for at least a year without success are typically identified as being infertile. Although a diagnosis of infertility used to mean these couples were unable to ever conceive a child or carry a pregnancy, today advances in medical procedures and a better understanding of the root causes of infertility have resulted in a hoist of procedures that can dramatically increase a couple’s chances of conceiving. Techniques such as in vitro fertilisation and assisted hatching, as well as others, have helped thousands of couples conceive and bear children.
Overall, becoming pregnant is not as easy for some couples as it is for others, but with advances in medicine and research, coupled with lifestyle changes and a huge dose of patience, chances are, you and your partner will find a solution that will help you conceive and begin or expand your family.
