How to Get Pregnant
Some couples find that getting pregnant and having a baby are easy and happen without much effort, but other couples need quite a bit of time and luck. The following information explains how fertilization occurs, a variety of methods used to detect when you are ovulating, and the do's and don'ts to follow while trying to become pregnant. Remember that getting pregnant may take time. When studying a large number of couples: 1) about 25% became pregnant in the first month, 2) 60% in six months, 3) 75% in nine months, 4) 80% in twelve months, and 5) 90% in eighteen months. If you have been trying unsuccessfully for a year or more, it is advisable to visit your doctor. Your physician can determine what is making it difficult for you to conceive. Good luck with your efforts to get pregnant!
Conception Basics
Every month, hormones from the pituitary gland stimulate your ovaries to release an egg, in a process called ovulation. During the average 28 day menstrual cycle, ovulation usually occurs around day 14. However, many women's cycles are not 28 days long or vary from month to month. If your cycle is not 28 days long or is irregular, the timing of ovulation will vary, but usually comes about 14 days before the first day of your next period.
Once the egg has been released, it travels into a fallopian tube. The egg has about twenty four hours to unite with a sperm and become fertilized (in the outer third of the fallopian tube). Because sperm cells can survive in your reproductive tract for three to five days, it is best to have sex during the days leading up to ovulation if you want to become pregnant.
If the egg becomes fertilized, it will travel to the uterus in about four days. Once in the uterus, it will implant in the uterine lining. After this occurs, congratulations, you're pregnant! Your body will begin supporting the embryo and your menstrual cycles will cease for the term of your pregnancy. If the egg is not fertilized, it will break down and be reabsorbed by the body.
Determining when you are Ovulating
There are several methods people can use to try to determine the time that ovulation occurs.
Calendar Methods
Assuming a 28 day menstrual cycle, mark the first day of your menstrual period as day 1, and then days 10 to 18 should overlap with the days you are ovulating. If your period is not 28 days long or is irregular it is best to calculate just how long your average cycle is, and have sex 12 to 18 days before you expect your next menstrual period to start, because this is the time you are most likely to be ovulating.
Many factors can affect the exact timing of ovulation including exercise, stress, and illness. Therefore, counting days can often be inaccurate, especially for women with irregular cycles.
Cervical Mucus Methods
During a typical monthly cycle, a woman will have a few days of menstrual bleeding followed by a few days where little or no cervical mucus is present. Cervical secretions often increase just before ovulation, and are often clear, slippery, and the consistency of a raw egg white. Once ovulation has occurred, cervical mucus will often become more cloudy and sticky, or even vanish altogether.
Monitoring cervical mucus requires observations, but it can be difficult to discern the exact texture of the mucus. Mucus should not be checked right after sex as natural sexual lubrication and semen can be confused for cervical mucus.
Basal Body Temperature Methods
Basal body temperature refers to your body's temperature when you are fully at rest. Basal body temperature varies from person to person, but between 96 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit is considered average before ovulation, while 97 to 99 degrees Fahrenheit is considered normal after ovulation. When ovulation has just occurred the gradual rise in temperature is usually between 0.5 and 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit. A woman is most fertile during the two to three days before her temperature rises.
Use an oral thermometer to monitor your basal body temperature. Readings should be taken every day and plotted on a chart. By plotting your readings on a graph, you can recognize whether your basal body temperature increase is gradual, sudden, or in steps. Recognizing this pattern will give you a better idea of when ovulation has occurred, but it is also important to recognize that the pattern may vary from one cycle to the next.
When just beginning to use the Basal Body Temperature Method it is best to consult a physician or nurse to help you understand exactly how the method works. The method is reliable at detecting when ovulation has just occurred, but it does not predict when it is about to happen. If you chart your temperature for several months it will be easier to detect when you are ovulating and to time intercourse to increase your chances of getting pregnant.
Basal body temperature can be influenced by physical and emotional stresses as well as illness, jet lag, poor sleep, smoking, drinking alcohol, or even from using an electric blanket. Therefore it is not always the most reliable method.
Digital Ovulation Monitors
Ovulation monitors, also known as fertility monitors, are on the market. They can tell you when you are ovulating via a digital reading. These monitors work by measuring levels of hormones in your urine, identifying a surge just before ovulation. An ovulation monitor can give you 24 to 36 hours notice before ovulation. Ovulation monitors are quite accurate, but can be costly.
Simple Do's and Don'ts
Do
- Have sex regularly throughout the month and have sex once a day near the time of ovulation.
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating nutritious foods, exercising, and controlling stress. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is always important, but being especially health conscious as you attempt to get pregnant will serve you and your baby well.
- Talk to your doctor about any steps they would suggest to help you conceive.
- Take a prenatal vitamin or folic acid supplement beginning a month before conception and continuing through the first trimester of pregnancy. Folic acid is important in a baby's development and can reduce the risk of spina bifida and neural tube defects by up to 70 percent.
Don't
- Don't smoke or drink. Both of these can have harmful effects on a developing baby. Smoking increases the risk of miscarriage and can deprive the developing baby of oxygen and nutrients. Drinking alcohol can lead to fetal alcohol syndrome, which can cause small physical size, facial deformities, learning disabilities, and even mental retardation, along with a variety of other symptoms.
- Don't take any medications without talking to your doctor first. Some medications make conception difficult and others can be harmful to the baby once you become pregnant.
References
Nissl, Jan. "Fertility Awareness." April 20th, 2006. Healthwise Incorporated. May 4th, 2007. http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/Fertility-Awareness?page=1.
"Introduction to Getting Pregnant and Conception." March 15th, 2005. ParentTime. May 4th, 2007. http://www.parenttime.com/pregnancyarticles/howtogetpregnant.html.