6 tips for getting pregnant when you’re 30–35

If you’re thinking about starting a family as you approach your mid-30s, you’re certainly not the only one. While it’s true that fertility naturally starts to decline in this decade, the most common age bracket to have a baby in the United States in 2023 was between the ages of 30 and 34.

So, if you have no known fertility issues, it’s definitely possible to conceive healthy babies during this time of life. Even if you do have infertility issues, treatments may also help you get pregnant. By getting in tune with your body, tracking ovulation, and making a few lifestyle tweaks, you can boost your chances of a successful pregnancy.

Key takeaways

• Getting pregnant might get trickier as you reach your mid-30s and beyond, but your fertility is still high in your early 30s, so many people in this age group conceive healthy babies without any problem at all.
• Getting to know your cycle and tracking ovulation can give you the best chance to time conception sex just right. 
• You can use an app like Flo to log your cycle information and get to know your body’s fertility signals better.
• A balanced diet, managing stress, and maintaining a healthy weight for you can all play a role in supporting your fertility.
• Getting pregnant is a team effort. Both you and your partner’s health are important, so don’t forget to encourage them to do their part, too. 
• If you’re over 35 and have been trying to conceive for six months without success, it’s worth checking in with your doctor. They’ll be able to recommend next steps and figure out whether any fertility treatment may be needed. 

Is it harder to get pregnant in your 30s?

The reality is that getting pregnant can become a bit more challenging the further into your 30s you get compared to your 20s. But that’s not to say you will have any issues at all. Everyone is different, and, for most people, fertility remains high in your early 30s.

“Age is the number one predictor of fertility success,” says Dr. Allison K. Rodgers, a reproductive endocrinologist, infertility specialist, obstetrician, and gynecologist at Fertility Centers of Illinois, US. “Both egg quantity and quality drop in our mid-30s and will take a much steeper dive down around [37 years old]. You come into the decade typically with great fertility but leave it with a significant reduction in both the sheer number and also the percentage of eggs that are healthy enough to make a baby,” she explains.

So if you’re between 30 and 35 years old and you want to get pregnant, there’s every chance you should be able to. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the chance a woman will get pregnant is about 25% to 30% in any single menstrual cycle if she’s in her 20s or early 30s. But by age 40, a woman’s chance of getting pregnant drops to less than 10% per menstrual cycle.

“A common misconception about fertility is that if your mom or sister had a baby in her late 30s, you will be able to too,” says Dr. Rodgers. “This is not necessarily the case. While more people lose their healthy eggs somewhere in their mid-40s, some people can lose their eggs faster and earlier, so [they] have trouble in their 30s.” But it can work the other way around, too. You may have healthier eggs for longer than many of your family members.

So while you might worry about whether you’ll get pregnant, plenty of people conceive without fertility treatment in their 30s. And age isn’t the only important factor if you’re trying to conceive. Overall health, lifestyle, and timing can also play a big role. 

6 tips for getting pregnant when you’re 30–35

With a better understanding of your body and a few lifestyle adjustments, you can increase your chance of conceiving and having a healthy pregnancy in your 30s — or at any age. 

Get to know your menstrual cycle

Timing is so important when it comes to getting pregnant because there are only a few days every month when it’s possible. Your fertile window includes the five days leading up to ovulation (when one of your ovaries releases an egg into your fallopian tubes) through to the day after ovulation. This is because sperm can live inside the female body for about five days, while an egg can survive up to 24 hours after ovulation.

There are certain body signals to look out for when you’re ovulating, which can give you some clues about when you’re in your fertile time of the month. But these can be different for everyone, which is why it’s a good idea to track your symptoms and cycles with an app like Flo. 

One of the clearest signs of ovulation is having clear, stretchy cervical mucus (that looks a bit like raw egg whites). Some people might also notice an increase in sex drive, bloating, or breast tenderness. If you track your basal body temperature (the temperature of your body when you’re resting) using a digital thermometer, you might notice a small rise of around 0.5ºF (0.3ºC) just after ovulation, too. Taking note of all these things might help you begin to see some patterns around when you generally ovulate each cycle, which might help you to time conception sex better.

Follow a fertility-friendly diet 

A balanced diet is a good idea if you’re trying to conceive, whatever your age. But you don’t need to get too carried away. “There is not any one food group or diet that is better for getting pregnant,” says Dr. Rodgers.

So, eating specific foods won’t significantly impact your fertility, but a nourishing diet is an important part of preparing your body for pregnancy. As a rule, try to include lots of vegetables, healthy fats, and whole grains in your diet, Dr. Rodgers suggests.

Supplements are worth considering, too. “If you’re trying to conceive, you should make sure you are taking a prenatal vitamin with folic acid and iron,” says Dr. Rodgers. “I also recommend making sure you get enough calcium. Most prenatal vitamins don’t have enough calcium because it would make them way too big and bulky.” 

Try to reduce your stress levels

It’s natural to feel stressed out from time to time, and trying to get pregnant can be a particularly difficult period if it’s not happening as quickly as you hoped. Mild stress shouldn’t affect the ability to get pregnant, reassures Dr. Rodgers. “But severe stress can cause your cycles to become irregular,” she explains. “We call this stress on the body hypothalamic amenorrhea, which can be caused by physical stress, such as too much exercise, excessive dieting, or emotional stress.” 

While it’s not always easy to reduce stress, finding manageable ways to manage your stress levels — like yoga, meditation, or even taking time to unplug — can make a difference. It’s all about figuring out which activities are helpful to you.

Avoid smoking, cannabis, and excessive drinking

As a general rule, anything bad for our physical health is bad news for fertility, too. Smoking, cannabis, and too much alcohol are linked to reduced fertility for both men and women, says Dr. Rodgers. Quitting cigarettes and cannabis and having less alcohol can improve fertility and reduce the risk of pregnancy complications. Every effort counts here, even if it’s a gradual shift.

Maintain a healthy weight and fitness level

You might have seen weight loss as fertility advice, but actually, being both overweight and underweight can impact your ability to conceive. So, aiming for a balanced weight that feels sustainable to you is important. 

“This is because the added stress [of being overweight or underweight] can cause your pituitary gland to stop sending hormonal signals to the ovary to mature and grow an egg. This causes the cycles to become irregular, and if you aren’t releasing an egg, you can’t get pregnant,” explains Dr. Rodgers. 

A healthy weight looks different for everyone, so if you’re not sure what you should be aiming for, have a chat with your doctor. 

It’s just as important to find a healthy balance when it comes to exercise, too. Excessive exercise can negatively affect your fertility, but having a good fitness level prior to pregnancy will help you stay healthy when you do become pregnant.

Speak to your partner about fertility

“A big misconception about fertility is that it’s only about the woman,” says Dr. Rodgers. “We know that [30%] of infertility cases involve male infertility. Get him checked out!”

Fertility is a team effort, and sperm health and sperm count play an essential role. Lifestyle choices have a large impact on sperm production, explains Dr. Rodgers. “It takes [several] weeks for sperm to be produced, so anything that happens in that time can affect sperm quality. It’s important to minimize alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, and caffeine to have the best sperm production.”

When to speak to a doctor about fertility in your 30s

If you want to get pregnant in your 30s, the standard advice is to see a specialist fertility doctor if you’re under 35 and have been trying to get pregnant for a year. If you’re 35 and older, you should go after six months. 

But Dr. Rodgers recommends checking in with your doctor sooner if you have any risk factors for difficulty becoming pregnant. These could include irregular cycles or other issues such as very heavy or very painful periods. 

If your doctor recommends a check for fertility problems, they’ll send you to have tests that evaluate your egg health, uterus, tubes, and your partner’s sperm. One of these may be an anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) test, which can tell you more about your egg count. But remember, egg count doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about your chance of getting pregnant. There are plenty of other factors that come into play, so you shouldn’t treat it as a prediction of your fertility.

If it turns out you might need some help, there are lots of fertility treatments your doctor might be able to recommend. These can include medication, surgical procedures, or assisted conception (including intrauterine insemination, IUI or in vitro fertilization, IVF).

If you’re not in need of fertility treatment, getting to know your body can equip you with important knowledge about your periods and your own signals. And this knowledge could help you to get pregnant. An app like Flo can teach you how to read your body’s fertility signs to help you time sex to get pregnant. Plus, it’s somewhere to log your cycle dates and symptoms, so if you do need to see a doctor, you have everything in one handy place.