Trying to conceive? These tips could help improve your chances of getting pregnant

Beyond the well-known basics of getting pregnant — that is, when a sperm fertilizes the egg and creates a baby — there’s a lot more to conceiving than people are often aware of. That means that how long it takes to get pregnant can vary greatly from person to person.

Once you’ve decided you’re ready to have a baby, it’s natural to start wondering how you can get pregnant quickly, but it’s important to note that it can take a bit of time. While getting pregnant may be easy for some couples, for others, the process can be a lot more difficult, and that’s totally normal. As a general indicator, recent research suggested the following timelines for couples under 35:

• 45% of couples will conceive after three cycles of unprotected sex.
• 65% of all couples will conceive after six cycles of unprotected sex.
• 85% of all couples will conceive within their first year of having regular unprotected sex.
  
  With that in mind, it always helps to be prepared to try to conceive as best you can. Want to hear some genuinely useful tips? We spoke to Dr. Jenna Flanagan, obstetrician and gynecologist (OB-GYN), US, to create this must-read guide about the actions you can take to hopefully help to increase your fertility and improve your chances of pregnancy.

Trying-to-conceive tips 

Ready to get started? Let’s take a look at some of the things you can do before getting pregnant to help you on your journey.

1. Talk to your gynecologist

Once you know you’d like to start trying to get pregnant, you can get off to a strong start by booking an appointment with your gynecologist. The CDC advises that you should see your doctor before getting pregnant so that they can talk through things like your overall health and medical history, as well as any lifestyle factors or behaviors that may need to be adjusted. They can also discuss any vaccinations you might need and steps you can take to ensure the very best outcome for your possible future baby. 

You can make the most out of this appointment by doing some prep beforehand, too. For example, you might have some questions you’d like to ask about how to get pregnant, including how quickly it could happen (so how many weeks or months it might take) or the best time to try to get pregnant. You might be wondering why you're not getting pregnant or what can make it hard to get pregnant, you may be curious to know exactly how long it takes to get pregnant after sex, or you might just be open to some general tips on how to conceive. Whatever it is you want to know, your doctor should have some answers for you. While it can be helpful to chat with your friends and family about their experiences, remember that everyone is different, and an OB-GYN is the most qualified person to steer you through.

2. Track your menstrual cycle

Next, let’s review your menstrual cycle and why it’s important to keep track of it if you’re trying to conceive. To put it simply, the menstrual cycle is what happens to a woman’s body each month as it prepares itself for the possibility of pregnancy. 

This preparation involves ovulation (more on that in just a minute) and a shift in hormones to thicken the lining of your uterus, ready to make a cozy home for a potential embryo to burrow into. If you don’t get pregnant during your cycle, this lining will shed via your vagina as the bleeding you know as a period.

Tracking your menstrual cycle using an app like Flo can be useful for a number of reasons when you’re trying to conceive. First of all, it can help you to predict your fertile window, which we’ll take a closer look at below. Second, knowing when your period is due can be a really good indicator of when it might be late and, therefore, time for you to take that all-important pregnancy test.

Tracking your menstrual cycle can also give you a good idea of your overall health and alert you to any changes from the norm, such as a shift in how regularly you get your periods. This could mean your periods have become irregular, and while you can still get pregnant with irregular periods, it can make it trickier to conceive. If you have any questions or concerns, always reach out to your health care provider, as they can offer you advice and run any necessary tests.

3. Know your fertile window 

If you’re trying to get pregnant, then you’ve probably heard a lot about the fertile window that we mentioned above. This is the term used to describe the segment of time in which you’re most likely to get pregnant during your menstrual cycle.

“The fertile window has two parts to it,” explains Dr. Flanagan. They’re made up of:

• The five days leading up to ovulation
• The day of ovulation 

The first part of this is all about sperm. “Sperm can live in the female genital tract for up to five days,” explains Dr. Flanagan. If you have sex in the five days leading up to an egg being released (ovulation), these patient sperm, therefore, have the potential to wait inside your reproductive system and fertilize it. That means those five days before ovulation form the first part of your fertile window. 

The second part of the window refers to ovulation itself, which is the moment when one of your ovaries (either the left or right) releases an egg. This tiny egg will then travel into one of your uterine (fallopian) tubes (again, either the left or right, depending on which ovary released it), where it has the potential to be fertilized by a sperm. The egg is available to be fertilized for between 12 and 24 hours, meaning your fertile window spans around six days in total.

So when exactly does ovulation take place? Well, you’ll generally ovulate about 14 days before your period arrives, meaning that in a 28-day menstrual cycle, ovulation will take place somewhere around the 14th day. However, only 16% of women actually have a 28-day cycle, meaning that you could ovulate either earlier or later than the 14th day, depending on the length of your cycle.

Would you like to estimate when you might ovulate, so you can plan your fertile window? Flo’s handy ovulation calculator can also help you to predict when ovulation will occur based on your cycle dates. Pretty neat! You might also want to try using an ovulation test. “At about day 13 of a 28-day cycle, there’s a surge of luteinizing hormone (LH), which is what people can test for when they’re using ovulation test strips,” explains Dr. Flanagan. Once the surge has happened, “This typically means that within 12 to 24 hours, the egg is going to be released, and your ovulation will happen.” Basically, it’s a good time to have sex when your test tells you there’s a surge in LH.

4. Have sex during ovulation

Have you tracked your menstrual cycle, calculated your fertile window, and think you might be ovulating? Congratulations! It sounds like you’re ready to make a baby. In all seriousness, this is a time to think about not taking things too seriously. Learning how to get pregnant and having sex when you’re trying to conceive should be enjoyable for both you and your partner. So instead of approaching it as something you have to do, try to think about it as something you want to do.

Remember that you don’t have to have sex for every minute of the days that make up your fertile window (unless you want to!). “It doesn’t really matter how often you have sex. As much as a couple wants to do it is fine if it’s around the fertile window,” Dr. Flanagan explains. “The biggest thing you want to do is not make it into a chore and make it stressful. I think that sometimes happens to couples who try to have a regimented sex schedule around ovulation.” 

5. Implement good habits

As well as wrapping your head around the biology and timing of baby making, there are some lifestyle tweaks you (and your partner) can make to increase your chances of conception. These all come down to taking care of your overall health.

Diet

It’s no surprise that what you put on your plate can have an impact on the odds of you getting pregnant. According to researchers, positive links were found between foods containing folic acid (which we’ll talk more about later), vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, and fertility. So eating a healthy diet with a balance of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, poultry, and seafood could be beneficial when you’re trying to conceive. And you don’t have to go it alone; the same researchers also found that a healthy diet can lead to better quality semen in men, so you can keep each other motivated to reach for the carrot sticks instead of the candy bars when you want a snack.

Exercise

Something that may come as a surprise is that experts don’t seem to agree about the impact of exercise on fertility. For example, while one study found that very high levels of exercise could be linked to a temporary increase in risk of fertility problems, another found higher pregnancy rates for women who were physically active compared to those who weren’t. The answer? Approach it with balance. Dr. Flanagan suggests simply “maintaining your exercise routine” if you have one, as opposed to adopting a new intensive kickboxing regime or bulk booking an entire course of pilates. And of course, you can always talk to your health care provider for a tailored recommendation.
 
Something that may come as a surprise is that experts don’t seem to agree about the impact of exercise on fertility. For example, while one study found that very high levels of exercise could be linked to a temporary increase in risk of fertility problems, another found higher pregnancy rates for women who were physically active compared to those who weren’t. The answer? Approach it with balance. Dr. Flanagan suggests simply “maintaining your exercise routine” if you have one, as opposed to adopting a new intensive kickboxing regime or bulk booking an entire course of pilates. And of course, you can always talk to your health care provider for a tailored recommendation.
 

Weight

This leads us nicely to weight. There is some evidence that weight can affect your fertility, with one study finding that obesity can decrease your ability to conceive. However, while some experts recommend that those who are obese should lose weight before conceiving, it’s important to note that a healthy weight will be different for everyone. With this in mind, try to avoid comparing yourself to others or placing too much focus or pressure on losing weight. Remember, you can always speak to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns.

Stress 

The link between stress and fertility is complicated. And though it’s long been documented that infertility can cause stress, it’s more difficult to prove that stress itself can cause infertility. However, links have been made between stress-related molecules and changes in fertility in women. So exhale, unclench your jaw, and try to think calm, happy thoughts. It’ll be good for your own health even if it doesn’t directly impact your chances of conceiving.

6. Start taking folate supplements

Taking prenatal supplements is a great way to make sure you’re getting the vitamins and minerals that you need to support a healthy pregnancy. In particular, it’s recommended that folate (or folic acid, the synthetic form of folate) is taken daily before conceiving until 12 weeks into a pregnancy. This can help to prevent brain and spinal cord abnormalities (known as neural tube defects) from developing in your baby early on. 

“We recommend at least 400 micrograms of folate,” says Dr. Flanagan. It’s worth noting that if you experienced a neural tube defect in a previous pregnancy, you’d need to take a higher dose, so be sure to discuss this with your doctor. “I usually say start taking [folate] three months before trying to get pregnant because then you get used to it, and you replenish the stores of the vitamins in your body,” advises Dr. Flanagan.

What to do if you still have a negative result on your pregnancy test

It can be really difficult if you feel like you’ve followed all of the recommended advice, but you haven’t had a positive pregnancy test yet. If this is the case, be sure to be kind to yourself and seek out any support you feel you need. You may also want to think about scheduling an appointment with your doctor. This doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s anything to be concerned about, and it’s important to remember that every journey to pregnancy is different. It’s helpful, however, to know that there are some things to consider if you haven’t gotten pregnant as quickly as you’d hoped.

As Dr. Flanagan explains, it’s a good idea to reach out to your doctor “if you have a regular period every month, you’re under the age of 35, and you’ve been having timed intercourse [during ovulation] for 12 cycles,” but you’re still getting a negative pregnancy test. “If you’re over the age of 35, we tell people to try for six months. So that means having adequate intercourse at the right time during their cycle. After six months, if you haven’t conceived and you’re older than 35, we recommend seeing a specialist.” If you’re 40 or over, it’s worth seeing a specialist right away. Try not to worry if this is the case, as your doctor or a specialist will be able to answer any questions you have and run any necessary tests to investigate what might be going on.

The takeaway: Tips that could improve your chances of getting pregnant

While there’s never a guarantee when you’re trying to get pregnant, it’s a relief to know that there are some things you can do to improve your odds and possibly even get pregnant fast and naturally. But while you begin to understand the mechanics of the menstrual cycle and commit to tracking your dates, don’t forget to pay attention to how you feel, both physically and emotionally. 

Staying in tune with your body is key. Remember the importance of adopting healthy habits, and be mindful of trying to stress less. Know when it’s OK to keep trying on your own and when you should seek medical advice. Here’s hoping a combination of all these trying-to-conceive tips will get you the result you want.