Maybe you already have a baby and want to add to your family, but you’re finding that getting pregnant a second time is proving difficult.
How does pregnancy happen?
Before we get into the ways you can increase your chances of getting pregnant, let’s find out exactly what takes place on the road to conception.
The journey to pregnancy begins with ovulation. This is when your ovaries release an egg in anticipation of fertilization. Your uterus also prepares its inner lining, called the endometrium, for the fertilized egg to attach. All this happens over a monthly sequence — your menstrual cycle. When no sperm is available within 12–24 hours of the egg being released, it degrades and you get your period.
However, when you have sex around the time of ovulation, sperm makes its way up your vagina, through your cervix, and into the uterus.
Usually one sperm fertilizes one egg, resulting in one baby. When sperm fertilizes an egg, and the resulting embryo splits into two, you get monozygotic (single zygote) twins. Sometimes two eggs are fertilized, and dizygotic (two zygotes) twins are formed.
After fertilization, a thick coat, known as the zona pellucida, forms around the egg and denies entry to the other sperm cells. This fertilized egg will begin splitting into many cells and stays in the fallopian tube for around three or four days.
It will then begin to descend into the uterus, where it implants into the inner lining. You will sometimes experience some spotting when this happens. Your body will then flood your system with a number of hormones to maintain a healthy pregnancy.
Why is it so hard to get pregnant? Common causes and how to handle them
Now that you understand the process, you might be asking yourself, “How hard is it to get pregnant?” Depending on the circumstances, sometimes it can be quite hard! There are a number of factors that can work against you if you’re trying to get pregnant. We’ve outlined some of them here, along with ways to solve them.