Many women seem to think that it is easy to get pregnant. In some cases, unexpected pregnancies do occur, but in others, it ends up being a rather difficult period where the woman expects to get pregnant, but just cannot manage to conceive.
Reasons can vary a great deal, and every woman will differ from another in terms of medical history, age and lifestyle. However, there are some things that you can place importance upon to increase your chances of getting pregnant.
Preparing your body for pregnancy involves a number of simple things that you can do, but which can make a difference when they are all added up together. Let us outline some of the things you can do to prepare your body for pregnancy.
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Your Diet
Your diet is of utmost importance β if you regularly eat unhealthy foods you need to avoid this from now onwards. Your body needs to be well prepared and healthy if you want to increase your chances of getting pregnant.
You should thus consider what you generally eat, and in case you notice that most of your diet is made up of unhealthy foods, try to change this by substituting them for healthy alternatives such as fruit, vegetables, and food that is baked not fried.
Whole foods and organic foods are also ideal. There are also certain foods that are considered as helpful in increasing a womanβs fertility. Some of these include salmon, leafy greens, asparagus and almonds. It is also recommended that you limit your caffeine intake, as well as sodas, energy drinks, chocolate, junk food and even certain medications.
Exercise
Exercise β an exercise routine is very important. When you work out you are helping your body to get ready for a possible pregnancy.
First of all a good exercise routine will give you more energy, and make you feel better. Exercise releases endorphins and reduces stress. It is a way of making you feel better about yourself, and this is very important if you want to help your body get ready for a pregnancy.
It is also proven that exercise not only makes your body be fitter, but it helps to reduce blood pressure, limits the risk of gestational diabetes and eases constipation problems. All in all these will thus contribute to a better pregnancy.
Yoga Poses
Yoga poses that can help your reproductive organs matter a lot in this case. There are some yoga exercises that you could get used to doing so as to help your organs be more relaxed and nourished. Butterfly position, open-legged forward bends, hip circles and placing your legs up a wall, are some of the best yoga poses you could start to do daily.
Your Menstrual Cycle
Your cycle β keep a note of your cycle as it can help you get used to how your body works, while also noting those days when you are more fertile. When counting your cycle you have to start on the first day of your period.
Most women have a 28 day cycle. In that case the fertile window will be two weeks before the next period is due. You cannot be precise but you can get a good general idea if you try to keep track.
You are most fertile from two to three days before you ovulate, up to the day ofΒ ovulation. So during those days, ideally engage in sexual intercourse, and while doing so try to enjoy it rather than simply thinking and pondering about the possibility of getting pregnant.
Your Weight
Various studies show that if a woman is either overweight or underweight, this can contribute to infertility problems. It is important that you try to retain a healthy weight and advice from a nutritionist or healthcare provider can come in handy to manage to work your way to your ideal weight.
Limit Your Stress
The more stressed out you are, the lower the chances that you will get pregnant. If you have a hectic schedule and a job that wracks havoc on your body, you cannot hope to get pregnant. When you feel stressed out you are increasing your cortisol levels. This in turn suppresses ovulation, and naturally, it also reduces your energy.
If you feel stressed you need to find ways that can help you limit it. Try meditation and yoga, as well as breathing exercises that will help you to relax and unwind. You should also try to sleep more, take a relaxing bath and consider getting a massage. The support of your partner is important in these cases.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is considered as a good way to feel more relaxed, and apart from that it also helps to improve the ovarian function and regulates the hormones. Acupuncture is also helpful in increasing the blood flow in the uterus, and to increase the thickness of the uterine lining.
Folic Acid
Having enough folic acid is important. Apart from being considered as a good way to prevent certain birth defects, it is also important for improved fertility. It is highly recommended to increase the intake of folic acid from various foods such as whole grains, citrus fruits, leafy vegetables and beans, and also in the form of supplements.
Other Vitamins And Minerals
Zinc is considered to be a good contributor to fertility and ovulation. Zinc-rich foods include whole grains, beans, dairy products, oysters, crabs and lobsters.
Iron is also important and it can be found in red meat, and leafy vegetables.
Omega 3 fatty acid which is found in fish oil and nut oil is considered to be helpful too. Calcium is also important both for the motherβs body as well as the growing baby. It is critical for strong bones and it can be derived from milk and dairy products.
Some women may already be taking multivitamins. If not, ask your doctor for a good multivitamin supplement you could start taking.
Quit Smoking, Drinking Alcohol And Other Negative Habits
If you smoke, drink or have any other habit that can be risky for your good health, you need to put a stop to it.
Here are some guidelines to quitting smoking.
Women who smoke, or are constantly being exposed to other smokers have a high risk of infertility. Smoking affects each phase of the reproductive process and it also increases the risk of complications should a women get pregnant. It also increases the chances of a miscarriage.
Having Sex
Last but not least, you and your spouse or partner need to have sex for you to get pregnant. There are various theories and suggestions about when is the best time to have sex, as well as ideal sex positions to increase your chances of getting pregnant.
There are even some myths which even give you tips to decide on the gender of your child, which may be of interest to you if you have any particular preference.
Timing is very important to increase the likelihood of conception. Some recommend having daily intercourse, whereas other think that it is best to do it day in day out. But apart from that what is really most important to improve your chances of getting pregnant is to have intercourse in the days that lead to your ovulation, and on the day that you ovulate.
Sometimes it is difficult to know exactly when you ovulate, and so you should keep track as much as possible while also using an ovulation calculator which will help you determine more easily when you are most likely to be fertile.
You should also be able to notice an increase in your vaginal discharge, and there will also be a slight increase in the basal body temperature which can be calculated first thing in the morning. The temperatures you take should be charted. It is a traditional form of birth control, but also a good and rather effective way to determine when you are ovulating.
The main problem is for women who gave irregular periods, as then it is even more problematic to predict your ovulation. Assistance from a gynaecologist could be helpful in such cases.
Getting pregnant is what many women look forward to at a certain point in their lives. If you just cannot get pregnant, donβt despair. There are many women who waited several years to manage to conceive, but it is doable.
Just try to follow the tips we discussed above so as to increase your chances of getting pregnant. A healthy lifestyle made up of a proper diet, the right vitamins, and some exercise, can be the best starting point to get pregnant.
Naturally you need to be positive about it, while reducing your stress and anything that could hinder your overall health.
In case you have been doing your best and putting these tips into practice, but you still have not gotten pregnant, it is best to seek medical advice for fertility solutions. But before doing that, rest assured that a good number of women managed to get pregnant after a while once they made it a point to change their lifestyle and tried to be optimistic about the notion of becoming mothers. Good luck!
Awesome post! There are some great tips in here on pregnancy. I have 4 kids and they were all born on some sort of birth control. I know its crazy. My wife and I are very lucky to have them in our life. We never did anything special to get pregnant but of course everyone is different and everyone of her pregnancies were different. I think this article is great for those that are trying to get pregnant and need some sort of baseline or guide to go off of. In the end the best advice my wife gives to others is follow what you feel. Its your body and you will know your limits.
Thanks Albert… you know what? I fell pregnant with my first baby on the pill and then I fell pregnant with my second baby when I had the IUD so I know exactly what you mean because both of mine were big surprises!
When my son was born the doctor cut my tubes because although I am so happy with my two gifts from God I don’t want any more blessings!
I also would have liked to have been able to prepare myself physically and mentally before falling pregnant, it was a bit of a shock both times and I had to quickly make some rather drastic changes… for example go off all my medication for bipolar disorder. It was rocky to say the least and I feel I would have coped a lot better with becoming a mommy if I was able to mentally prepare myself for that instead of having it thrown at me.
That said there are so many women that struggle to fall pregnant and go through a lot of turmoil. It makes me feel guilty at times that I have fallen pregnant so easily even with contraception and all these other ladies are struggling.
I hope this article helps some ladies to get pregnant.
Great article on preparation for pregnancy. I think couples who are thinking on having babies need to read this. Especially the husbands. The health of the woman is particularly important, going into pregnancy. It could even affect the well-being of the foetus itself. I hope you would also do an article on the emotional aspect of post delivery as some mothers slipped into post natal depression. Great article.
Thanks Kenny.
Oh yes this Complete Guide to Parenting series will be going through pregnancy, birth, looking after your baby and much more. I have actually already written a few posts about Post Natal Depression, including my own experience of suffering from PND for about 6 months after the birth of my first child and also a guest post by LeeAnne Laufs where she shares about her PND experience.
I really do want to focus very much on the emotional health of women. I am a drug addict and alcoholic in recovery and I have bipolar disorder too. So let’s just say I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs, plus a good amount of therapy and experience dealing with emotional issues π
I want to share all of this with my readers here.
Great article I fell pregnant with my last born when I was sterilise crazy hey but it happened he is 6 years old today
I have to say that you have left no stone unturned! Congratulations on a brilliant post. I wish that I have been so informed before my pregnancies somewhat 35 years ago!
I really do think that a good and healthy pregnancy does start way before conception, completely agree that diet but more importantly a balanced one with all of your suggestions is the key, absolutely correct with the salmon and leafy veg all very important regarding folic acid π I really suffered from sickness during the first four months with all three of my pregnancies and had I been given the opportunity and your guide before hand I know that my body would have been in better shape!
Yoga and exercise again very important before and whilst trying to become pregnant, your body goes through so many changes during the first stages that if you are more relaxed and fit again will all aid a healthy pregnancy!
I have very much enjoyed this post and will most certainly be sharing with my daughter in law to be in anticipation that I might be a Grandmother one day π
Hi June
Oh yes and the fitter and healthier you are before pregnancy the easier it is to stay that way throughout your pregnancy. If you are fit and healthy you will most likely have an easier birth and recovery period too.
What I found is that as soon as I became pregnant I was exhausted and everything became harder. My kids are now nearly 3 and nearly 5, somehow I have never quite gotten over that tired feeling! Maybe when they are a bit older.
The point is that once you become pregnant nothing is ever the same again and you need as much energy and good health as you can get, not only to grow this little being, but then to birth your baby, breastfeed your baby and later on to get your running shoes on because you will be struggling to keep up with your little angel for a long time.
I really enjoyed the read. I tried to post a comment before and it didn’t take. If I duplicate please delete one. But it was important for me to leave a comment here, not only to help build our site, All About Baby Girls, but because of experiences I had.
I had my first child in 1991 and my second in 2015. I suffered from pre-eclampsia that turned into eclampsia with my first daughter so there was a lot of complications. We were both lucky to live through it.
I gained a lot of weight with the toxemia so when we went in for the c-section they had to press hard to cut all the way through. Long story short, they cut all the way through one tube and over half way through the other. It was 3 years later before I was ready to try again. Then after we had no luck I went in for a checkup to find out that I couldn’t have anymore as I had been effectively sterilized during the birth of my baby. I also found out with medical malpractice you only have two years to sue. So Beware and be aware ladies! I would recommend going to at least one ob that isn’t your primary for a complete follow up after any baby to make sure they didn’t screw the pooch and not tell you about it.
So for 23 years I didn’t have to worry about birth control. Then out of the blue it seems like menopause is making an appearance. My mood swings and hot and cold running attitude convinced me of it. I went to my doctor to be told that I tested negative for it. I knew something was going on so I insisted until he ran some extra tests then came back with congratulations all around. It seems that over time the body heals itself and the scar tissue from the incisions fall away. So if you aren’t ready for another little one after 20 years, stay on top of preventative measures especially as you near the menopause years.
I wanted to say that if you are still that tired it may be a vitamin deficiency or there is a condition caused by a folic acid deficiency {MTHFR) that can lead to a whole host of other problems. Please, go get a checkup!
Hi Billie
I am sure the tiredness is just having two kids, blogging on three of my own websites, creating content on five other websites and running my household π But thanks for the heads up about having a check up. My energy levels are increasing as my kids become older and more independent over time.
Yes my doctor warned me that even though he cut my tubes that is also not 100% safe as over time they can heal back and I can fall pregnant! But thanks for adding that info here on my website so other moms can be aware of that.
I am so sorry you struggled so much with your first pregnancy, I had a pre-eclampsia scare with my second pregnancy and spent a night in hospital being monitored. That was scary enough and I was fine so I can only imagine how hard that was for you Billie.
PS I added your website name and link into your comment for you. Thanks for taking the time to visit my website, I hope to see you back soon!
A truly awesome post on how to prepare your body for pregnacy. I really like the way that you mention that being overweight as well as underweight can determine how fertile a women is. This is sooo often overlooked by the larger majority of people. Also I particularly like your inspirational part about it can take a while to get pregnat, doo not despair. This is very true a a lot of people panic when they at first do not conceive, keep trying then, which is what you are saying, and let us face it. Isn’t the trying part the most fun π
Hi Simon
Oh yes, I have spoken to so many women that are struggling to get pregnant and they say that the stress can become overwhelming.
This really is sad because starting a family, and like you say the “trying” bit should be a great occasion and lots of fun…
This was an informative post about preparing to get pregnant. I have seen lots of movies where women do all they can to be pregnant and end up in frustrations for both man and woman in the relationship due to trying too hard. So when you talk about enjoying being pregnant and looking forward to get a child in the family may be the most important thing to do.
Thanks for sharing.
Tove
Hi Tove
Yes and if you speak to a lot of people that struggled to have a child very often when they stopped trying that is when they fell pregnant because with the stress gone often everything just falls into place.
This is great advice for anyone who wants to become pregnant. I’m a bit older and done having kids. But I did have a difficult time getting pregnant the first time. And I believe it was because I was trying too hard. My best advice to people is to do the above but also to simply relax and enjoy life.
Thanks Wendy, that is great advice and I have heard so many women agree and say the same thing! As soon as they stopped thinking about it and trying so hard it just happened.
I am sorry that you had a hard time falling pregnant, from what I hear it can be terribly upsetting. Thanks for sharing your experience here, hopefully other moms that are having difficulty will find your story inspiring and help them to relax more.
I find this kinda funny because me and my husband have been trying to get pregnant for the past month. I have been reading up on calculating ovulation and even the best positions. I tried a month ago and literally counted the days but two and a half weeks later still got my menstrual cycle. I think its because I tried to hard and did not relax with it.
I have had two children and conceiving them was a piece of cake probably because, although it took a little bit for my first child, I was not trying too hard. My first child I was doing what I am doing now and began to lose hope. Women around me were conceiving and I was not. I tested regularly for a month an a half and sought spiritual help and finally got a positive. My second was a compete surprise as I was taking a contraceptive.
This time seems like the first. Due to years of birth control, I am afraid that my uteral lining is thin even though I have been off of birth control since January. I have been researching and got the same info you have here. My cycles are normal though 29 days and falling on either a Monday or a Thursday. I just need to relax and count my fertile days. Thanks for the advice. I have a feeling I was meant to read it today.
Jana I think the best is to try and relax, I know that is easy said by my that had two kids while on birth control but this is what I have been hearing all the moms telling me that struggled with falling pregnant. Almost all of them said when they stopped trying the stress disappeared and that is when they fell pregnant π
I wish you all the luck in the world with falling pregnant quickly and I am glad you found this article really helpful.
Ive lost 13kg before i fell pregnant.
After my princess was born i only picked up 6kg and im back in the gym to be a healthy mommy.
Well done Marisca!
I struggled to get pregnant so the docter gave me folic acid and it really helped.
I havent prepared my body for pregnancy took us about 5 months to get pregnant after i left my birth control…when i heard i was pregnant 7 weeks already went for blood tests and scans and changed my dieet in drinking tea instead of coffee eating fruit and veggies more often drinking water and juice instead of my coke i liked so much.
Great article!
I hope that a lot of prospective Mommy’s read this post because all the tips mentioned in the article are vital and I think most of them are great for everyday life as well.
I wish I had access to this article before I fell pregnant, just to have a head start and just being healthier in general.
I was one of the fortunate one’s. I didn’t think that I was going to be a Mom. It just never occurred to me that I will be a good Mom and it was not priority on my life to-do-list.
First you have to meet the right partner to spend your life with and then decide whether you’ll be having kids or not.
I’ve basically given up on meeting the right person and was content to spend my life alone, when I met my husband. π
The first few ears we didn’t think about having children because he already had children from his first marriage and having kids is expensive. You have to be ready for it financially and emotionally.
My clock was ticking and I realized that I have to make the choice now. If I wait too long, I won’t have the choice anymore.
We discussed it and I prayed about it. I asked God to bless me with a child if it is meant to be and if He knows that I’ll be a good parent.
I fell pregnant two and a half months later.
Today, I am so happy that things turned out the way they did. I can’t imagine my life without little JD in it. He gives me so much joy.
It is important to stay healthy especially during pregnancy and when breast feeding. I didn’t think I would fall pregnant so easily. I was just one of the lucky one’s I suppose.
Awesome post, taking notes.
Thanks for sharing this. I’m sure many couples will get benefited from this article.
I did not prepare myself. However I was very active, eating healthy and taking vitamins. 1 time was enough and I was not even trying. All it took was a condom burst and boom she was growing inside me. Luckily I confirmed it at 6 weeks. This article is great for couples who are trying. And it should not only be a woman both of them should go through it.