How to increase your chances of pregnancy naturally
Pregnancy takes time. Even for perfectly fertile couples in their 20s to early 30s, pregnancy can typically take several months. As you reach your late 30s, you may find yourself running out of time.
Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to optimize your natural fertility and get pregnant as quickly as possible. These include tracking ovulation and timing sex around ovulation.
What is the infertility period?
The best way to get pregnant is to have sex every 1-2 days during your fertile window.
The fertile window refers to the five days of a woman’s cycle just before ovulation, the day of ovulation, and the day after, when intercourse has the highest chance of fertilizing an egg. This means that ovulation peaks about seven days a month.
Typically, a woman ovulates one egg each month. During ovulation, the egg moves from the ovary to the fallopian tube. If sperm are present in the fallopian tubes, fertilization can occur. A man’s sperm can survive in a woman’s body for up to 5 days.
Ovulation occurs several weeks before a woman gets her period. For example, a woman with a 28-day cycle would expect to ovulate between days 12 and 14 of her cycle. This leaves your fertile window from day 8 or 9 up to (and inclusive) day 15.
Not all women have a 28-day menstrual cycle. The length of a normal menstrual cycle varies from woman to woman, and some women’s cycles vary from month to month.
Use of infertility-aware methods
Fertility awareness methods can help couples better understand a woman’s menstrual cycle and ovulation periods, allowing them to make the most of their fertile periods.
Methods of tracking ovulation based on fertility awareness include:
- Keep a menstrual calendar. This will help you better recognize when menstruation and ovulation occur.
- Measure your basal body temperature every morning. A woman’s body temperature can fluctuate by about 0.5 °F around ovulation, so tracking when that change occurs can help you observe your body’s monthly patterns.
- Check your cervical mucus. As a woman approaches ovulation, her cervical mucus changes from thick and cloudy to thinner, clearer, and slippery.
- Use an ovulation prediction test. These pee stick kits detect luteinizing hormone, which peaks just before ovulation.
Choose a fertility-friendly vaginal lubricant or lubricant
Some vaginal lubricants can slow sperm movement or reduce their ability to survive in the vagina. These include commercial water-based lubricants, saliva, olive oil, etc. Instead, we recommend choosing a personal lubricant with fertility considerations in mind.
The American Society of Reproductive Medicine and the Society of Reproductive Endocrinology recommends the following lubricants as safe for sperm.
- Cellulose-based lubricants including Pre-Seed and ConceivEase
- mineral oil
- canola oil
