Trying to conceive? Must follow these tips to get pregnant

If you have decided to have a baby, it is important that you know all about the best time of intercourse for conception and the lifestyle you need to adopt for it. Some couples get it done reasonably easily while others go through months in despair. Maybe you're just really eager to get pregnant, or maybe you want your baby's birth to happen at a specific time.

Although Mother Nature has a hand in the timing, there are some things you can do or not do to help increase your chances of getting pregnant ASAP. Read on for expert-approved tips for getting pregnant.

Do get a preconception checkup- Before you officially start trying, get a checkup. Ask your doctor about prenatal vitamins that have folic acid , which helps protect against some birth defects, such as spina bifida . Folic acid works during the early stages of pregnancy, so that's why it's important to make sure you're getting enough folic acid even before you get pregnant.

Figure out when you ovulate- Since most women release an egg once each menstrual cycle, there are only a few days out of each cycle when sex can actually lead to pregnancy. Knowing when you ovulate means that you and your partner can identify the bull's-eye and then aim for it, instead of just shooting a bunch of arrows and hoping the target happens to be there.

Get busy at the right time- Once you know when your egg will be released from your ovary, you can plan to have sex during your most fertile days: from three days before ovulation through the day of ovulation. (Starting a little sooner can't hurt; some women have gotten pregnant from sex that happened six days before they ovulated.)

Don't worry about the best positions for getting pregnant- Myths abound about the best positions for getting pregnant, but they are just that -- myths. There is really no scientific evidence saying that the missionary position is better than the woman being on top when it comes to maximizing your chances of making a baby.

Also read : Understanding Pregnancy & Conception Process

Do not stress

You need to be in a fairly relaxed state of mind for giving the best conditions of fertility for conception. Stress interferes with the fertility of women and you need to be aware of that. Try to relax with Yogic breathing techniques or just shun negative thoughts with positive reaffirmations!

Stay in Bed after Intercourse After the intercourse is over, it is advisable to stay in bed for 15 to 20 minutes for increasing the chances of conception. Some women have also been successful in getting pregnant by putting up their legs in the air or placing a pillow below the pelvic area for raising the vagina. These positions facilitate in the passage of sperm to the egg.

Do away with unhealthy edibles

Caffeine causes slow down of blood supply to the uterus. Women have had to suffer even miscarriage due to too much caffeine intake. Similarly, alcohol and smoking has an adverse effect on your health. In any case, you will have to give up these when you become pregnant as they have a lot of adverse effects on your baby’s growth.

Eat more fertility enhancing foods

Foods such as beans, garlic, whole grains, cauliflower, nuts, honey, avocado, oysters and green leafy vegetables in particular. Apart from the foods, adequate intake of water is also very beneficial. It helps your cervical fluid move faster for the process of sperm’s fusion into an egg. Men should also take flaxseed oil supplement for increasing sperm mobility.

Try out these tips on how to get pregnant and you can expect to hear the good news soon! If you're going to get pregnant naturally, it's very likely to happen within the first three months. About 6 out of 10 couples have conceived by then. After that, how long you should keep trying before you seek help from a fertility specialist depends in large part on your age.Of course, if you have reason to suspect a fertility problem in yourself or your partner, go ahead and make an appointment – there's no reason to wait.

Also read : Family planning : How to get pregnant

Boost your chances for a healthy pregnancy

When a baby’s on the way, moms-to-be are often overwhelmed by advice and warnings from family, friends and even strangers.  But perhaps the most important advice is to stay as healthy as possible before and during your pregnancy.

Each year about 4 million babies are born in the U.S., the vast majority of them healthy.  Thanks to advances in medical research and improved health care, most births in the U.S. result from low-risk “uncomplicated” pregnancies.  But by some estimates, each year nearly 1 million expectant moms in America experience some sort of pregnancy-related complication.  Problems can range from easily treated vitamin deficiencies to more complex conditions like preeclampsia, which can be life-threatening to both mother and baby.  Fortunately, you can take steps to learn more about potential risks and prevent or reduce their impact.

“One of the most important things you can do is be healthy before you even become pregnant,” says Dr. Catherine Spong, chief of the pregnancy and perinatology branch at NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.  “Whatever medical conditions you have, try to optimize their therapies before you become pregnant.  If you have diabetes, get it under control.  If you can avoid being overweight before pregnancy, that’s quite beneficial.  And be sure to start your vitamins early, have an active lifestyle and eat healthy foods.”

Proper nutrition is always important, but some nutrients are especially critical for a healthy pregnancy. One of the most essential is the B vitamin folate, or folic acid. Taking folic acid supplements at least 1 month before and throughout the first trimester of pregnancy can lower a baby’s risk for certain serious birth defects by as much as 70%.  These common birth defects—known as neural tube defects—often arise before a woman even knows she’s pregnant.  That’s why the U.S. Public Health Service now recommends that all women of childbearing age receive 400 micrograms of folic acid every day.

Several other nutrients play a key role during pregnancy.  You need iron to make healthy red blood cells. Calcium aids bone growth in the unborn child and helps to prevent bone loss in the mother.  Both of these nutrients, as well as folic acid, are found in prenatal multivitamins.

Nutritional deficiencies are often simple to address, but other prenatal complications pose greater challenges.  Obesity is a common risk factor for several pregnancy-related complications, including preeclampsia, preterm birth and gestational diabetes.  Problems in a previous pregnancy can also be a good indicator of how later pregnancies might progress.  “However, about 40% of the pregnant population at any given time has never had a child, so it’s very difficult to know what their risk is,” Spong says.  A woman’s age and pre-existing medical conditions also affect her risk.

When thinking about risk factors and complications, though, it’s important to keep things in perspective.  Dr. James M. Roberts, professor and vice chair of research in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, says, “When we talk about a high-risk situation—as with preeclampsia—we’re really only talking about 3-5% of pregnant women getting the disease.  The vast majority of women do not.”

While only a small percentage of expectant mothers develop preeclampsia, its consequences can be dire.  It is the leading cause of maternal death worldwide.  Thanks to widespread prenatal care, women in the U.S. have only a small risk of dying from the condition.  “Still, it’s a substantial cause of deaths for babies, with death rates about 5 times higher for preeclampsia than for non-preeclampsia babies,” says Roberts.  He and other researchers have also found that preeclampsia greatly increases a woman’s risk for developing heart-related problems later in life.

Preeclampsia is marked by high-blood pressure and protein in the urine.  Currently, the only certain cure is delivery of the baby.

To Spong, a healthy pregnancy isn’t necessarily one that’s free of complications. “To me, a healthy pregnancy is one where any medical conditions are well-controlled, so they cause no lasting harm to mother or baby,” she says.  “I’ve had patients with severe diabetes, but if it remains very well-controlled during pregnancy, the outcome can be positive.”

It’s important to see your doctor regularly throughout pregnancy, so that complications can be caught early, and their impact minimized.  “A healthy pregnancy is one where, in the end, both the mom and baby do well,” Spong says.

Image Source: Getty

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