With decreasing fertility trends in today’s world, a very frequently asked question is – How to get pregnant? For getting an answer, we must ask the right questions. Why are we struggling with one of our most basic functions – reproduction? Let us walk step by step to understand where lies the problem and where to find the solution?
Table of Contents
How does pregnancy happen?
When a male and a female have sexual intercourse without using any contraception, the sperms released at ejaculation travel through the uterus and reach the fallopian tube, where they fertilize the egg. This fertilized egg travels back to the uterus and gets implanted to the endometrium (innermost layer) of the uterus.
Once it gets implanted to uterine wall, it grows for about 15 days and after that you skip your period and become pregnant. Your hormones will now change with an aim to sustain your pregnancy and you will not have your menstrual cycles or periods for the next nine months. The implanted fetus receives nourishment from the mother through the uterus and slowly matures in the next nine months.
How to increase my chances of getting pregnant?
We already understand now that pregnancy happens when a sperm fertilizes the ovum. But the ovum is released by your ovary only during a specific time in your menstrual cycle. The ovulation time is different for every women, depending on the length of their menstrual cycle. A sperm can live for many days in your reproductive tract but an ovum, once released, can only live for 12-24 hours. So calculating your likely day of ovulation and planning intercourse around that time, significantly enhances the chances of pregnancy.
For calculating the likely day of ovulation in your cycles, you need to have a good understanding of the different phases of your menstrual cycle (see Menstrual cycle and hormonal changes in Ovulation Discharge) and how to determine the timing of ovulation (see How is ovulation discharge used to plan pregnancy in Ovulation Discharge).
Once you determine the likely day of your ovulation in your cycle, the chances of you getting pregnant increase manifold if you should plan sexual intercourse five days before ovulation to one day after ovulation. This period is your period of maximal fertility.
What else can I do to get pregnant?
In addition, there are many factors which may hinder your chances of pregnancy. Following are a few steps that you can do to take care of these factors and to improve your chances of getting pregnant:
- Stop smoking: Smoking is extremely injurious to everyone’s health and is one of the major preventable causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. So you should quit smoking, whether you are planning pregnancy or not. In addition, tobacco is detrimental to both male and female fertility. So both partners should quit smoking.
- Stop consumption of alcohol: Alcohol decreases your fertility and reduces your chances of getting pregnant. Moreover, if you consume alcohol in your pregnancy, it causes many development defects in the baby, a syndrome called fetal alcohol syndrome. So it’s best to quit alcohol if you are serious on getting pregnant. Alcohol affects male fertility as well; so your partner should quit alcohol too.
- Eat a healthy well balanced diet: Eat home made nutritious food with lots of green vegetables, fruits, milk and salads. Such healthy food not only nourishes your body but also nourishes and heals your mind. Avoid street food and junk food.
- Maintain a near ideal body weight as per your height: Being underweight or overweight may be associated with hormonal disorders and affect ovulation, thereby reducing fertility. So eat right and exercise regularly.
- Avoid starvation diets if you are planning to lose weight. Starvation diets lead to a loss of protein, mineral and vitamin deficiencies which adversely affect your fertility. You do not need to starve for weight loss. Eating moderate quantities of home made food at 2-3 hourly intervals, with with regular moderate physical exercise, does the job.
- Exercise daily: Moderate, regular physical exercise releases a lot of good hormones (endorphins and enkephalins) in your system and is the best tonic for general health, including reproductive health.
- Avoid stress for both partners: Concerns of being infertile can be very stressful. This stress can be further compounded by comparison with other couples who instantly get pregnant as soon they start trying. Stress reduces frequency of sexual intimacy, affects the sperm count in the male and egg formation in female. So try to stay clam and don’t compare yourself with other couples. Many couples conceive when their mind is off the conception grid as it helps the hormones to function normally. You should remember that there are only 25% chances of conception in one cycle, so sometimes your body just needs time for results. Be patient.
- Plan intercourse regularly around your ovulation days (in the five days before ovulation to one day after ovulation). This will significantly increase your chances of getting pregnant. In many cases, this is all you might need to do. However, you should not stress out too much about the frequency of intercourse on during these days. Just plan it more during these days; at least on alternate days if not daily.
- Also inform your physician about any medications that your are currently taking, including ayurvedic, homeopathic and natural herbal medications as well. Many medications directly affect your fertility and you may simply benefit from identifying the culprit and stopping it’s consumption.
When should I see a doctor?
- If you are trying to get pregnant for more than one year with all the above precautions, but still can’t get pregnant, then it’s time to see your doctor. Sometimes, there are certain conditions which can interfere with you getting pregnant. For example hypothyroidism is a very common condition in which one of your glands called thyroid gland is functioning less than normal. Optimizing it helps a lot of patients to get pregnant.
- If you have known medical conditions like hypertension, diabetes, asthma, heart disease etc., consult your gynaecologist to:
- Understand the impact of these conditions on your chances of getting pregnant
- For the to optimization of these conditions.
- To understand how the management of these conditions is likely to change once you are pregnant. For example, diabetics who take oral medicines may need to be switched to insulin during their pregnancy.
- In addition, you should know about the risks of getting pregnant with your medical condition and the management options to keep your condition in control during your pregnancy.
- Pregnancy itself initiates a lot of changes in your body due to hormonal fluctuations and also for preparing your body for pregnancy. You should discuss with your gynaecologist how your pregnancy may affect your medical condition and your overall health.
- If you have a bad obstetric history (BOH): Bad obstetric history means that if you had pregnancies earlier but they could not go to term for one reason or other. For example spontaneous abortions, missed abortions, history of intrauterine death or still birth in previous pregnancies.
- If you already have a baby with congenital defects like congenital heart diseases, chromosomal aberrations like Down’s syndrome or conditions like Thalassemia, sickle cell anemia. In all these conditions, your gynaecologist will order special tests for you before your pregnancy and during your pregnancy, to reduce the risk of such events or for early detection of anomalies so that termination if needed may be planned early.
- An important factor to consider is that the onus of infertility often falls on the female. However, either of the partners could be affected and be responsible for not being able to conceive. So both partners must be seen and worked up simultaneously when you visit your doctor.
Is there anything I should do before planning pregnancy?
- Start taking folic acid tablet when you start planning your pregnancy. This ingredient is very important in the early development of the neural structures of your baby.
- Consult your physician if you have any concurrent medical conditions like hypertension, diabetes, asthma, thyroid etc., and get them optimized, preferably before planning your pregnancy.
- Develop a good support support system at your home. Once you are pregnant, you might need help in lot of things.
How will I know that I am pregnant?
- Most women suspect that they are pregnant when they miss their periods.
- Usually, you may have symptoms like:
- nausea or vomiting due to rise in HCG hormone.
- You may even experience pain in your breast called as mastalgia or a feverish feeling due to rise in progesterone hormone.
- Some people may feel depressed at the time when the hormones are changing.
- You may also feel frequency or need to pass urine more frequently due to increase in size of your womb which presses on the urinary bladder.
- You may feel aversion or craving for certain foods
- There are simple over the counter pregnancy test kits available which can be used to test whether you are pregnant or not. They are usually very reliable but they rarely may have both false positives or false negative results.
- If you were trying to get pregnant and you missed your periods, it is a good idea to visit your gynaecologist. Your gynaec will verify for you that you are pregnant or not. This is helpful in two ways. First, if you are found to be pregnant, then it’s very important to start certain medicines like tablet folic acid, for the development of your baby. If you are not found to be pregnant, then you can plan again, once your gynaec determines the reason for delay in your periods.
Carry home message
Pregnancy is a beautiful chapter in every female’s life. Not being able to get pregnant when planning to do so, can be very frustrating and depressing. But you should not worry about it. Keep trying and it works out eventually. Taking care of diet, exercising regularly, avoiding stress, understanding your ovulation time and planning your pregnancy around that time, can significantly increase your pregnancy chances. Stay healthy and don’t worry!
For more such interesting information on women's health, kindly visit our website Expert Gynae Care and our YouTube channel @drnidhigarg
To consult Dr. Nidhi Garg, please visit us at Kamal Hospital, Doaba Chowk, Jalandhar-144004 or Visit our website kamal Hospital jalandhar or Expert Gynae Care