How to get pregnant

Hands up who thought it would be easy to get pregnant (especially after having mastered the art of not getting pregnant for many years) only to be greeted by your period month after month?

Most couples are surprised to learn that getting pregnant isn’t as easy as just having unprotected sex then discovering two weeks later that you are expecting. 

But don’t despair – before you start booking yourself into an IVF clinic it’s worth remembering a few pregnancy facts before panic sets in.

Did you know that on average only 25% of couples will conceive within their first month of trying, 60% within six months, 75% within nine months and 90% within a year-and-a-half? This means that for most couples it could take between six months and a year to get pregnant.

There are a variety of factors that can increase or decrease your chances of falling pregnant and it's important that you take them into consideration.

1) Your age
Whatever age you decide to have children here are the fertility facts: statistics show that 90 per cent of women in their twenties will become pregnant within a year of trying, and the other ten per cent still have a good chance of becoming pregnant within another year or so.

Women in their thirties have a much lower chance of conceiving after a year of trying. A woman is most fertile between the ages of 20-24 years and by the time she is 35, she is half as fertile as when she was 25.

At 40 she is half as fertile as when she was 35 – so you can see how fertility and its decline works as you get older. This isn’t to say that you won’t get pregnant if you are over 24 - many women in their forties conceive first time - so for some women it really is a lottery when they will become pregnant.

It’s not just women, of course, as male fertility also declines over age but, unlike women, men do not go through a ‘menopause’ and can father children in their seventies or even eighties.

2) Your lifestyle
Before you plan to get pregnant it is worth taking into account the lifestyle factors that could hinder you conceiving.

Smoking
Smoking decreases your ability to get pregnant because research has shown it reduces the number of eggs in a woman’s ovaries. Women who smoke enter menopause earlier than women who don’t. Smoking can also stop the normal function of the fallopian tubes and the chances of the embryo implanting in the uterus. If you become pregnant and continue to smoke, your baby can be at risk from premature birth, miscarriage and, once it is born, SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). If you are planning a pregnancy and think you need help giving up why not call the NHS smoking helpline: 0800 169 0169 for advice.

Alcohol
Drinking an occasional social glass of alcohol shouldn’t cause any major problems in terms of your ability to conceive. The problems occur if you binge drink or are an alcoholic, as excessive amounts of alcohol can cut your fertility by 50%. Your partner should also cut down on his drinking. Excessive amounts of alcohol can damage the male reproductive system and can also deplete the sperm generating cells in the testicles.

Once you have fallen pregnant, the government’s advice is to either avoid alcohol completely or stick to no more than one or two units a week. One unit is about one small (125ml) glass of wine or half-a-pint of beer, lager or cider. A 25ml pub measure of spirit at 40% is one unit (bear in mind that wine glasses are often bigger than 125ml, so sometimes you’ll be drinking more than you thought you were).

Your weight  
It’s best to try to achieve a healthy weight before you get pregnant. The most important thing when trying to conceive is to experience regular menstruation and therefore ovulation. If you are significantly underweight or overweight, menstruation can often suffer and your fertility may be affected. If you are seriously overweight and you fall pregnant, you are more prone to complications such as pre- eclampsia, gestational diabetes and pre-term birth.

Try to get at least half-an-hour's exercise a day, even if this is just walking briskly to the bus stop. Or go swimming regularly - this is a fantastic, all-round exercise.

Eating healthily
Again, this is tied-up with your weight and ability to fall pregnant, but you are more likely to conceive if you are healthy, and this means following a healthy balanced diet. Getting five or more fruit and vegetables a day as well as drinking lots of water and cutting out junk food can really help you stay healthy for conception.

3) Sex!
Yes - you do have to have sex to become pregnant, unless you are going down the artificial insemination route. There are many old wives' tales about the sexual positions which can help you become pregnant, but the aim is to keep the sperm inside the woman for as long as possible, so all it takes is a little common sense. The missionary position seems to work for most couples (with the man on top) and some people swear by putting a pillow under the woman’s bottom so that her cervix is tilted upwards and the sperm have more chance of staying inside and finding the egg to fertilise.

Orgasms
According to research, a women’s fertility is increased when she has an orgasm, at the same time or after the man does. This is because a pool of sperm is left at the back of a woman’s vagina when the man has ejaculated. When a woman reaches orgasm, her cervix pushes forwards, dipping into this pool of semen and increasing the chances of the sperm entering her cervix and the uterus and finally finding the unfertilised egg.

Having sex in your fertile period
It is absolutely essential that you have sex in the few days a month when you are most fertile. For conception to occur your ovaries have to release an egg each month – a process called ovulation. If you are having regular periods then ovulation is probably occurring and has been since you first started your periods. If your menstrual cycle lasts around 28 days (which is the average length), you are most likely to ovulate about 14 days before your next monthly period. Because the egg stays in your uterus for a day or two, it is around this time of the month that you are at your most fertile. The trick is to work out when you might be ovulating so that you can ensure you have unprotected sex around this time.

How can I work out if I am ovulating?
There are ways to spot if you are ovulating or not, for example, the consistency of your vaginal discharge will change around this time to being almost watery and like egg white in appearance. Some women experiencing slight cramping pains either side of their abdomen when they ovulate, which can also be a handy sign. When you ovulate your temperature goes up by around 0.4 and 0.8 degrees. If you have the patience and can take your temperature every morning, keep a chart and look out for any rises in temperature around days 12 to 16.

You can also use the gurgle.com ovulation calculator. The calculator predicts your fertile days over the next year by working out when you are most fertile from the average length of your cycle and when the first day of your last monthly cycle was (remember to keep a note of this). You can choose for gurgle to alert you when you log on, so that you are reminded exactly when your fertile period is. Handy, huh?!

Other than that it is important for you to have sex regularly around your fertile period. Some experts tell you to abstain from sex until your fertile period and others tell you to have regular sex throughout your cycle. It really is up to you, but make sure you have sex often on and around the day that you ovulate.

Don't despair
Don’t despair if you don’t fall pregnant the first month or more and remind yourself of the statistics regarding how long it takes most people to conceive. And just because it may have taken you a day to conceive your first child, that doesn’t mean it will happen as quickly again. If you are worried it is always better to seek advice from a health professional, even if it is just to put your mind at rest and help you relax into getting pregnant.

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.

The information in this feature is intended for educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a doctor or other healthcare professional.