The Cost of Conceiving

If you thought the cost of parenting was expensive, surely the cost of conceiving should be, well, free – right? Wrong! More and more couples are going to extreme measures to change their lifestyles in order to improve their chances of conceiving.

You would be right in thinking that conceiving a baby is as easy as deciding to have a baby and finding a suitable bed! More and more couples are taking longer to conceive or having trouble conceiving at all. There is no one reason why fertility is more difficult these days, but factors seem to be; age when trying to conceive (the older you are the harder it is), our health and our lifestyles.

Just so you know the facts:
25% of couples will conceive in the first month
60% will conceive within six months
75% will conceive within nine months
80% will conceive within a year
90% will conceive within 18 months

Without even thinking about how much fertility treatments cost, many couples are reporting that conceiving babies is costing them money! Before you moan and groan about more depressing news, we’ve compiled a helpful guide so you can ‘budget’ when conceiving, to help you save money until your little one arrives. (And then, boy will you spend it!)

Conceiving Tip 1: Maintain a healthy weight
Costly Expense: Gym Membership
Why it helps: The experts suggest that you try to achieve a healthy weight when trying to conceive, so as well as ensuring you are not overweight, you also shouldn’t be underweight either. The most important thing when trying to conceive is to experience regular menstruation, which is a good indication that you are ovulating properly. If you are not experiencing regular menstruation, it may be that you are under or overweight and you should probably make an appointment with your GP to see if this will hinder you conceiving. Once you fall pregnant, if you are seriously overweight you may be prone to complications such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes and premature birth.
Money saving tip: You only need half an hour’s exercise a day to stay healthy, so leave the car at home and walk to work if you can. Or look for a swimming pool close to where you work so you can go swimming in your lunch hour. Gentle swims will help you to stay healthy, but don’t cost as much as joining a gym. Other cheap alternatives to costly gym memberships are gentle jogging; try doing a 20 minute jog around the block three times a week or buy a workout DVD so you can do some aerobics or yoga from the comfort of home.

Conceiving Tip 2: Eating healthily
Costly Expense: Organic produce
Why it helps: Eating the right foods play a huge part in your fertility and conception, and a balanced diet will help to regulate your hormones and nourish your reproductive system. (A good diet will also help to make you ovulate regularly, see above).
Although it’s better to eat organic produce because it contains no conventional pesticides or bio-engineering, buying organic produce is very costly and if you were to buy all organic foods your shopping bill would double, if not triple!
Money saving tip: It’s not the end of the world if you don’t buy all organic produce, in fact it’s a good idea to buy local produce from local farms so that what you are buying hasn’t been frozen or travelled vast distances. Most UK towns have weekly farmer’s markets now which sell either organic produce or fresh free range produce at reasonable prices, with the added benefit of being able to meet the farmer who grew the food! If you can't afford organic foods, it is a good idea to eat non-organic seasonal products to ensure you are eating fresh food that hasn't journeyed far to get to your plate! The next time you eat strawberries in December, check the packet to see where they have come from. Read our feature on a healthy diet for a mum to be to check what you should be eating when planning to conceive.

Conceiving Tip 3: Have sex when you ovulate (Timed intercourse)
Costly Expense: Ovulation kits
Why it helps: Ovulation is when one or more eggs release each month from your ovaries (usually one ovary will produce an egg on alternative months). Roughly 15 to 20 eggs mature in your ovaries and the ripest is released into your fallopian tube. If the egg is not met by a sperm, it will not fertilise and will expel and become your monthly period. If it is fertilised then you will become pregnant. So, you can see the importance of having sex around the time you ovulate; to ensure there is an egg waiting for the sperm! It’s hard to know when you ovulate, especially if your cycle is irregular, but there are signs to watch out for, instead of buying expensive ovulation sticks.
Money saving tip: Instead of buying Ovulation sticks, look out for changes in your vaginal discharge, breast tenderness, tenderness in one or the other ovary and raised temperature. Read how to work out when you ovulate with our feature: Signs that you’re ovulating.
Or, go to our completely free ovulation calculator and let gurgle do the maths for you!

Conceiving Tip 4: Staying in is the new going out!
Costly Expense: Going out in general
Why it helps: Well, we all need to go out once in a while, but if you are planning to start trying for a baby it might be a good idea to curb going out. Alcohol, smoking and caffeine can hinder your chances of getting pregnant, so by staying in you will be less tempted by both these things.
Money saving tip: You’ll have to stay in more anyway when conceiving because it’s advisable to have sex three times a week and more so if you are ovulating. Instead of going out you can stay in and, ahem, make babies so to speak.

Good News
There are lots of things you’ll be cutting down on when trying to conceive to ensure you are at your healthiest (and your partner too!). Here’s a list of what to avoid, most of which is expensive and will save you some cash!

Caffeine - To be on the safe side when trying for a baby or if you have been trying for a few months unsuccessfully, try cutting out caffeine from the foods and drinks you eat especially if you take in more than 300mg a day.

Alcohol – Alcohol and other recreational drugs can have harmful affects on your fertility so you should stop taking these at least four months before you plan to conceive.

Cigarettes - Smoking can hinder ovarian function, and can reduce the success of IVF. It also adversely affects your unborn baby, so should be given up as soon as you decide to have a baby.

What you SHOULD spend money on:
Folic Acid supplements
All babies are potentially at some risk of developing spina bifida and other neural tube defects which affect the development of the brain and spinal cord. Most of these defects occur in the early stages of pregnancy, which is why it’s vital to start taking folic acid before you’re pregnant. Folic acid plays a large role in cell growth and development as well as tissue formation. If you are planning to start trying for a baby, see your GP who can prescribe you Folic acid supplements, or you can buy them from most pharmacies.