Steps to Get Pregnant
For many couples impatient to start a family, getting pregnant cannot happen fast enough. As people wait longer to have children, their fertility decreases with age and conceiving is more difficult than they expected. If you and your partner have been trying for more than a year to have a baby the old-fashioned way, it may be necessary to take some extra steps to increase your chances of success.
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Instructions
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Time intercourse to coincide with the woman's most fertile times, usually around the middle of her cycle. Incorrect timing of intercourse is often a cause for inability to conceive because a woman is fertile only one to three days a month.
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Check cervical fluid daily. A woman's cervical fluid changes throughout her cycle. Fluid that is abundant, slippery, and similar in texture to egg whites is fertile, which means that sperm can survive longer and travel more easily in it.
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Monitor the woman's basal (morning) temperature daily using a digital thermometer. A small increase in basal temperature of even three- or four-tenths of a degree indicates that ovulation has taken place, and intercourse right before or after this increase is most likely to lead to successful conception.
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Monitor the position of the woman's cervix, which changes throughout her cycle. The higher, softer, and more open the cervix is, the more fertile the woman is.
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Men: Take precautions to keep your sperm count and motility high by wearing cotton boxers instead of briefs, avoiding hot showers and saunas, avoiding alcohol and tobacco, and by eating a balanced diet.
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Men: Avoid ejaculation outside of vaginal intercourse during the woman's fertile period to ensure the highest number of sperm entering the woman's cervix.
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Tips & Warnings
Talk to your doctor to rule out any physiological causes for infertility. For men, an enlarged prostate or low sperm count can make conceiving difficult, while for women, ovulation problems or poor egg quality are common factors that affect fertility. "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" is an excellent and readable resource on fertility awareness methods and women's reproductive health.
