I would like to share some very helpful bits of advice for those trying to increase their chances of conception. All tips are from my own research and experience and/or direct advice from Ann Lynn Jaspen, Certified Nurse Midwife (who happened to deliver my own, two healthy babies).
The five days prior to the day of a woman’s ovulation each month, are her most fertile. Some techniques for predicting ovulation have been around for some time, and include checking your cervical mucous as well as checking your basal body temperature. Body temperature usually goes up around the time of ovulation, and cervical mucous changes throughout the course of a woman’s cycle. The most fertile type is called “Spinn”; it is clear and can be “stretched” between a woman’s fingers. For more details about cervical mucous, go to www.pregnancy-info.net.
Moving on to more modern and advanced methods of fertility prediction, chances are, if you’ve been in the family planning aisle at the pharmacy, you’ve seen ovulation predictor kits. Using these, beginning on day ten of your monthly cycle and for the specified number of days thereafter, you will pinpoint when you are ovulating, or most fertile. This will greatly increase your chances of conception. Do not be discouraged if it takes a few months to conceive, even with the help of these kits. By knowing exactly when you ovulate, there is a very good chance that you will conceive more quickly than if you listen to your own intuition, or have not been successful using the more old-fashioned methods.
Another tip involves a woman’s positioning herself after intercourse has taken place. For most women, it is recommended that they lie on their backs, with their knees pulled to their chests for several minutes, in order to give those sperm a chance to swim their way up to the egg. If this does not bring success, or if your obgyn or midwife tells you that your uterus is tilted back, a normal deviation from the more typically positioned uterus, the advised position is not the knee-to-chest curl. Instead, women with tilted uteruses should stand on their hands and knees and keep those “buns” up in the air! This a very helpful and accurate tip, which I learned from my own midwife. It will help to guide those little sperm to their destination.
And for the guys, it is recommended that they wear looser fitting underwear; boxers are preferable to briefs. It is likely that a warmer, more confined environment interferes with sperm production.
Frequency of intercourse can certainly play an important role, as well. For the most part, days off, in between lovemaking sessions, are a good thing. This allows a man’s sperm count to build up and be released with greater impact and in greater quantities when it’s time to “perform.
Guys will probably like this statistic (Not that the ladies won’t, also!): Studies have shown that abstaining from sex for more than seven consecutive days can decrease a male’s fertility. In other words, “keep going at it”!
More tips for women include checking your uterus (gently, with clean fingers, of course); its opening softens when you are ready to ovulate but feels firm, sort of like the cartilage at the tip of your nose, when you are closer to your menstrual cycle. Certain feminine care products, including scented tampons, artificial lubricants and sprays can kill off sperm. Saliva can kill sperm, as well.
One last tip for women who want to increase their chances of conception: the female orgasm is important, as it helps to move those sperm up towards the cervix and the egg that awaits penetration. That said, relax and enjoy yourselves. Hopefully, you’ll be much busier very soon…when baby comes along!
Try to enjoy yourselves, while keeping these things in mind. Ideally, making a baby will involve some work…and a whole lot of fun!
Reference:
- www.pregnancy-info.net, www.birth.com.au, www.preconception.com are all informative sites, sharing different, useful bits of information.
