10 Tips for Couples Trying to Conceive
As a couple or woman trying to conceive, you likely may have done all you know how to do best and tried one or two fertility tips.
Whether you’re officially trying to conceive or just planning ahead, these essential “conception tips” will help maximize your chances for naturally conceiving and delivering a healthy baby. Here are 10 tips for couples trying to conceive:
Number 1 – Put Off Birth Control
Most of the newly wedded couple would like to have all the time on earth for themselves if they can and long for more emotional attachment before the kids start coming and so start using birth control while some couples desire to have a break after their first child. Whichever the case, put off birth control immediately you want to start trying for a baby.
Some birth control pills take 12 weeks which is about 3 months to completely leave your body, so if you are on such pills, know when best to put them off.
Number 2 – Go for Fertility Test
You may have fertility issues or problems if you have been having unprotected sex for at least a period of 1 year without success and this may be due to several factors such as your health status, lifestyle factors, and age. Couples should go for a fertility test to know why they are having difficulty in getting pregnant.
Malefactors account for approximately 50% of all infertility cases, it is important to examine both partners for possible infertility issues. Discovering male fertility problems early can mean earlier treatment and successful pregnancy, this will also spare women unnecessary expenses on further fertility testing.
Fertility Test for Men:
Sperm and Semen Analysis – This is carried out by a lab scientist to assess the man’s sperm count, shape, movement, and other variables. This is the most common procedure in male fertility testing, an abnormal result may not require further fertility examination. A normal result may require a confirmation test for evaluation purposes. Other male fertility tests may include:
Physical Exam – To check for varicoceles
Hormone Evaluation – to check for hormonal levels
Urinalysis – to check for infection and the possible presence of sperm in the urine – an indicator of a possible problem with ejaculation known as retrograde ejaculation.
If the medical history, physical examination, and semen analysis of the male partner are normal, further male factor evaluation is unlikely to be necessary in most cases.
Fertility Test for Women:
Pelvic Examination – To examine your reproductive organs and check for infection
Physical Exam – Your thyroid, breasts, and hair growth will be looked at.
Ovulation Evaluation such as ovulation testing, ovarian function tests, luteal phase testing, hormone testing.
Cervical Mucus Tests – To see if sperm is able to penetrate and survive in your cervical mucus.
Ultrasound Tests – To assess the thickness of the lining of the uterus, your uterus and ovaries condition and monitor follicle development.
If the tests above are normal, then further tests will be recommended, such as:
Hysterosalpingogram (HSG) – To check if there is a blockage in your fallopian tubes or any other problem
Hysteroscopy – If your HSG indicates the possible presence of abnormalities, hysteroscopy is done to see if there are growths or scarring in the uterus.
Laparoscopy – To have a view of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries.
Endometrial Biopsy – To determine if the lining of the uterus is thick enough for a fertilized egg to implant in and grow.
All test is not mandatory, your fertility specialist will be able to know which test to recommend based on fertility discussion with you.
We always advise that if you have health issues of any kind, address them immediately without delay as this may save your fertility now or in the future.
Number 3 – Remove Toxins From Your System & Stay Off Toxins
Now that you have gone for fertility test or you know why you have not been able to conceive, its time to remove toxins from your system and stay off toxins so as to conceive.
A toxin is any substance that causes harmful effects on our bodies. When toxin levels are in excess of our body’s capacity to remove them, toxins build up and are stored until they are removed. We can have toxins stored in our bodies for years without experiencing any negative symptoms, but once the burden of toxins becomes too high, we start to feel ill, and our fertility drops.
Where Do Toxins Come From?
Toxins come from environmental sources such as exhaust fumes, solvents, and inhalants. Every day, we are bombarded with toxins from the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the environment we live in. For example, if you have mercury dental amalgams (fillings), eat fish, live near strip mines or power plants or use strong home and office cleaners, your chances of developing health problems due to toxic overload are greatly increased. The type of work you do can also contribute to toxic build-up. Military workers, plumbers, mechanics, plastic molding and rubber workers, farmers, miners and oil workers are at higher risk of toxin-related health and fertility problems.
Most beauty products contain a myriad of potentially hazardous ingredients, such as odor neutralizers and fragrances. The moisturizing cream you use, the deodorant, perfumes, hair products have loads of chemicals that could accumulate toxins in your body.
Removing toxins from your body and staying off toxins will help reset your health and keep you healthy. You can remove toxins from your body by going through fertility or body cleanse and you can stay off toxins by avoiding commercial moisturizing creams, deodorants, perfumes, home and office products that are toxic and switch to natural moisturizers, deodorants, perfumes, home, and office cleaners.
Number 4 – Enhance Your Fertility and Balance Your Hormones
When trying to conceive, part of the things you should do is to balance your hormones and this is very important, one good hormone balancer is FertilXtra. It is a wonderful hormone balancer for men and women put together to balance your entire hormone levels and enhance your overall fertility. It contains essential nutrients and vitamins that help reduce the risk of serious birth defects that affect the brain and spinal cord of your baby. These defects can occur in the fetus even before the mother knows she is pregnant.
This is one reason it is recommended you prepare your body for conception and enhance your fertility as it reduces the risk of miscarriages and birth defects.
FertilXtra for Men is put together to help boost and increase sperm counts, motility, vitality, and morphology of sperm and help the male reproductive system to bounce back speedily.
Number 5 – Eat for Fertility
When you want to get pregnant, the first thing you do is to get rid of unhealthy foods from your diet and replace them with healthy foods.
Let’s look at it this way, when a farmer wants to plant, before the planting season, he will get the soil ready and nourish the soil before planting will begin and then he starts planting his seeds. Take some time out to think why the farmer will first nourish the soil, I am sure you know why, because the healthier the soil, the more vibrantly those seeds will grow and eventually will bring forth healthy and beautiful produce. Do you know that our bodies are similar? The healthier we prepare our bodies before pregnancy; the better our bodies are to conceive and maintain a healthy pregnancy that is free of complications.
The moment you start planning to conceive, start eating healthy foods if you have not been doing so, eat foods that are free of toxic substances.
Avoid spoilt foods, stop cooking your stew or tomatoes sauce with rotten tomatoes, they call it broken tomatoes in the market, some call it soft or semi-soft tomatoes, it has different names to suit you, they may be cheaper but you are trading off your fertility which becomes more expensive at the end of the day. Also, avoid canned and processed foods as well as spoilt fruits and vegetables and stop eating unhealthy snacks, eat whole foods, fruits and vegetables that will nourish your body for fertility.
Number 6 – Make plans to quit smoking, drinking, and drugs.
Drugs, tobacco, and alcohol all have a range of short and long-term health effects, including effects detrimental to the production of sperm. These effects include reduced concentrations of sperm in the semen, a decrease in motility (the swimming rate of the sperm), and erectile dysfunction.
Men who have been trying to conceive without success, and those who wish to protect the health of their sperm for the future, should, therefore, avoid a range of drugs, including alcohol and tobacco.
Smoking: A review of observational studies on smoking and semen parameters found that 20 of the 25 studies reported an increased risk of lower sperm concentration in smokers compared to non-smokers.
The British Medical Association found that women who smoke have a 40% lower chance of becoming pregnant than do nonsmokers. They also found that both smoking and passive smoke (the inhalation of smoke) cause more than 5000 miscarriages every year and may also be to blame for over 120,000 cases of male impotence in men who were between the ages of 30 and 50.
Performance-enhancing drugs: These drugs are associated with subfertility in men. They cause men to become subfertile by changing the concentrations of various hormones that influence the sperm production process. It’s best to check for a 100% herbal performance-enhancing supplement, with no hidden chemicals.
Drugs used in medical treatment: Drugs used in medical treatment can affect male and female fertility. Those used in chemotherapy are particularly well known for their irreversible effect on sperm production. It is not uncommon for men who have undergone chemotherapy to be left sterile by the treatment.
Medications that change the body’s hormonal environment (e.g. testosterone injection, anti-androgenic drugs) can also impair sperm production. This is because hormones regulate the sperm production process, and changes to hormone levels, therefore, affect sperm production.
Tobacco, drugs, and alcohol can have a negative impact on fertility for both men and women.
Number 7 – Manage Stress
Stress can wreak havoc on your body by boosting cortisol levels, which can suppress ovulation in women and decrease sperm count in men. Stress can also reduce sex drive in both men and women.
Stress also tightens your body, which can stagnate energy and obstruct blood flow in your system.
You can manage stress by doing the following:
- practicing breathing exercises
- exercising your body
- meditating; meditate on your beautiful moments, maybe your honeymoon, your wedding anniversary or even your birthday party
- having a good relaxation,
- having good sleep
- taking a relaxing bath
- reading an interesting book or novel
- practicing self-fertility massage.
Number 8 – Know Your Cycle
When ovulation occurs, your body produces a slippery, thin substance called cervical mucus to help facilitate the passage of sperm. If you examine yourself daily or daily after your menstrual cycle you’ll notice a vaginal discharge that’s transparent and stretchy between your fingers, like egg white, on your most fertile days.
Knowing your cycle can help you prepare your body for pregnancy. If you do not have a good cycle and do not ovulate properly, you should regulate your cycle and ovulation with FertilXtra for women as it helps to regularize your menstruation and ovulation and bring your entire hormones back to balance.
When you count your cycle, always start on the first day of your period, which is Day 1. If you have a 28-day cycle, the fertile window is normally two weeks before your next suspected period, so that would be around day 14. If you have a longer cycle, you can also calculate it the same way. We will be looking at a 30-day cycle for analysis but if you have a longer cycle of 32 days or shorter cycle of 26days, you can still calculate it using the ‘Cervical Mucus Method’.
Number 9 – Choose boxers rather than briefs
It is important for men to know that the temperature of the testes must be lower than the core body temperature in order for testes to produce sufficient quality and quantity of sperm.
Testes can overheat when a man wears brief underwear or tight pants. If the testes are too hot, they are not able to produce sufficient sperm, resulting in low sperm count.
Choose loose pants and underwear rather than brief underwear or tight pants knowing that sperm count drops sometimes drastically when the testicles are constricted or overheated.
If you are a woman trying to conceive, tell your partner to avoid hot tubs, saunas, and hundred-mile runs (hot showers and moderate exercise are okay).
Number 10 – Have sex the “old-fashioned” way (missionary method)
Some experts have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a scanning that can reveal what’s going on inside when you’re doing the action (performing sex) to analyze the flow of sperm. Some brave couples volunteered to be scanned using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) while having sex.
The research looked at two positions: the missionary position and doggy style. (Doggy style is when you’re on all fours, and your partner enters you from behind).
The MRI scans confirm that the tip of the penis reaches the recesses between the cervix and walls of the vagina in both sexual positions. The missionary position ensures the penis reaches the recess at the front of the cervix. The rear entry position reaches the recess at the back of the cervix.
These positions allow deep penetration and are likely to place sperm right next to your cervix (the opening of your uterus).
Those missionaries had a lot of kids! Anything that helps speedily direct your partner’s semen toward your uterus — man on top, doggy style or even side-by-side is okay when actively trying to conceive. Avoid woman on top, standing, or leaning positions, which discourage the flow of semen to the uterus.
Couples trying to conceive will find FertilXtra Kit for Men and FertilXtra Kit for Women beneficial, these fertility kits are formulated to cleanse the body of toxins, balance hormones, enhance fertility, and help couples achieve pregnancy naturally.
Dr. Benney is a fertility blogger, she loves writing and has been writing fertility articles since 2014.
She advocates for natural fertility and supports men and women through their fertility journey. She consults for FERTIL-24 Herbals, a fertility and wellness center in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Benney loves God and nature.
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