Hollywood is always on baby bump watch. Any female celeb eats half a sandwich and the tabloids are ready to celebrate the birth of a new baby.

We all know the basics of the fun ways to make a baby. But when you’ve been trying and it hasn’t worked yet, what can you do to increase the chances that you’ll be delightfully preggers with a sweet lil bambino? Keep reading.

Most internet-savvy women who are trying to get pregnant quickly find a lot of info on how to boost their odds. Fertility is not something most people are terribly interested in, or know a lot about, before they are trying to make a baby. When my husband and I decided to try for our first baby, we were pretty clueless. Sure, we knew that having intercourse during ovulation is the ticket to pregnancy, and that eating well and taking folic acid were good ideas.

But, never having tried to make a whole new human before, there was also a lot about trying to conceive that we had no idea about. Without these fertility secrets I might not now be the really proud mommy of a daughter and a son!

 

What do you need to know about your fertility?

1. A man’s sperm count is highest in the morning. I sure had no idea that men simply have more swimmers in the morning, although I was aware that lifestyle and the amount of intercourse he had impacted the number of sperm a man produces. This means that, even if you are not one to usually go for early-morning love, it does actually boost your odds of conceiving.
2. You can get pregnant if you make love before you ovulate. Couples who focus their baby-making efforts on the short time after a positive ovulation test may be missing out, because sperm has the amazing ability to remain alive in a woman’s body for up to five days. This means that women who have intercourse in the five days before their egg is released but not during ovulation itself may well end up with a baby.
3. Don’t stress about stress. Many people will tell you that stressing – about trying to conceive, work, finances, or anything else – can prevent you from ovulating. Infertile couples are often told, “Just relax, and you will see that it will happen”. This is not only hurtful, but incorrect as well. Stress can impact your fertility, but a recent study from Staten Island University Hospital in New York showed that women who were undergoing IVF had higher chances of ending up with a baby if they had high levels of stress! Relaxation and meditation are great and may make you feel better, but don’t stress about stress too much when you are trying to get pregnant!
4. Women have many tools at their disposal to help them find out when they are fertile. Besides an ovulation calendar and ovulation predictor kits, you could also measure your body temperature each day and watch for that sudden spike to tell you the Big O has arrived. And for the really brave chicks, there’s examining your own cervical mucus. Runny, egg-white like mucus indicates fertility. This kind of mucus actually helps your partner’s swimmers reach their destination.
5. Everyone who is trying to have a baby knows that having intercourse can feel like a bit of a chore at times, even if your sex-life is usually wonderful. The great news is that couples who have sex when they feel like it have the best chances of conceiving. Doing the deed three times a day in the days before you think you’ll be fertile lowers sperm count. Saving all your sex for ovulation day also does you no favors.
6. Have you come across the advice to always have sex in the missionary position when you are hoping for a baby? While the idea that you are more likely to get pregnant if your partner’s sperm start their Big Race as close to the egg as possible, there is no scientific evidence that this is true. Enjoy your partner, and don’t get bored by having only man-on-top sex, unless you want to of course.
7. A deficiency in vitamins and minerals can lower your fertility. Many people with healthy diets do not need to take multivitamins, but if eat anything less than a really nutritious diet, you may want to look into a supplement. Folic acid is especially important for women who are trying to get pregnant… but did you know it can help men boost their sperm count too? Folic acid is not just for the ladies!
8. As many as 90 percent of all couples who are trying to conceive are expecting within a year! And around half get lucky within four months. Don’t worry if you are not pregnant after a couple of months, and instead see if there is anything you can do to boost your chances. Until a year has passed, it is perfectly normal that you are not “with child” yet.
9. Don’t assume that your ovulation date will neatly fall between the start of one cycle and the next expected period. This does happen for many women, but others ovulate much closer to the end of a cycle, or near the beginning. Some women actually ovulate while they’re still experiencing menstrual bleeding! Assume nothing, and use ovulation tests to find out when you are fertile.
10. Please consider getting tested for sexually transmittable diseases before you start trying to conceive. STD testing is not just for people who have new partners – even if you have been together for a long time and are certain you’re both monogamous, it is better to be safe than sorry. Some sexually transmittable diseases, like chlamydia, are very often symptomless and can be a big danger to an unborn baby.

Olivia, a mom of two young kids, blogs about fertility, pregnancy and babies at Trying To Conceive.