Introduction
Infertility is on rise, millions of people struggle these days to become pregnant. On top of that, people are delaying their pregnancies because of their career and financial reasons. The urban lifestyles with wrong diet, sedentary lifestyles and lots of stress also add fuel to the fire.
I don't know why most times people who don't want to become pregnant get pregnant very easily and people who want to get pregnant keep struggling.
So, today we will be starting our much requested infertility series with a very basic topic, how to conceive naturally and how to increase your chances of conception naturally. I'm going to be sharing my few tips with you today.
Understand your Body and Science Behind Pregnancy and Conception.
So, the first is understanding your body and the logic and science behind the pregnancy. So, did you know that even if a man and a woman are perfectly healthy and they have an unprotected sex in a cycle, the chances of pregnancy are just about 20% to 25% only.
This is perfectly normal, do not panic about that. In fact, a couple might take about 6 to 12 months of trying unprotected sex to become pregnant which is perfectly all right. Also, you must be aware about the fertile periods and the fertile windows in your cycle.
As we have discussed this multiple times at Lafiyata, ovulation is a process whereby the mature egg is released from one of the ovaries 14 days before your next period. So, 2 or 3 days before and 2 or 3 days after the ovulation is the time to try. Remember, the egg stays live for 48 hours and even the sperm stays live for 48 hours inside a woman's body.
So, that 48 hour window is the window you need to try on. So, you can have sex maybe every alternate day or maybe even every day if you are okay with that. Having sex multiple times during that time is actually not required.
Also, the sexual positions do not really matter. Remember, since time immemorial, the sperms know how to find the egg. Also, it is not required to be lying down after the sexual activity to increase your chances of conception.
So, you can get up, pee and do whatever you want. Also, it's not required to put a pillow under your hips to increase your chances of pregnancy. Some people try to put a diaphragm inside to avoid leaking of the semen, that's also not required. It's perfectly normal for a little bit to come out after the sexual intercourse. Having a female orgasm is great but it is absolutely not essential to become pregnant.
We just need sperms to go inside and fertilize the egg. Also, there has been a lot of talks about using a lubricant when you're trying for pregnancy. So, just remember that the lubes should be glycerol and paraben free and they should be free from any fragrances.
Also, remember, no sexual position or no particular day of the cycle can guarantee you the sex of the baby. Always remember, as it is, you have a 50% chance of producing either a boy or a girl. So, why give credit to something else?
Prepare Your Body for Conception
It's very important to be in the optimum state of health when you are planning a conception. So, the first is diet. According to most of the scientific studies, women who take lots of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, cereals, grains, pulses find it much easier to conceive than women who take more of processed and packaged food.
Remember, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables have more of antioxidants which can do wonders for your fertility, while the processed and packaged foods have got free radicals which can damage the health of sperm and the egg both.
It's important to maintain the optimum weight. Being overweight increases your chances of polycystic ovary, insulin resistance, thyroid and lot of hormonal disorders which once again can make your periods irregular and disturb your chances of getting pregnancy.
It is important to curb your caffeine intake when you are trying to become pregnant. 200 mg of caffeine per day is allowed which means 2 small cups of coffee every day. Remember, the caffeine could also come from the herbal tea, the green tea, the health drinks and the Kolas too.
Quit Smoking and Exercise Regularly
And sorry guys, no smoking allowed, this one is absolutely non-negotiable. It is very very important to be physically active and to exercise.
In fact, it's a myth that people think that when they are trying to conceive they should not exercise. Probably they think that this is going to interfere with the implantation of the pregnancy or may cause an abortion. This is absolutely untrue.
Exercise is actually going to help you with the insulin resistance, keep your weight under check, keep all the hormones absolutely flowing normally and may actually increase your chances of getting pregnancy. But remember, it is the moderate and the consistent exercise which is the key.
Preconception Counseling
Now, this is a visit which is absolutely important before planning a pregnancy. So, you are supposed to visit a gynecologist. The gynecologist is going to take your detailed history, a history about your periods.
The doctor is going to tell you what are your fertile days to try. The doctor is going to tell you about your previous medical history, history about thyroid, diabetes, hypertension. It's very very important for such chronic conditions to be brought under control before you actually conceive.
So, in case you are a diabetic or in case you have a problem of thyroid, it is very important to make sure that these chronic conditions are under control before you plan a pregnancy.
This is the time the doctor is going to ask for certain blood tests like a complete blood count, a thyroid test, a sugar test, a thalassemia test, a rubella test and certain tests for infections. We also like to get an ultrasound done and in case you've not got a pap smear done earlier, it is also a good idea to get a pap smear done before you actually plan a pregnancy.
Regular Intake of Prenatal Vitamins
The most important vitamin which you should be taking at this time is folic acid. So, every woman who's planning to conceive must start taking five milligram of folic acid at least three months before you plan a pregnancy.
Folic acid deficiency is known to cause birth defects. These are the neural tube defects in the baby. So, it's very very important to start taking folic acid at the right time.
I also like to give my patients vitamin D supplementation. Vitamin D supplementation or rather vitamin D is known to affect a lot of life processes. The recommended dose of vitamin D is about 400 to 800 international units per day.
There are a lot of other vitamins like A, B, C, D, E and even minerals like zinc and selenium which have been advocated in the health of egg and the sperm. So, people like to pop in a lot of multivitamin pills. But, be cautious of that, it is important to follow the dosage guidelines.
Now, these multivitamins pills are available at many pharmacies but make sure that you follow the dosage instructions and always take approval from your gynecologist before you pop in those multivitamin pills. Do you know what's the most important cause of infertility in today's times? It is the stress.
Stress can work at the level of the brain disturbing your hormones at that level disturbing every process which is required to become pregnant. So, do anything and everything to take care of the stress in your life. Make sure that you're doing some activity which basically keeps you happy.
Try yoga, try breathing exercises, pranayama, meditation, spending times with your loved ones. Also, these days we have seen that the stress of getting pregnant, the stress of even taking the infertility treatments adds to the problem. So, beware of the stress.
It's actually not worth it, getting pregnant was not supposed to be so difficult in the scheme of nature. After all, it is essential for the survival of species but today because of the modern complicated lifestyles such a simple thing has also become so difficult and stressful for some of us.
Conclusion
In weeks to come we'll come up with a lot of information which is going to help you in your fertility journey. So, today like always if you found this information useful please share it with your family and friends and stay in Lafiyata to get many more health tips.
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