When you finally make the overwhelming commitment to get pregnant, you want it to happen right away. The trying to conceive time is such an exciting time in your relationship and you’re anxious to get pregnant fast. Luckily, there are ways to speed up the process! If you are wondering how to increase chances of pregnancy – well, it is way easier than you might think.
This is a guest post from Jamie of Simple Living Mommy – who got pregnant naturally 4 times DESPITE having PCOS. She is a pro at increasing the chances of pregnancy. She is NOT a doctor, and none of this is medical advice. This is just momma to momma advice.
1) Maintain a Healthy Weight to Get Pregnant
First things first. Your body is going to be your baby’s first home. We should try our best to get it in tip top shape.
I’m not talking about walking the runway as a Victoria’s Secret model shape.
I’m talking a healthy weight that isn’t too high or too low.
You definitely do not want to go on any kind of crash diet – we’re looking for joyful baby news, not hunger and misery.
Just put down the candy bars and potato chips more often than not and snack on apples or nuts.
Be sure to not cut down on your fat intake!
Your body needs healthy fats to stabilize your hormones. This is NOT the time to mess with your hormones!
Now is also the time to give your body the vitamins and nutrients it needs to support a healthy pregnancy.
The time to start taking prenatal vitamins is when you start trying to get pregnant – not when you find out you already are.
My kids always think I’m eating candy because my prenatals are gummies – I always have to break it to them that no, it’s not candy I can share, we’re just trying to get mommy pregnant!
Can Losing Weight Help Me Get Pregnant?
Even though I definitely don’t recommend taking drastic measures to lose weight in order to get pregnant, there are definite fertility benefits associated with weight loss.
A few of my friends have adopted a low carb diet or have tried the ketogenic diet and dropped weight quickly, only to realize their cycles had regulated for the first time or they had actually conceived.
Later, I learned that with a steep drop in weight, ovulation sometimes occurs unexpectedly – even in women with otherwise regular cycles.
2) Have enough sex
How often do you have to have sex to get pregnant?
This is a tough one.
A primary care doctor told me to have sex at least once every 5 days while a fertility doctor told me that every other day was more likely to get me pregnant.
Listen, if you’re trying to get pregnant, there’s no harm in having sex as much as possible to make sure you don’t miss a fertile window you didn’t see coming.
As long as it isn’t stressing you out to keep up a crazy busy sex life (because stress is a notorious enemy of fertility!) then get busy as often as possible!
Honestly, if you’ve been trying for a while and you’re not sure you’re hitting that ovulation window, just have sex every day for one cycle and see if that gets it done. (Carly here, butting in to say… THAT’S WHAT FINALLY WORKED FOR US!)
3) Have sex at the right time
The fun part of getting pregnant – the actual baby making!
You can technically get pregnant at any point during your cycle (or so I’ve read) but if you’re really trying to increase chances of pregnancy, you’ll want to have sex most right before and immediately after you ovulate.
A good rule of thumb is to assume you’re most fertile in the 5 days before you ovulate, the day you ovulate, and the day after.
But seriously, just do it every day if you can! If you’re not up for that, you can use ovulation tests to help you determine when you’re most fertile.
4) Try Ovulation tests
How to Use Ovulation Tests to Conceive:
When you’re trying to increase your chance of pregnancy, it definitely doesn’t hurt to add some cheap ovulation tests to the equation.
I highly recommend buying these cheap strips on Amazon. I trust this brand because their pregnancy test came back positive (with an hcg level of just 7) when an expensive digital test came back negative.
To use an ovulation test, DO NOT use early morning urine. Instead, aim to test at the same time each day in the early to mid-afternoon.
Try to go without fluids for about 4 hours before testing, if possible.
All ovulation tests respond with 2 lines. You’re looking for the test line to be as dark as or darker than the control line.
It’s so important that you NOT wait to have sex until you have a positive ovulation test.
First of all, if you have some medical factors (like PCOS), ovulation tests are notoriously inaccurate.
Second, if you are returning a positive ovulation test, you’ve already missed a few fertile days and we don’t want to let any of those go to waste! (Again, this is where sex every day will REALLY help.)
5) Track your basal body temperature
I have actually done this 3 times – I track my basal body temperature to determine when I’m ovulating since there is no cycle to speak of to figure out when I should be most fertile.
I used a strategic natural vitamin supplement regimen 3 times to get pregnant fast with PCOS, and basal body temping is how I knew it was working.
To start tracking your basal body temperature, download an app like Fertility Friend and pick up a basal thermometer.
Basal thermometers measure to the hundredths of a percentage point, so it easily detects a change in your normal temperature.
Keep your thermometer under your pillow or right next to your bed.
The second you wake up, take your temperature.
I don’t mean go to the bathroom and then come back and take it. I mean the second you open your eyes, take your temperature to get the most accurate reading.
You can ignore it and go back to sleep and record your temperature in your app later, if necessary, because most basal thermometers store your last recorded temperature.
You’ll notice peaks and valleys in your temperature and this is perfectly normal.
Over time though, you’ll start to notice a pattern.
When you see a spike in your temperature, it might mean you’re about to ovulate or are currently ovulating.
If you conceive, your temperature will continue to be slightly higher than normal.
I’ll never forget the day I showed my husband my chart and said: “I like the look of this.”
The next morning, I got my BFP with my beautiful second son.
Don’t discount basal body temping! It works and is SUCH a useful tool for peace of mind.
You truly become an expert in your own body and cycle.
6) try some natural conception “boosters”
Maybe you’ve been trying to get pregnant for a while or you’re just looking to explode your chances right out of the gate.
Whatever your reasons, there are some natural conception products on the market and I’ve tried a few myself. Always check with your doctor before adding any medication or supplement to your regimen, but here are a few I think are worth trying.
Fertilitea is a simple tea you mix in hot water and drink. It has vitex in it and the reviews on Amazon are absolutely amazing.
My own doctor’s friend overcame her struggle with getting pregnant just by adding Fertilitea to her morning routine.
Note that Vitex is NOT safe during pregnancy, so as soon as you get a BFP (big fat positive in fertility forum lingo) you must stop using it immediately.
Maca root is another herb known to increase fertility. I’ve seen this at my grocery store in powder form that you can even mix in smoothies.
What if you are trying to get pregnant with irregular periods?
It’s SO frustrating when you’re researching how to get pregnant quickly and every piece of advice centers around a regular cycle. Some of us aren’t that lucky, myself included.
Luckily, I found a cheap way to get pregnant naturally with irregular periods.
This is the number one way I recommend to everyone, PCOS warrior or not, to get pregnant quickly.
Because of my polycystic ovarian syndrome diagnosis, a lot of traditional fertility methods don’t work for me.
Ovulation kits show positive almost all the time, there is no cycle to track, and basing my ovulation off of my last period is simply not an option.
What worked for me all 3 times, in addition to basal body temping, is inositol
Much like a B vitamin in composition, my doctor thought inositol was a safe thing to try even though she didn’t think I’d have success with it.
A fertility doctor agreed.
Three weeks after I started using it, I got a positive pregnancy test WITHOUT having had a period.
I’ve now used this beautiful supplement to grow our family to 3 babies and I can’t advocate for it enough.
If you’re trying to get pregnant with irregular periods, ask your doctor about trying inositol! I also created a planner that you can use to track sex, cervical mucus, body temp, supplements – ALL OF IT – and it is really helpful when you are trying to get pregnant.
Is Stress Preventing You from Getting Pregnant?
If you have a very stressful job or if life is throwing you curve balls right now, you need to do your best to manage your stress level.
Stress is one of the most commonly blamed causes of irregular cycles and missed periods. It can literally prevent you from conceiving.
While it’s impossible to completely eliminate all stress in our lives, making a conscious effort to manage the effect stress has on us is critical.
Find a way to find your zen at least once a day. Whether this is praying in the morning before you start your day, meditating for 5 minutes after you shower, or simply redirecting your negative thoughts to more positive ones – make stress relief part of your daily routine.
Eliminate negative people and situations from your life as much as possible and do more of what makes you feel positive and happy.
Learn to say “no” when you want to and free time in your schedule to do more of the things you want – like have sex when you think you’re ovulating!
Wrapping Up – How to Increase Chances of Pregnancy
Wherever you’re at in your journey to get pregnant, trust me when I tell you that it will go so incredibly fast once it happens – so do your best to enjoy the ride!
Did you manage to get pregnant quickly after deciding to try for a baby? What advice do you have for other future mamas hoping to do the same thing? Let me know in the comments!
Related: How To Survive The First Trimester
Related: 10 Ways Becoming a Mother Will Change You Forever
Trying to become pregnant can be SO hard and frustrating! These are wonderful, in-depth tips. I also have irregular periods and hate having to figure that out. The inositol tip is great. Thanks, Jamie! <3
Alice – Jamie did SUCH a good job with this article! Thank you for the kind words!