Trying To Conceive Advice

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CONCEPTION ADVICE

If you are trying to get pregnant, it is important to bear in mind that it often does take some time. Six out of ten healthy couples will take more than six months to conceive, four out of ten couples will take even longer.

Conception is partly a question of timing. One egg is normally produced each month around the middle of your cycle (ovulation). After ovulation, the egg lives for 24 hours. This means that there are only a couple of days each month when conception can occur. If you wish, you could purchase an ovulation test kit, which can pinpoint ovulation.

If the egg is fertilised, it starts to move down the fallopian tube into the uterus. The fertilised egg starts to produce the pregnancy hormone hCG (human Chorionic Gonadotrophin). This stops the lining of the womb from being shed (your menstrual period) as would happen if you weren’t pregnant. Predictor can detect hCG from as early as the day that your period is due.

For the egg to be fertilised, sperm needs to be in the fallopian tubes when the egg is released. Sperm can survive in a woman’s body for up to 72 hours. If you have regular periods, you can time intercourse around the middle of your cycle to optimise your chance of conception (i.e. day 14 of a 28 day cycle).

For many people, conception can be achieved by simply making love every other day around the middle of your cycle. It is also important to make sure that you relax and do not dwell on conception too much, as stress can play a large part in reducing fertility, and becoming obsessed with conception over a long period of time could adversely affect your relationship.

If you are concerned about your fertility or have been trying to conceive for more than a year, you should consult your doctor. The majority of doctors do not consider a couple sub-fertile until they have been trying to conceive for a minimum of a year. However, if you are over 35, they may start investigations a little sooner.