For some couples getting pregnant happens without any effort at all. For others, it can involve more time - and more effort - sometimes taking up to a year or even a little more to conceive naturally.
But what many couples don't realize is that while they think they are doing everything right" to maximize their chances for conception, it's oftentimes some small and seemingly unimportant factors that can make a big difference in how quickly and easily conception occurs.
To help get you thinking in the right direction, here are 5 proven Fertility Boosters - ways that studies have shown can maximize your conception odds and help you get pregnant faster and easier!
Fertility Booster No. 1: Load Up On Fertility Foods! While eating a healthy, balanced diet with lots of fiber, fruits and vegetables is always a good way to insure your body is working at peak performance, a recent study of some 17,000 women conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, identified some specific "fertility food rules " that improved conception odds. What are they?
• Eat more monounsaturated fats (like olive oil) and less Trans fats (like the kind found in many baked goods or fast foods). • Eat more vegetable protein (like soy), while reducing animal protein (like red meat). • Eat more high fiber, low-glycemic foods -- like whole grains, vegetables, and some fruits, while reducing the intake of refined carbohydrates and sugars. • Keep consumption of high-fat dairy products -- like ice cream, whole milk, and cheese to a minimum. You can also find a free fertility diet plan at www.GettingPregnantNow.org
Fertility Booster No. 2: Try Weight Control Being overweight or underweight can disrupt ovulation - the release of fertile eggs- and play a major role in keeping you from getting pregnant.
Reporting in the journal Human Reproduction, researchers documented a 4% decrease in conception odds for every point in Body Mass Index above 30. For women whose BMI was higher than 35, there was up to a 43% overall decrease in the ability to conceive.
At the same time, other studies have shown that being too thin can also impact ovulatory function and keep you from getting pregnant. This is particularly true if your menstrual cycle is already irregular - a sign that your weight may already be interfering with your ability to get pregnant.
The good news: You don't have to lose - or gain - a lot to see positive fertility results. In many instances as little as 10 pounds can make a huge difference in encouraging conception!
Fertility Booster No. 3: Hold Hands With Your Spouse! As silly as that may sound, the key here is stress reduction - and a recent study published in the journal Psychological Science found the simple act of holding hands with your spouse can drop stress levels dramatically. So can renting a stack of romantic comedy videos - or taking time out to read a book, take a bath, do some yoga, start an herb garden, or anything you know helps reduce your stress levels.
How can that help you get pregnant faster? While doctors aren't sure exactly how or why, research continues to point to the destructive role of stress hormones like cortisol on the reproductive hormones involved in the regulation of ovulation.
In one encouraging study conducted by Alice Domar, PhD, at Harvard's Mind-Body Institute, women who underwent stress reduction therapy saw dramatic increases in their ability to get pregnant. In fact, even women who were already undergoing fertility treatments had more successful outcomes when stress was kept under control.
Fertility Booster No. 4: Workout - But Not Too Much! While most women know that exercise is generally good for your health. But what you may not realize is that too much exercise can actually disrupt your fertility and make it harder to get pregnant.
Traditionally, long distance runners or sometimes even professional dancers can often suffer from irregular menstrual cycles - and difficulty getting pregnant. If you are a workout over-achiever, cut down to no more than 45 minutes three times a week while you are trying to get pregnant.
If you're not exercising at all, adding in at least 20 minutes three times a week can help keep cycles normal and encourage healthy, regular ovulation - which is one of the best ways to enhance your fertility.
Fertility Booster No. 5: Get Together At the Right Time! While being intimate during the "right time of the month" won't do anything to increase your fertility, it can increase your chances of getting pregnant -- simply by ensuring you and your partner connect during the time conception is the most possible.
When is the best time to optimize a pregnancy? Although an egg lives for only 24 to 36 hours, sperm can live in a woman's body for up to 5 days! So, to increase your chances of getting pregnant be sure to be intimate with your partner beginning 3 to 4 days prior to when you expect to ovulate, and up to 24 hours after ovulation.
How to tell when you're ovulating? For most women it's 10 to 14 days after their last menstrual cycle. To be certain, use an ovulation predictor kit for one or two cycles and use that to calculate your most fertile time.
You can also use your basal body temperature as a guide. Take your temperature daily and when it drops about a half a degree it means your egg is ready to be released - so start having intimate relations and continue until your temperature goes up again, meaning ovulation has passed.
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