Both Scientific and Folk-lore based
A small disclaimer. Everything written in this post is not to be taken as a medicinal fact. If you have trouble getting pregnant and feel like you have tried everything, go talk to your GYN or your GP. They are there to help.
When I and my husband were trying to get pregnant a second time, I was like a woman possessed and googled “how to get pregnant” and “what should you do to get pregnant”. Because my first pregnancy had started so easily. We set a date and on that day we had sex. 2 weeks later we were pregnant.
After that, it was harder. We went through a couple of miscarriages and I ended up diagnosed with a rare chronic disease. So it seemed warranted to do a lot more research this time around. And there was a lot of information floating around the internet, both scientific and superstitious. I think my husband was a bit fed up with me after a while. Because I wanted to try this new thing I had read about. Even the superstitions ones that you are supposed to take with a pinch of salt
5 helpful tips according to science
Let’s start with the scientific tips on how to make it easier to get pregnant.
- Understand your cycle but don’t prioritize a specific part of the month. Just have sex every 2-3 days as this will make sure that you hit that ovulation window without the stress of having to pinpoint when your ovulation is occurring.
- De-stress. Try to leave stressful things outside of the home and give yourself permission to relax at home. I know this is hard. I have trouble with this one myself. There is so much to do and so few hours to do it in.
- Start taking multi-vitamins as soon as you decide you want to get pregnant.If a multi-vitamin isn’t something you want to start with, at least up your intake of folic acid. Either by food or by supplementation. This both helps with conceiving but also when you are pregnant it prevents the baby having problems with their spine.
- Cut down on smoking, alcohol and junk food. All three can decrease your chance of getting pregnant.
- And finally, know when to seek help. For both of you. If you have been trying for over a year, consistently that is, and nothing has happened, seek help. It is better to know what the problem might be, than getting stressed and beginning a bad downward spiral.
5 interesting superstitions
As for the superstitious tips, they are as follows (again they are to be taken with a pinch, heap, bucket, or preferred measure of salt.)
- Wait for the full moon. This is from Roman times when they though that the full moon made people more fertile and had a higher libido.
- Eat lots of Honey. This is because honey has anti-inflammatory properties that may help with conceiving. There is studies made on rabbits, as if they needed help, that show that when given bee-pollen the conception rate, milk production and litter size went up. so there might be something for us humans to try as well.
- Avoid sitting on cold surfaces. At least not in Eastern Europe. There it is believed that sitting on a cold surface, as a woman, can hurt your fertility. What happens to a man that places his rear end on a cold surface in Eastern Europe, I could not find.
- Stop sweeping or cleaning under the bed. According to Feng Shui, the soul of your unborn child is hanging around you, especially when you sleep. So to avoid trapping this unfortunate soul in the vacuum, stop cleaning under the bed until after the delivery.
- Sleep on the chalk figure in Dorset. There is a certain chalk figure in Dorset (pictured here) that has been linked to fertility. and if you sleep on him, body part of choice, you will soon fall pregnant. Or so the folklore says.
In the end…
It is all about enjoying the process and practice of getting pregnant and each other.
And know that we all have our own timeline for things. I had my first pregnancy at age 31, my mother at 23, and my mother-in-law at 24. There is nothing that says you have to have a kid before 30. It might be easier before 30 to get pregnant, but it isn’t a requirement. Today it seems the norm is to wait with children until you have a career going. But that brings about its own pitfalls. Like time management, how are you supposed to run a career when your child is sick and needs to stay home from daycare or work long hours when daycare closes early. All I say is that it is a commitment more so than getting a puppy.
Also, there are places to go to get help. If you feel you have tried everything in the book and on the internet and nothing happens, seek medical help. It is not embarrassing, OK maybe it can be but isn’t it worth it if you end up having that baby that you want? and seek help together with your partner, because it takes two to tango and to make a baby, so either of you can be the one that has issues.
Do you have any other tips that I missed, send me comment.