Trying to Conceive? How to Fall Pregnant Naturally

Ready to have a baby? You’re more likely to become pregnant if you and your partner are healthy, so now’s a great time to work on your health in order to increase your chances of conceiving.

What diet to follow to assist with falling pregnant 

A balanced diet could help you boost your chances of falling pregnant and having a healthy baby.

Here are some fertility-boosting foods to incorporate:

Dairy: Milk, yoghurt and cheese are good for your bone health and reproductive health.

Lean animal protein: These are good sources of iron, which is important for fertility. Choose meat without visible fats and opt for three protein servings a day. If you’re a vegetarian, great protein sources include legumes such lentils and chickpeas, beans, seeds and nuts.

Omega-3s: Salmon, herring, sardines and pilchards are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which facilitate increased blood flow to reproductive organs and can help to regulate your cycle. You can also find omega-3s in flaxseed, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and eggs enriched with omegas.

Oysters: These are a great source of zinc, which is great for good-quality eggs. Other zinc-friendly foods include poultry, dairy, nuts, whole grains and legumes.

Berries: Full of antioxidants, berries protect you from cell ageing and cell damage, which in turn bolsters your fertility.

Citrus fruit: They’re full of vitamin C, calcium and folate, a B-vitamin that helps to regulate ovulation and creates a healthy environment for eggs.

Potatoes: Baked potatoes are a good source of vitamin C and are believed to be useful for treating luteal phase defects, which is when ovaries don’t release enough progesterone.

Shellfish: Full of vitamin B12, shellfish helps to line the endometrium in women.

Bananas: These help improve fertility as they’re full of potassium and B6.

Slow-release carbs: High insulin levels are shown to inhibit ovulation, so it’s advisable to eat low GI or slow-release carbs that are digested slowly, and have a slower effect on blood sugar and insulin. Examples include wholegrain bread, rolled oats, lentils, quinoa and sweet potatoes.

Supplements

It’s recommended to take a daily multivitamin with at least 400 micrograms of folic acid and 40 – 80 milligrams of iron.

Fertility foods for men

Don’t forget about your partner’s diet, since he’s 50% of the baby equation. Zinc-rich foods such as oysters, poultry, shellfish, nuts, beans and fortified breakfast cereals can help to regulate sperm count and motility. Folate has also been linked to sperm health.

Good sources include green leafy vegetables, nuts, beans, whole grains, peas and fruit, especially citrus fruit. Other foods good for sperm motility are brazil nuts and garlic (selenium), and vegetables, fish and poultry (vitamin E).

Unpacking ovulation: when to try conceive 

According to fertility clinic Medfem, the best chance of conceiving is to have intercourse in the two to three days preceding ovulation, and including the day of ovulation. Once ovulation has occurred the probability of pregnancy declines rapidly, and within 12 to 24 hours you won’t be able to get pregnant during that cycle. If a woman has sex on any of these three days, she has a 15-25% chance of becoming pregnant.

What is ovulation?

Ovulation is when a mature egg is released from the ovary, moves down the fallopian tube, and is available in the fallopian tube to be fertilised.

Tracking your ovulation

Work out the length of your average menstrual cycle. Day one is the first day of the menstrual period and the last day is the day before the next period begins.

Ovulation happens about two weeks before the next expected period, so if your average menstrual cycle is 28 days, you should ovulate around day 14.

Remember the “fertile window” is the six days leading up to and including ovulation. The three days leading up to and including ovulation are the most fertile.

Depending on your cycle length, the most fertile days in the cycle varies:

• If you have 28 days between periods, ovulation typically happens on day 14 and the most fertile days are days 12, 13 and 14.
• If you have longer cycles, say 35 days between periods, ovulation happens on day 21 and the most fertile days are days 19, 20 and 21.
• If you have shorter cycles, say 21 days between periods, ovulation happens on day 7 and the most fertile days are days 5, 6 and 7.

How do you know you’re ovulating?

Women’s cycles can vary, so it’s useful to observe and chart your fertility signs, so you know when you’re ovulating.

To work out when ovulation is about to happen:

• Keep an eye out for changes in your vaginal mucus. Around the time of ovulation, you might notice your mucus is clear, slick and slippery, like the consistency of egg white. This is the best sign of when ovulation is actually happening.

• Use an ovulation predictor kit available from chemists.

• Record your basal body temperature (BBT) every morning before getting out of bed. A special basal body temperature thermometer will ensure accurate measurement. Your BBT rises about half a degree Celsius after ovulation has occurred. By charting your temperature, it’s easy to see when there’s a rise in temperature, and when ovulation is happening.

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This can help you work out your own pattern of ovulation. However, because at that stage ovulation has already passed, it does not help you pinpoint the fertile window but may guide you for the following month.