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For an average African family, it's expected that the couple starts bearing children within 5 years of marriage.
And when the kids don't come, they go gangbusters trying to get the woman pregnant. From numerous hospital visits to consuming concoctions, some even go as far as seeking diabolic means.
Unfortunately, when it comes to things like this, Mother Nature usually calls the shots. However, there are a few ways you can "speed up" the process.
If you have plans to conceive, going for a preconception check-up can go a long way in preventing any unforeseen complications.
Your doctor will most likely ask you for information like your medical history, your family's medical history, and current and previously taken prescriptions and medications.
This is to sort out any problems before you take in.
Again during pregnancy, the mother tends to run low on some vital nutrients like iron and folic acid that are necessary for the formation of a healthy baby. If you hope to get pregnant, then the period of pre-conception is a perfect time to start building up these nutrients in your body.
During this period, your doctor may recommend certain foods and nutritional supplements.
Feel free to ask your doctor for additional advice on what you should and shouldn't do to increase your chances of getting pregnant.
Although this seems quite obvious, some still fall victim to it. The type of birth control you are using will determine the time it will take for your fertility to return to normal.
If you're using condoms, it's as simple as taking them off. For copper Intra-Uterine Devices (IUDs), all you need to do is approach your doctor to have it removed and voila! - you're good to go.
For methods that involve regulation of hormones like birth control pills and subdermal implants, it will take longer for your body to adjust the hormones to the right amount required to get you pregnant.
It might take a while (around 6 to 8 weeks) for your cycle to return to normal depending on how long you've been on birth control. So the sooner you get off birth control, the sooner you can skip to the fun part - babymaking (wink).
The fertile window of a woman is the period of a woman's menstrual cycle where she is most likely to get pregnant and revolves around ovulation. So, if you're trying to have a baby, you must identify this period and take advantage of it.
The day a woman begins to ovulate depends on the span of her menstrual cycle which varies from person to person. This makes it difficult to narrow down when the exact day is.
Luckily, there are several resources to help with this. Some of them are:
A. Manual methods: Certain changes to a woman's body occur when she ovulates. These changes, if monitored carefully, can be used to track ovulation. They include:
B. Ovulation calculator: Websites offer ovulation calculators that use information like the date of your last period and the length of your menstrual cycle to try and predict when you're going to ovulate next.
C. Ovulation prediction kits: These test for the presence of the luteinizing hormone in your urine, a hormone that increases abruptly during ovulation.
Is there a "right" amount of sex when trying to get pregnant? Shockingly, there is.
Your instincts would probably tell you to have sex as often as possible to increase your chances but research proves otherwise.
But doing this doesn't necessarily increase your chances of getting pregnant. It might even lower your chances if care is not taken. Research has proven that having sex too often, may lower your partner's sperm count.
And if you're trying to maximize your chances, you would want to save your energy (and sperm) for when it would really count - the fertile window.
So the trick here is correct timing. Target the period around the woman's ovulation - the closer it is to ovulation, the better your chances.
Of course, it's okay to have sex even when you're not ovulating but remember not to overdo it.
Realistically speaking, no "magic" sex position will guarantee you getting pregnant. The sex positions rarely make a difference.
However, as fertilization occurs in the uterus, it is advisable to choose positions that would allow the sperm to remain there (preferably one that involves lying down). An example of such a position would be the missionary position.
Also, avoiding positions that make the woman's body defy gravity as that would make the sperm trickle out of the uterus like the cowgirl.
Deciding to start a family can put a lot of pressure on the couple but as I said earlier getting pregnant is never guaranteed no matter what you do.
The road to get varies for each couple, it may take a few months for some people or several years for others. So don't stress too much about it (seriously, severe stress can reduce your chances of getting pregnant), do what is within your control and don't worry about the rest.
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