Trying to get pregnant is not always a quick process. For some women, it can take years. During the journey to conception, it’s important to not get lost in negativity and stress. There are a variety of ways you can make your road to motherhood a fun and eventful ride.
This article will outline the things you should focus on and the things you should try to put out of your mind while you try to get pregnant. For instance, focusing on the number of Facebook friends getting pregnant is not productive, but finding hobbies that can help you destress is.
What to do When Trying to Get Pregnant
1. Stop Obsessing
The first thing that you should do when you are trying to get pregnant is to stop obsessing. Don’t spend all of your free time thinking of maternity clothes and baby names. Don’t let your mind make every little thing your body feels become a pregnancy symptom.
Understand that you cannot control when you get pregnant. You can time everything perfectly according to your body and the “rules of conception” and still not get pregnant. Micromanaging your time and body will not make you become pregnant any faster.
Another thing to avoid is obsessive pregnancy test taking. It does not take 20 pregnancy tests to let you know if you are pregnant or not. False-negatives may happen, but they usually only happen because you have taken the test too early, you checked the test results too soon, or you used diluted urine.
How to STOP Thinking About Getting Pregnant >> Click Here
2. Stop Stressing
Stress is something that you should avoid at all costs. Not only can stress cause physical symptoms like sickness, but it is generally unhealthy. It is completely understandable that some women feel an overwhelming desire to have a baby right now, but stress wears your body down and can actually cause your body to be unfavorable to pregnant. In fact, stress can even cause missed periods!
Don’t fall victim to pressure from friends and family or the added anxiety from seeing your Facebook friends have babies. There is no set schedule for how anyone’s life should go. Just because it seems like everyone you graduated with is coupled with children doesn’t mean that you should allow it to affect your state of mind on your own personal pregnancy journey.
Additionally, you should stay as optimistic as possible. Letting your thoughts turn to negativity in order to protect yourself from being affected by another month of negative pregnancy tests is not healthy. Positivity is your friend during this process.
How to Stop Stressing? >> Click Here
3. Track Your Cycle and Ovulation
Tracking your menstrual cycle and ovulation can increase your chances of getting pregnant. Essentially, women can only get pregnant on a few days within their menstrual cycle. Therefore, tracking your cycle and ovulation helps you narrow down your “fertile window” to increase your chances of conception.
You can track these bodily changes in a diary or even on an app on your smartphone. The three days leading up to ovulation and the day of ovulation are your most fertile days. If you have an irregular cycle, trying to conceive every 2-3 days during your cycle can help improve your chance of conception.
How to get a Positive OPK / LH Test >> Click Here
4. Talk About Getting Off of Birth Control
One of the things you must do when trying to get pregnant is talk with your partner about getting off of birth control. It should be a decision that both you and your partner agree on.
You should be aware that different birth controls can affect conception as well. Some birth controls may allow for immediate conception after stopping them – like pills and condoms. However, other forms of birth control have to be removed from your body and can cause a delay in conception. These delays can affect your decision of when to get off of birth control.
When Should I get off Birth Control? >> Click Here
4. Track Using CM, Basal Thermometers, and OPK Tests
In addition to tracking your menstrual cycle, you can track your fertility window in other ways. One way you can track your ovulation is by your cervical mucus. At different times in your cycle, your cervical mucus will be different consistencies and can predict how close to ovulation you are.
Tracking your basal temperature is another way to estimate when you will be ovulating. You can use a basal thermometer to take your resting temperature daily. During ovulation, there is a very slight increase in your basal body temperature.
OPKs are Ovulation Prediction Kits. These can be used to measure the luteinizing hormone (LH) in your body. Ovulation causes an increase in this hormone, so knowing when your body is producing elevated levels of LH can help you predict when you will be ovulating.
5. Prenatal Vitamins
Most women know that they should take prenatal vitamins when they are pregnant. But are prenatal vitamins recommended for women that are trying to conceive? Actually, yes, they are. Prenatal vitamins are a great idea for women trying to conceive because they help to ready to body for pregnancy with vitamins and minerals.
Prenatal vitamins help to contribute to a woman’s daily calcium intake, deliver more iron to the body, and introduce folic acid to reduce certain birth defects that can be caused due to a lack of the vitamin. While prenatal vitamins won’t increase your chances of getting pregnant, they do not hurt them – and they are good for preparing your body for expected changes!
6. Exercise
Studies have shown that regular, moderate exercise can help boost fertility. Remaining active not only helps to increase your chances of getting pregnant, but it also helps to decrease your chance of developing issues during pregnancy like gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia.
It is not recommended to participate in strenuous or intense exercise. Activities that raise your heart rate and get your blood flowing like walking and yoga are great. It is typically safe to continue the exercise that your body was used to before pregnancy while you are pregnant. So, start an exercise regimen while you are trying to conceive to make your exercise during pregnancy that much easier!
7. Diet
Yes, there is actually a nutritional diet that you can follow to help your chances of getting pregnant. The best part is that the foods that are best for getting pregnant are also perfect for maintaining general well-being and health.
When you are trying to get pregnant, follow these diet tips:
- Choose whole grains over white processed foods, ie. wheat bread over white bread
- Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, lentils, and beans
- Avoid bad saturated fats, like fried foods and pastries
- Eat more good unsaturated fats, like avocados and nuts
- Avoid sugar in both drinks and foods
These diet tips can help you stay on a nutritional track that heightens fertility and simply makes you feel great!
8. Meditation and Mindfulness
Practicing meditation and mindfulness while trying to conceive can benefit your mental health and reduce stress. While there is no definitive proof that these practices increase fertility, they can help improve your mental wellbeing – leading to a healthier physical body that is more likely to become pregnant.
High levels of stress can decrease fertility because it can affect your menstrual cycle, changing the days that you ovulate or making you no ovulate at all. Sperm quality can also be affected by stress. Meditation can help to reduce your stress levels and increase positive mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a practice that focuses on your present and accepting the thoughts and feelings you have. It is a way of thinking that allows you to deal with issues as they come instead of letting them pile up and cause anxiety. Mindfulness helps you learn to respond to stress in healthy ways and to make better choices.
9. Kick Bad Habits (Drinking/Smoking/Caffeine)
When you are trying to get pregnant, it is very important to stop bad habits like drinking alcohol and caffeine and smoking. Consuming large amounts of caffeine can make a woman take longer to conceive, and it can also increase the risk of miscarriage.
How can I kick the coffee? >> Click Here
Alcohol is known to reduce fertility in both men and women. Additionally, drinking large amounts of alcohol can affect your unborn baby if you happen to conceive while you are still drinking. In fact, binge drinking can cause miscarriage, small birth weight, and even still birth.
Smoking cigarettes introduces an incredible amount of toxins into your body. These toxins can seep into both sperm and eggs and damage them. It’s important to stop smoking a few months before you start trying to conceive in order to increase your chances.
10. Relax
Another thing you should focus on doing while trying to conceive is relaxing. Not only is relaxation good for your physical and mental health, but there is not much time for relaxation once your baby is here! Take this time to enjoy relaxing with your partner – watch your favorite movies and play fun games.
11. Find a Hobby
Finding a hobby is a great way to reduce stress and aid in relaxation. Repetitive actions can be extremely relaxing, so trying cross-stitching, macramé, and knitting can be calming and productive. You can even make things for your future child’s room that are personal and meaningful.
Journaling and reading are also great ways to destress. Don’t focus only on your pregnancy journey, though. Journal about hopes and dreams. Read books that bring you into far away lands or dystopian societies – not just pregnancy books.
You can take up gardening or baking. Making beautiful things is a wonderful way to destress. With these two hobbies, you get to see the gorgeous fruits of your labor and share them with others.
12. Positive Affirmations
Positive affirmations are a must when you are trying to have a baby. Speaking your fertility into existence not only gives you confidence in your ability to conceive, but it also helps to reduce your stress.
There are many positive affirmations that can help on your journey.
- I am directing positive energy to my reproductive organs.
- I am creating life.
- I am a strong, healthy, fertile woman.
- Each day I am more certain that I will get pregnant.
- I am finding it easier to let go of stress.
- Having a baby will be the most beautiful experience of my life.
These are only some affirmations that can direct your mind and body to your current goal of becoming pregnant. You can find one that fits you or you can take inspiration from pre-written affirmations and write your own.
Fertility Affirmations >> Click Here
13. Enjoying the Two Week Wait
So, you’ve done everything you need to do to increase your chances of conception, and now you have a two week wait to see if you are pregnant. The last thing you need to do is obsess. Take this time to focus on you. Do the things you love. Pass your time with friends and family.
This two week stretch may seem like a year, but it is only 14 days of waiting. Plan more outings than normal. Go on dates with your partner. It is important to leave everything to your body now. Trust that your body is willing and ready to become pregnant and focus on enjoying your days.
In Conclusion…
When you are trying to get pregnant, you have to remember yourself as well. In order to be a vessel that brings life to another human being, you must first acknowledge that your health is important. The suggestions in this article will guide you to a stress-free and healthful state that will increase your fertility and heighten your chances of conception.
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you don’t lose this post!!
Seems like a lot to keep track of… huh?? Download our FREE TTC Daily Journal >> Click Here
Other Posts you might enjoy……
- What NOT To Do During the Two Week Wait >> Click Here
- Planning to Get Pregnant >> Click Here