How to get pregnant naturally

You may be asking this question because you want to know how your pregnancy is going, but more than likely you want to know how to conceive naturally. You are probably looking for the fastest and easiest way to get pregnant without intervention. You may be interested in getting pregnant naturally, for philosophical or religious reasons, for health concerns, or simply because you prefer not to use interventions.

Physical health

The first thing you can do to get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy is to be physically healthy. It is important not to be overweight or underweight, two factors that negatively affect fertility and a healthy pregnancy.

You also want to make sure you train 3-4 times a week. Aerobic exercise is essential because it promotes blood circulation and increases lung capacity. Weight-bearing exercises help build muscle strength and help you lose weight more easily, while yoga exercises help you work on your posture and balance. All of this promotes health, which increases your chances of a healthy conception and pregnancy.

Physical health starts with how you feel about your body. While exercising during pregnancy is an important step towards good health, it's more important that you don't do anything that is counterproductive to fertility and a healthy pregnancy. It is imperative that you get rid of any unhealthy habits or practices that limit or impair your physical health.

For maximum health, you need to eliminate or reduce the following:

Smoking
Alcohol
Recreational Drugs
Hazardous Chemicals
Caffeine

You can also talk to your healthcare provider about any prescription medications you are taking. Some medicines are harmful to take during pregnancy. Your doctor may want to stop or change the medications you are taking to increase your chances of conceiving and having a healthy pregnancy.

What's more, a healthy and balanced diet that ensures your daily intake of certain nutrients and vitamins is directly linked to your health and well-being. Read our article on preconception nutrition and men's and women's health for more helpful ideas.

Ovulation

One of the keys to easy conception is knowing when ovulation occurs. You can track your ovulation with a fertility monitor or ovulation predictor kits. However, you can track and predict ovulation naturally without using these kits.

If you have a regular cycle that occurs every 28-32 days, you should be able to track your ovulation using the calendar method. It's just a matter of recording the first day of your last period on a calendar and finding the corresponding next day of your period. If you have this, you can count 8-18 days and know that ovulation will occur on one of those days. With an average cycle length of 28 days, ovulation will occur on the day between cycle days 11 and 21 (29-day cycle, 12-22 days; 30-day cycle, 13-23 days, etc.).

The second way to track ovulation is to monitor changes in cervical mucus. As you approach ovulation, the mucus becomes more moist, slippery and elastic. It is often compared to egg white. Ovulation is directly related to this change, and the day you most notice these egg white secretions is the day you should ovulate.

You can also use a basal thermometer to track your basal body temperature. Your basal body temperature will rise immediately after ovulation.

These methods of tracking your ovulation are naturally part of a family planning method called fertility awareness or natural family planning. You can read more about the calendar method, cervical mucus, and basal body temperature in the Fertility Awareness article.

Timing intercourse

Some people try to time their sex around or just before ovulation. While it may work, there is a better approach to sex schedules for those who are trying to conceive. If you have a regular cycle every 28-32 days, you will be able to use the typical fertility window to schedule sexual intercourse.

For the regular cycles mentioned above, you should know that ovulation usually occurs between days 11 and 21 of your cycle. What most people don't know is that sperm can live inside you for 2-5 days after sex. You can use our free ovulation calendar to determine your fertile window.

The best chances of conception occur if the sperm (sperms) are already inside, waiting for an egg to be released. To maximize your efforts to try and conceive based on this information, here's how to get closer to your sex schedule and increase your efforts to conceive.

Count 10 days from the first day of your last period. Have sex that day, then every other day for the next 10 days. By having sex every other day, you get mature, healthy sperm every time you have sex. This program will place the sperm inside while waiting for the egg to be released, adding the sperm at the time of ovulation.

Nutrition

Nutrition is directly related to your physical health. However, nutrition is also associated with conception and a healthy pregnancy. It is very important to eat well-balanced foods that are rich in the recommended nutrients and vitamins that are associated with your health and well-being. Combined with exercise, this is one of the most important steps to good health and is directly linked to your fertility health.

You should pay attention to the correct daily intake of carbohydrates, fiber, protein and essential fats. Along with a healthy diet, there are some key nutrients that are linked to the well being of your fertility and help natural pregnancy.

Folic Acid: Folic acid is more associated with healthy fetal development than conception, but since this vitamin is so important in the early weeks of pregnancy, it's important to highlight it now. Be sure to consume 400-800 micrograms of folic acid daily as it helps prevent neural tube defects.

Nutrients, vitamins and nutritional aspects

Here is a list of some of the key nutrients, vitamins, and nutritional components that you need to make sure you are getting into your diet regularly:

Water. Drinking water helps keep organs functioning, maintains hormonal balance, and helps flush out toxins from the body. Combined, this helps support your fertility.
Complex carbohydrates. Eating vegetables, whole grains, and fruits helps you get the nutrients that support your fertility and also contains fiber, which, along with water, helps flush out toxins from the body.
Protein. Eating protein supports your fertility by providing your body with nutrients that promote hormone production. However, red meat should be lean and limited. A diet high in red meat can lead to problems with endometriosis.
Fatty acid. Eating oily fish like mackerel and salmon along with nuts and seeds is a great way to get the fatty acids that support your fertility and your baby's development after conception.
Whole milk. Drinking whole milk is linked to your fertility. Women who drank 3 or more glasses of whole milk a day were 70% less likely to experience infertility due to missed ovulation.
Zinc. Zinc deficiency negatively affects fertility in both men and women. Taking 15 mg of zinc daily helps both men and women improve their fertility. Zinc can be found in vegetables, eggs, whole grains, peas, onions, beans, and more.
Vitamin B6. Daily intake of this vitamin promotes the production of female sex hormones, supporting the regulation of estrogen and progesterone. Vitamin B6 is found in eggs, salmon, peanuts, bananas and soy.
Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps induce ovulation in women and promotes healthy sperm count and motility in men. Vegetables and fruits such as strawberries, oranges and blueberries contain vitamin C.
Vitamin E. Vitamin E benefits both men and women. This vitamin affects hormonal function in women and improves sperm quality in men.

Foods to avoid when trying to get pregnant naturally

A healthy diet directly supports your health and well-being, while an unhealthy diet reduces your health and well-being. To maximize your health and wellness, and ultimately your fertility, there are certain nutrients that you should avoid to increase your chances of getting pregnant naturally.

Here is a list of things to avoid or at least limit your consumption of:

Caffeine. Caffeine reduces the absorption of calcium, and some studies show that it reduces your fertility by about 27%.
Processed foods. Tthese contain pesticides, artificial hormones and preservatives, which together have a negative impact on your health and well-being.
Red meat. A high intake of red meat can lead to endometriosis, which can negatively affect your attempts to conceive.
Soy products. Soy consumption by men is associated with a decrease in sperm count.