You should wait until you stop bleeding until you resume having sexual intercourse. Many women opt to have a medical checkup and an ultrasound to ensure that all the tissues from the pregnancy have left their body. Medical professionals agree that this happens all by itself, without the need for medical intervention, in the vast majority of cases.

One problem that you might encounter is that you will have irregular cycles for a while after having a miscarriage. Just like after giving birth, it is possible that you will be anovulatory for a couple of cycles, meaning that you do not ovulate. Once you get the green light from your doctor, or you stopped bleeding – and if you feel ready – there is no reason not to do the deed, though.

You might benefit from taking ovulation tests to find out whether, and when, you are ovulating. You should also continue prenatal supplements, especially folic acid, or start again if you stopped in the meantime. Like the study linked in the first paragraph suggests, you may even have a higher chance of both getting pregnant sooner, and having a healthy pregnancy.

One important note is that if you don’t feel ready, and have the need to grieve your lost baby for a longer stretch of time, you should not feel pressured into trying to conceive sooner than you would like. When to conceive is a very personal decision that only you and your partner can make.

There are only three real things you can do to impact your own chances of conceiving. We have written about them extensively on this blog, so if you want to know more, we are there to help you. I would advise you to start by using the search bar at the top of the blog and type in the keywords “ovulation”, and “how to get pregnant“. The short version can be summed up as following: know when you are ovulating, take care of your health (which, don’t forget, goes for both men and women), and ensure that you have intercourse at the right time.

Knowing when you are ovulating is not all that complicated if you have regular menstrual cycles. Using an ovulation predictor kit during those days leading up to expected ovulation is a great start. And that is something you can easily find out with an ovulation calendar, either on our site or another website.

Having intercourse in the days leading up to ovulation and during ovulation is only possible if you are aware of when you are fertile. Sperm count is highest first thing in the morning, and having intercourse once a day, or even twice if you feel up to it, during those days, is a safe bet.

And taking care of your health? Eat foods from all major food groups, take a prenatal supplement including folic acid, and you’re good to go. Exercising regularly also contributes to overall health. Besides those factors, chance also contributes to getting pregnant fast.

Preconception questions to ask yourself – for both men and women:

1. Are there any less than healthy habits that I could stop now? Do I smoke, drink alcohol regularly, or eat fast foods? Do I have a sedentary lifestyle? Am I lacking vitamins and minerals (a blood test will give definite results)?
2. Once I have dealt with the negative aspects of my lifestyle – is there anything I can do to become more healthy? Can I eat better, take the relevant vitamins and minerals (for women, this most commonly means folic acid), and exercise regularly?
3. Do we know when the female partner ovulates? If not, an ovulation calendar, ovulation tests, or other tracking methods can tell us when we need to get busy!
4. Do we have regular intercourse? During ovulation, do we make an effort to have intercourse first thing in the morning, when the man’s sperm count is highest? Are we guilty of the “trying to conceive sins” of either having too much sex, or not enough?
5. How do I feel emotionally? Am I stressed? Is there anything related to trying to get pregnant or other things in our life I need to discuss with my partner? Are we allowing trying to get pregnant to take over our whole relationship, or do we take time to enjoy each other, too?

Because sperm has the amazing ability to stick around inside your body for up to five days, the intercourse you have in the days leading up to your ovulation may be your winning ticket. Couples who have sex regularly for around five days before ovulation is expected increase their chances of getting pregnant, and of course the Big O itself is the next big chance. Having sex a couple of times in the days before your egg is supposed to be released, and a few more times when you are ovulating, might be the best approach. Having regular sex, but not too much of it, ensures that your partner has the best possible sperm count and that you have the largest odds of one of those swimmers reaching your egg.

There are many ways of knowing when you are ovulating. An ovulation calendar actually gives you the best chance of planning ahead. Charting to conceive, using ovulation predictor kits, and tracking your cervical mucus, can all be of assistance. Knowledge is always power, and in this case it will really bring you so much closer to getting pregnant. If you are hoping to get pregnant but are not yet monitoring your ovulation and timing your intercourse, now is the time to get on the bandwagon!

1. Eliminate unhealthy lifestyle habits. This goes for both partners. Smoking and drinking are the big ones, but if your diet is less than balanced and is largely fast-food based, it is time to make some serious changes as well. Stress is bad for you too, but that is not something you can always avoid. Some women like to get in shape or lose some weight before trying to get pregnant.
2. Start taking a prenatal supplement before you actually start trying to conceive. Folic acid is one of the most important ones, but calcium, magnesium, Vitamin D, and others are also crucial. It is possible to get all of these from foods, but difficult to do so in sufficient amounts for most people in the Western world. Taking a supplement reassures you that your future baby will get everything it will need.
3. Start using an ovulation calendar so you have a good idea of when you are most fertile, and plan intercourse in these days in advance. Ovulation tests help you get more certainty about when you are ovulating. This is a dream combination!
4. Talk about your feelings surrounding pregnancy and parenting with your partner. Why is this on a preconception checklist? Obviously, this does not increase your chances of getting pregnant, but it does increase your chances of having a harmonious relationship!
5. Start planning how you will handle maternity leave, how a baby is going to impact your career, whether you want to have one parent at home with the baby or you want a two-income family, and so on. All of these are big chances that work better with advance planning.

Most antibiotics will just include a note that you will have to inform your doctor if you are trying to get pregnant. It is up to doctor then to decide whether antibiotics are safe for you or not.

I strongly believe that antibiotics are overused in most of the western world. Most doctors would agree with that. If you follow medical news, you will notice statements from doctors’ associations saying that the use of antibiotics should be brought down, and that many medical practitioners are too quick to opt for antibiotics.

Depending on the reason you are being described antibiotics, if you are trying to conceive, it might be a good idea to ask if there are any non-antibiotic medications available for your condition. In the case of a urinary tract infection for instance, turning to Traditional Chinese Medicine, naturopathy, or homeopathy is a very valid alternative to using antibiotics. The same goes for many other conditions that are conventionally treated with antibiotics.

Having said that, some conditions simply require the use of antibiotics, and in that case, you can discuss with your doctor whether it would be better to take a month off trying to get pregnant. Fortunately, on the whole, the answer to that question will be, “No, taking antibiotics will trying to conceive does not pose any risk”.

1) In conceiving a child, timing is everything. The only intercourse that “counts” has to occur when both partners are fertile.

Most women who have a 28-day menstrual cycle are most likely to conceive when intercourse occurs between day 11 (just before ovulation) and day 16 (just after ovulation). Men ejaculate a higher number of sperm if they abstain from ejaculation for at least two or three days before intercourse timed for their female partner’s maximum fertility.

2) Fertility does not usually return immediately after stopping use of the Pill. Women may not be able to conceive for as long as three months.

3)  Alcohol interferes with conception. Couples who drink may have intercourse too often outside the female partner’s fertility window, effectively lowering the male partner’s sperm count, and even if the egg is fertilized, drinking may interfere with the ability of the uterus to receive it. Also, since women will not know they are pregnant before they miss their period, continued drinking may damage the embryo during the first 12 to 17 days after conception.

4) Sexual position makes a difference. When the couple has intercourse in the missionary position (man on top), the sperm is ejaculated nearer the ovaries, and has a shorter distance to “swim” to reach the egg.

5) Couples who want to conceive a child need to emphasize “after-play” over foreplay. Foreplay raises the front wall of the uterus so the sperm has to travel farther to reach the egg.

6) Women who are infertile because of PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) are sometimes able to conceive after dieting. Losing as little as two to five pounds (one or two kilos) of body weight by low-calorie dieting changes hormonal balance enough to enable conception within six months in about half of women who try it.

7) Men with low sperm counts sometimes benefit by taking L-carnitine, zinc, and folic acid supplements, even if they are not otherwise deficient in these nutrients. Nutritional supplementation is not a cure-all, but it is inexpensive and sometimes extremely helpful.

When men are unable to become fathers due to chemotherapy, in some cases the Japanese herbal remedy hochu-ekki-to can help. This formula is available through naturopaths and practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

9) The Chinese herb dong quai, usually combined with other herbs, can help reduce testosterone levels in PCOS and reduce estrogen levels in endometriosis. The best forms of the herb are the herbal formulas available through health professionals.

10) The herb vitex lowers testosterone levels. This sometimes helps women conceive, but almost never helps men conceive. Men should never use vitex.

You have probably done everything to get pregnant: you have stopped smoking, you’ve cut the alcohol and morning coffee and you even given up the processed food.

But did you take the time to sleep enough? Did you take the time for yourself and reduce the stress? You have probably overlooked one of the most important factors: sleep.

A report that was conducted on women who were trying to conceive and the findings were astonishing: women who cut 8 hours of sleep had problems conceiving.

Most people sleep from 7 to 9 hours each night, and they need that sleeping time to function normally. The National Sleep Foundation’s (NSF) 1998 Women and Sleep Poll found that the average woman aged 30-60 sleeps only six hours and forty-one minutes during the work week. Not enough.

It has been proven that without appropriate sleep, one cannot achieve optimal health and wellness because one of body’s most important systems, the endocrine system, will start to malfunction, and when this happens the ability to conceive decreases drastically. The reason for this is the endocrine system plays one of the most important roles in terms of regulating ovulation. When woman does not get enough sleep low leptin levels occur, which is the hormone responsible for appetite – that can lead to being overweight and can impact ovulation. It is also important to bring out that people who have sleep-related problems have a significantly higher level of the stress hormone cortisol and adrenocorticotropic, they are both hormones that can suppress a healthy fertility cycle.

Research that was conducted on night-shift workers has shown that working the night shift relatively close to the day of ovulation may increase the rate of miscarriage, and the research has also shown that night shift work can cause irregular menstruation in some women which is often considered a risk factor for fertility problems.

These are all reasons good enough for getting adequate sleep at night. It is recommendable to avoid night shifts if possible. There are several ways to improve your sleep habits, and one of them they include  creating a bedtime routine and sticking with it. Try to avoid work such as checking email just before sleep, and of course skip that cup of coffee in the late afternoon.

Are you aware of your triggers? Are the kids on the playground? Is it a cute little pink dress you saw the other day?
When fertility issues arise, they can be emotionally devastating… Devastating in its true meaning… It is extremely difficult to cope with fertility issues especially when being around friends and families that are enjoying the pleasures of parenthood.  Or when someone gives an innocent comment…

Yes, sharing problems, especially fertility problems isn’t easy for everyone. And sometimes you are just not ready to share them… that’s okay.

1.    Step: You need to know your triggers

First of all, let’s face it: it is impossible to predict every situation, but there are definitely situations and events that you know trigger your negative emotions. These may include baby showers, family gatherings, announcements of births, maybe even get-togethers with friends from school…

When you are aware of these triggers or when you are able to identify them, it is much easier to plan in advance and to avoid them if possible, or to prepare for them if you cannot avoid them.

2.    Step: Practical things to consider

I was writing before about sharing… sometimes we don’t want to share, we want to keep things for ourselves. But this may sometimes not be the most practical option.

For example you are undergoing a fertility treatment, and you do need to tell your supervisor and explain the situation. Perhaps you have the luxury of working for yourself, but most people do not and those who don’t do have to face with situation like this. When in a situation like this, you do need a confidential conversation with your supervisor or your friend at work, and you do need to explain the situation. Let them know it is confidential (of course if you would like it to be confidential).

3.    Step: You and your partner are a priority

Getting pregnant and fertility issues are not just your problem – these problems are the problems of your partner too; this is why it is called partnership. You two together should decide how open and how private you want to keep your fertility problems. You two together should decide how you shall manage strange situations and awkward questions.

If you two think you cannot manage all the stress, please do visit a counselor. It is nothing wrong with that , but absolutely nothing! Sometimes there are things and problems we cannot manage ourselves and this is nothing to be ashamed of. Fertility problems are often much bigger then we could ever dare to think, so the best thing to do in situations like this is to get help. Sometimes this is the healthiest and most positive way for you and your partner. The sooner you seek counseling, the easier the emotional journey of trying to get pregnant will be.

A study was performed on 4000 sexually active women in age group from 25 to 45.

71% of women who participated in the research said they are not trying to conceive, while only 6% of them said they are trying to conceive a baby. What about the rest of the group? Almost 25% of them? Well… almost one fourth of women said they are okay either way – to get pregnant or not getting pregnant.

Sociology professor said this information is very important in further cultural and sociology related studies, and by my opinion it could have an impact on politics of the country – at least it would be wise from politicians to observe the option of women in childbearing years. Julia McQuillan claims the group of women who are okay either way – to get or not to get pregnant should be assessed separately from women who are trying to conceive as well from those who are not trying to get pregnant.

Especially doctors should pay special attention to this group and they should keep themselves aware that the group exists. These women are less intentional about getting pregnant and for sure they aren’t preparing their bodies for pregnancy. However, they should – if they are feeling comfortable with getting pregnant they should be treated as if they are trying to conceive. They should be given child-protection tips, including limiting alcohol intake and having preconception folic acid intake levels.

In addition to the information above, 60% of the women from the researched group are not mothers (do not have children) and they were trying to prevent pregnancy by using some sort of contraception, while 14% of these women (that do not have children) said they are trying to conceive. In this category of 60% women without children more than one fourth of them (26% to be accurate) said they are comfortable either way – to become mothers or not.