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If you are trying to get pregnant, there are a few things you can do to increase the odds to make it happen. Before you turn to high-tech medicine, give nature a chance.
Research has shown that although 20 percent of couples will be unable to become pregnant after a year of trying, most eventually will become pregnant. Very few people have physical conditions that make it impossible to have a child.
The strategies include living a healthy lifestyle - that is, reducing stress, eating a well-balanced diet, exercising and learning what to avoid or change.
Here are tips on simple lifestyle changes that couples can make:
Exercise. While exercise is good and can help, too much can interfere with your menstrual cycle.
Eat a healthy diet. Even slight changes in your diet can help increase your chances for getting pregnant. Get at least three to five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Make sure that your diet includes whole grains, such as whole wheat, brown rice and oats. If you have trouble improving your diet, ask your doctor for a referral to a registered dietitian.
Watch your weight. Being overweight or underweight can affect your fertility. Being 10 percent to 15 percent overweight can overload the body with estrogen, throwing off the reproductive cycle. If body fat is too low (10 percent to 15 percent below normal), it can shut down the reproductive cycle. Men, too, need some fat for them to maintain normal testosterone levels and healthy sperm.
Get help for depression. Studies have shown as many as 50 percent of infertile women tested suffer from depression or have had depressive episodes in the past. Before beginning any kind of infertility treatment, examine your mental state. If you need help, consult a health care professional. Depression may have a direct impact on sperm production or ovulation.
Relax. Stress has been shown, along with depression, to stop ovulation and cause menstrual cycle irregularities. In men, stress can be associated with abnormal sperm development.
Get your vitamins. Women who are strict vegetarians may have problems because of a lack of nutrients like vitamin B-12, zinc, iron and folic acid.
Watch the tight jeans, men. Avoid leather pants, long bicycle rides, bicycle shorts, tight jeans, nylon underwear, hot tubs, Jacuzzis, saunas and long, hot baths. Keep testicles cool.
Don't smoke. Smoking may increase the risk of infertility in women and may reduce sperm production.
If you have been trying for months and nothing happens, take some basic tests to see if you and your partner are producing eggs and sperm.
Problems with ovulation or sperm production are the most common causes of infertility. Men should get their sperm tested.
Women should try three techniques to discover when and if they actually ovulate: the cervical mucus method, the basal body temperature (BBT) method and urine LH testing. The presence of cervical mucus means ovulation is about to take place; your BBT may drop a few tenths of a degree a day or two before ovulation; and an ovulation kit can test your urine for luteinizing hormones, which trigger the release of an egg from the ovary. Your doctor can help you learn how to do to this.
Time to get help
If you are over 35 and have not been able to conceive for six months, see your doctor. For women who are younger, doctors generally advise looking for help after a year. Couples who know they have infertility problems should get help early.
The best sources for referrals, infertility diagnoses and treatment are medical schools, large group medical practices, health maintenance organizations, large hospitals and RESOLVE, a nonprofit, national infertility association.
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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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