Best Ways to Get Pregnant | Fertility Tips for Couples

For some couples, getting pregnant happens very quickly and sometimes even unexpectedly. For most couples, though, several months of trying is required before they get lucky with a positive pregnancy test.
Research shows that over 80% of couples in the general population will conceive within 1 year if:

• the woman is aged under 40 years and
• they do not use contraception and have regular sexual intercourse (assuming intercourse twice per week).

Of those who do not conceive in the first year, about half will do so in the second year (cumulative pregnancy rate over 90%).
BUT… what are some good facts to know when considering trying for a baby? Here’s our tips on how to get pregnant.

Timing and frequency of sex; the most important factor in conceiving

Vaginal sexual intercourse every 2 to 3 days optimizes the chances of pregnancy. The key is to have sex on the days before and during ovulation. That way, the sperm cells are in the fallopian tubes when the egg is released.
The article “The sperm journey to the egg” explains fertilization in an easy way.
Male fertility is not very complicated. The better semen quality you have, the higher chance you have to fertilize your female partner’s egg during ovulation. So it’s all about semen quality, which is defined by the value of several semen parameters such as volume, concentration, motility, morphology, and others. If semen quality is low, an assessment in a clinic is needed to investigate the underlying cause.
Evaluation of female fertility means finding out if ovulation is occurring. You can determine ovulation by home ovulation test kits, blood hormone measurement, and ultrasound of the female reproductive structures. Furthermore, checking the fallopian tubes is also a part of a female fertility assessment.
The following tips are our best recommendations for couples to conceive faster:

Advice from Dr. Fatin Willendrup, ExSeed Head of Medical Affairs

“The better semen quality you have, the higher chance you have to fertilize your female partner’s egg during ovulation. So it’s all about semen quality, which is defined by the value of several semen parameters such as volume, concentration, motility, morphology, and others.”

Best way to get pregnant: tips for him

• Know your score

The best way to assess a man’s fertility potential is through his Total Motile Sperm Count (TMSC), scientific research shows that this correlates directly with the time to conceive for a couple. You therefore need to have your sperm tested to see how many moving sperm cells you have in your ejaculate. If you are trying currently to get pregnant, it is very important that you know your TMSC. Have a talk with your doctor about a sperm test in a clinic or order the ExSeed sperm test for quick, accurate and private at home testing.

• Lifestyle matters

You might have heard it from your doctor before or even read it in one of our blog articles; a healthy lifestyle is important for healthy sperm cells. The lasting lifestyle changes you make today will often start to show their (sometimes significant) impact on sperm quality around three months later.

• Supplementation for pregnancy

Clinical studies show that vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants have a positive impact on sperm quality. Studies have shown that particularly antioxidant supplementation can be effective as treatment of idiopathic male infertility [2]. ExSeed Multi contains a special antioxidant formula designed with the purpose of boosting sperm health.

• Keep your semen fresh

There is general agreement that prolonged sexual abstinence is associated with increased semen volume and sperm concentration. However, this can have a negative impact on sperm motility and viability (1).
To produce an optimal quality, you will need to ejaculate 2-3 times a week. This way you make sure to refresh your semen stock.

Best way to get pregnant: tips for her

• Find your fertile window

The best way to increase your odds of pregnancy as a female is to ensure that you have sex during the ovulation phase of your menstrual cycle. Ovulation normally occurs two weeks before menstruation, but this is not always the case and it can therefore be tricky. There are a number of techniques you can use to more precisely pinpoint your ovulation and fertile window. Using ovulation predictor kits, for example like the ones from Mira or Ovusense, and measuring basal body temperature are the most used and can be highly effective.

• Healthy body, faster pregnancy

Before attempting to get pregnant, you should try to be as healthy as possible. This means filling your body with all the fertility friendly superfoods to maximize antioxidant load.
Furthermore, research show that normalizing BMI (i.e. not being underweight or overweight) help to a higher pregnancy rate.

• Don’t wait

The ability to get pregnant decreases with age. Especially after the age of 30, fertility starts to decline, with a significant and rapid decline once you reach your mid-30s.
It is therefore worth considering children when you are still more likely to be fertile, statistically speaking If you’re in the mid-30s and haven’t yet conceived with your partner, you should seek help.

When to seek help

If you and your partner haven’t gotten pregnant within a year of actively trying, and the female part is under the age 35, you should see your doctor for a fertility evaluation.
If you’re over 35, you should only wait six months before seeing a doctor.
You can read more about this in the UK Fertility Guidelines by the NHS.