One of the questions that most people ask when they first start trying for a baby is how long does it take to get pregnant? If I believed my biology teacher, it would have happened the very first time that I had unprotected sex. Alas he has a lot to answer for because for me it took quite a lot longer than that.
Even for perfectly healthy couples, unprotected intercourse does not always result in a positive pregnancy test the first month that they try. For the average couple, the statistics seem to indicate that:
50% will get pregnant within 4 months
75% will take up to 8 months
90% will conceive with 1 year
That means the odds are in your favour that you will fall pregnant within twelve months of trying. Of course that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t explore fertility options before that time. In fact many doctors recommend that the older you are when you are trying to conceive the earlier you should seek to rule out any other possibilities that could be causing your infertility.
Which Factors Influence How Long Should it Take to Get Pregnant?
There are certain factors that can determine whether it will be faster or slower for you to get pregnant. These include:
Age: It’s much easier to get pregnant under the age of 35 than over. It takes the average older mom around double the time to conceive than it does a women in her 20′s.
Medications: Certain medications that you are taking will affect your fertility and chances of getting pregnant. If you are uncertain whether yours might be one of them, discuss your options with your doctor about a safe alternative.
General Health: The healthier and fitter that you are, the easier it is to get pregnant. Many studies have shown that couples with a more active lifestyle increase their chances of conception over couples that don’t. That includes giving up harmful substances such as cigarettes, alcohol and drugs.
Stress: I know it’s annoying when people tell you to ‘just relax’ when you are trying to conceive, but there is some basis of truth to it. By treating your stress in a positive manner such as taking a yoga class or indulging in a warm bubble bath each night, you can boost your odds of getting pregnant.
Enjoy Sex: It’s true that couples that have a healthy and enjoyable sex life usually have an easier time of getting pregnant. Once sex becomes a chore then it can decrease your fertility, so try and spice things up again and enjoy sex.
How Long Will it Take to Get Pregnant After Stopping Birth Control
If you’ve been taking birth control pills or other hormone control methods including Depo Provera then it might take you a little longer to get pregnant than someone who was using barrier methods such as condoms to avoid pregnancy.
The reason for this is that it might take at least three to four months for your body to return to normal and your fertility to be restored. Usually a good indicator that you are back to peak fertility is when your menstrual cycles return to a regular schedule again.
But of course every woman is different and some women are able to get pregnant almost immediately after stopping birth control.
How Long Did it Take You to Get Pregnant?
For me it was a struggle to conceive and for my first child it took 18 months and my second just over 2 years. Of course I had issues with a short luteal phase and unbalanced hormones and both times I needed a little boost to help things along.
For my first pregnancy what worked for me was taking a Chinese herbal medicine that included herbs such as Dong Quai and False Unicorn Root. It tasted disgusting, but I took it everyday and in the second month of taking it found out I was finally pregnant.
My second pregnancy wasn’t quite as easy (and yes I did try the Chinese herbs) and in the end it was the fertility drug Clomid that helped me conceive. I was only my third cycle of Clomid when I found out that it had worked and I was finally pregnant again. Funny thing was, because it had taken so long to get pregnant, I didn’t believe the pregnancy test at first and thought the Clomid had caused a false positive! LOL.
Trying To Conceive (TTC)
Trying to Get Pregnant Tips – What You Need To Do Right Now to Increase Your Odds of Conceiving
If you have been trying to get pregnant for some time (or even if you only just started) then you probably want to know what you can do to sway the odds in your favour. It’s not just a matter of making love and nine months later a baby will appear (ahh I wish it were that simple).
Instead the road to having a baby can be a long one, but never fear because you can increase the chances with some of these top three trying to get pregnant tips.
Tip #1: Have More Sex
Most often, if everything else is working fine, the biggest factor is that couples don’t have sex around the right time that the women ovulates. Most people assume that every women ovulates on day 14, but that actually isn’t the case at all (that’s just the average day). You might ovulate before or after that day and if you are timing intercourse for day 14 you could be missing out on your peak fertility day.
Therefore by having more sex, around every second day from day 10 through day 20 (or even every day if you like) then you’ll increase the likelihood of the sperm reaching the egg and conceiving.
Tip #2: Know When you Ovulate
If all of that sex seems too much and you want to know exactly when you are most fertile then you need to know when you ovulate. The best way to determine this is either by charting your temperature, using ovulation predictor kits or other prediction methods including the new Ov-Watch which tells you precisely when you are about to ovulate and therefore when you should be trying for that baby.
Tip #3: Use Gravity to your Advantage
Why not give the sperm a little helping hand in getting to the egg by using gravity to your advantage! Place a cushion or pillow under your bottom to allow the angle of your vagina to hold the sperm in better. And after sex you can use the bicycle method by ‘cycling’ your legs in the air for at least 5 minutes afterwards to help things along.
Bonus Tip: Yes you Should Orgasm!
And while you are there, it also helps if you can orgasm after your partner has as the uterine contractions will help draw the sperm up into the uterus so they don’t have to travel as far.
Trying to Get Pregnant After the Pill
If you’ve been on birth control pills and are now trying to get pregnant you might wonder how long it will take. The truth is that it can vary from woman to woman. Some women seem to get pregnant the first month after stopping while other’s can take up to twelve months to conceive.
It will depend on a number of factors including how long you have been taking the pill for, your age, which strength or hormone combination of pill you took and your general health.
You can usually help things along by trying to lead a more health lifestyle, avoiding alcohol and cigarettes and exercising.
Generally though it usually takes most women around 3 to 4 months for your hormone balance to restore to its original fertility so that you are able to have a healthy pregnancy.
Trying to Get Pregnant After a Miscarriage
If you’ve recently suffered a miscarriage then you are probably quite nervous to try and get pregnant again in case you have another miscarriage.
Whether you want to try straight away or wait awhile is up to you and how you felt about the miscarriage in the first place. Obviously the further along being pregnant that you were when you lost the baby, usually the harder it is to cope with and the longer you will probably want to wait.
When you are ready to start trying again you should take things slow. If you do find out that you are pregnant then try some things to help lower your stress about whether this baby will be ok or not. Don’t hesitate to call your doctor at any time if you are feeling anxious.
The good news however is that the majority of women who have miscarried go on to have perfectly healthy babies the next time.
Tips on Trying to Get Pregnant
Of course I could keep writing and provide you some more tips on trying to get pregnant, but then this post would be very long indeed. Instead I invite you to have a look at some of the other posts on this blog that go into more depth on getting pregnant.
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