That title may seem a little silly to some. You may be thinking “How to get pregnant? Hmm. Have sex?” But for too many women simply having sex is not enough.
We tried for 14 months and did everything imaginable to conceive our son so, while I’m not a doctor, I’m pretty sure I could teach a class on fertility and the female body. I’d like to share with you what I know.
Step 1: Pray
Pray like mad and do it early. Before you even begin trying for a baby make your way closer to God. Give Him your heart and ask Him for that baby. The Bible says “you have not because you ask not.” Of course, I’m not in any way saying that if you pray for a baby it will happen automatically. God doesn’t work that way. We were made to serve Him not the other way around. But make your petition known.
Step 2: Make Love
Obviously sex is required. Just do it! There’s no need to have sex every single day. In fact, if your spouse has a low sperm count this is counterproductive. Every 2-3 days is plenty. Sperm can live for several days in there. Ladies, don’t let sex become a chore or a burden and don’t forget about your husband. When you are trying to get pregnant, it’s easy to let love making turn into “just sex”. Keep it romantic. Make your spouse number one. Aim to first love him and put everything else behind that. It’s okay to plan sex around ovulation but don’t dwell on that. If hubby doesn’t want to know, don’t tell him. Trust me, you will have more fun trying and everyone will be a bit less stressed.
Step 3: Get to Know Your Body: OPKs and BBT
So it’s been several months and “just having sex” isn’t really working. Now’s time to pull out the big guns.
What is an OPK? It’s a test (very similar to a pregnancy test) that predicts ovulation by detecting and measuring the amount of lutenizing hormone (or LH) in the body. This hormone is responsible for signaling the follicles in the ovaries to release eggs. The successful release of mature eggs is ovulation so the dectection of a LH surge typically means ovulation will occur in roughly 12-48 hours
BBT stands for basal body temperature and this is the only way (other than an ultrasound or blood work) to confirm that ovulation has occurred. OPKs are great for predicting ovulation but they aren’t fool proof. Sometimes your body can gear up to ovulate and fail causing a positive OPK but no ovulation. This is why OPKs and BBT are best used together. To measure your BBT you need a BBT thermometer. That’s it. All you need to do is take your temperature every morning at the same time before getting out of bed or moving around. A sustained spike in BBT confirms ovulation. Combine OPKs and BBT with charting and you may learn a lot about your body. God created us very intricately and our bodies are so amazing! For more information on charting and tracking BBT go to http://www.fertilityfriend.com
By using these tools you can determine if you are ovulating each month.
Step 4: Make an Appointment
If you have confirmed that you are ovulating each month, are using OPKs and BBT to time intercourse, and still haven’t gotten pregnant within a year, it’s time to see a doctor. Remember, it can take an average, healthy couple up to a year to conceive so patience is important. Don’t jump the gun. Likewise, if you have confirmed that you are not ovulating at all or are ovulating irregularly go ahead and make an appointment. You do not need to wait a year in this case.
Your OB GYN will be able to run some tests and do an ultrasound in an attempt to diagnose the problem. Don’t forget about hubby. He should have some blood work and a semen analysis done as well.
Depending on the diagnosis, switching to a RE (reproductive endocrinologist) may be necessary. There are several options from here including fertility drugs, IUI, or IVF.
More things to try:
Good health is essential. Start taking prenatal vitamins, get some exercise, and think about your diet. Many fertility problems are caused by poor health.
Ask your doctor about natural supplements to help with fertility.
Mental health is important as well. Pray, do yoga, or meditate.
My very first noticeably positive test 🙂 That photo was taken at 11 days post ovulation/12 days post trigger shot. It was our 14th month actively trying and our very first cycle with a RE. We used Clomid.
Please feel free to ask me questions about my journey. I will help the best I can.
Conceiving Faith 