Get Pregnant
You’ve been thinking of starting – or growing – your family for a while, and it’s an exciting time! You want to make the process as easy as you can so that you have your baby in your arms as soon as possible. Here are some tips to help you get pregnant faster.
Know when you’re ovulating
If you know your body really well, you might be able to tell when you’re ovulating without the help of an ovulation predictor kit (OPK). Your body’s signals might be very clear as you notice midcycle changes in cervical mucus to a more “stretchy” type, dull pain in your lower abdomen, or an increase in libido. These signs can all help you know it’s time to try.
If the signs above are not so clear for you, there are a lot of ovulation predictor tests out there from the cheap and simple “pee on a stick” type to wearable devices that detect temperature changes around ovulation. OPKs are really helpful in identifying if you are ovulating consistently, or if it’s happening too early in your cycle or too late. If you have short cycles (21 days or fewer) or long cycles (34 days or longer), you probably ovulate earlier or later than is ideal. Ovulating too early or too late can impact egg quality. If that’s the case, you might need additional support from an acupuncturist or naturopathic doctor to help regulate your cycles.
When to Try
If you know when you ovulate (for example, you always ovulate on day 13-14 of your cycle), you can start having sex or trying about 5 days beforehand and continue a few days after you ovulate. There aren’t any conclusive studies that say how often you should have sex or try to get pregnant in this time period, but most fertility experts recommend trying daily or every other day during this time period. If you don’t know when you ovulate, start using an OPK and start trying every other day around day 7 of your cycle.
Hot Tip: It’s best if the person who produces sperm ejaculates within the previous 5 days of the fertile window because research shows that abstinence intervals of longer than 5 days are associated with reduced sperm counts.
Lifestyle Factors
In general, it can take around three months for the effects of lifestyle changes to take root in the body. For example, we have the most influence over the egg(s) you will release three months from now. The egg you release this month is almost fully formed by the time you are reading this. So, it’s great to get started to make changes now that will affect your future fertility! Below are some important lifestyle factors that can affect your ability to get pregnant.
Stress
We all know that stress is unhelpful for health overall, but it especially influences fertility. You may have grown so accustomed to your current stress levels that you don’t even feel “stressed” anymore. That doesn’t mean that stress isn’t impacting your health and fertility. If you have sleep issues, digestive issues, headaches, foggy thinking, skin issues like acne or hives, or low sex drive, these may be signs that your system is stressed. Acupuncture is well-known for reducing stress and improving the parasympathetic “rest and digest” system. Other options are moderate exercise, herbs and supplements, relaxation apps, and of course, saying ‘no thanks!’ to extra activities.
Digest Food Like a Champ
If you have daily bowel movements that are easy to pass with no increased gas, abdominal pain, or bloating congratulations! You already digest food like a champ! If that’s not you, let’s talk. When the digestive system is off, all the other systems in the body will soon follow. We recommend a whole-foods-based diet high in soluble fiber, veggies, and protein.
What you eat is important, but when and how you eat is also very important from the Chinese medicine viewpoint. If you’re eating your meals on the run or while you’re working, you are not giving your digestive system the best chance to absorb the nutrients it needs and get rid of waste products. When you don’t get the nutrients you need, you are less likely to produce high-quality eggs or sperm.
If you aren’t getting rid of waste products, your body can re-absorb some of the waste products (like hormones and chemicals), making it very hard for your liver to detox. When your body recycles hormones, you can end up with a hormone imbalance impacting your ability to get pregnant.
Regulate your Blood Sugar
It’s easier to keep relatively even blood sugar if you’re eating a whole-foods-based diet with lots of soluble fiber and high protein. Keeping sugar intake to a minimum can be hard, but it’s worth it! Blood sugar regulation is important because it influences egg and sperm quality, as well as early pregnancy loss rates. There are some excellent supplements that can help with blood sugar regulation for those who need extra help.
Eliminate Inflammation
Inflammation comes from things like endocrine-disrupting chemicals, smoking, byproducts of over-cooked foods, etc. Once inflammation is present, it produces chemical messengers that cause further hormone disruption. To clean up both your internal and external environment, first, take all the plastic out of your kitchen.
If you cook with plastic spatulas or spoons, please throw them out. Only use glass, ceramic, or stainless-steel containers to hot store food. Invest in stainless-steel or cast-iron pots and pans instead of Teflon-coated ones. Use only non-toxic cleaners in your house and non-toxic products on your body. All of these household items can contain hormone-disrupting chemicals, which can negatively impact your fertility.
Get enough sleep
We can’t emphasize this one enough. Sleep is how we recover from our daily stressors. Nighttime is when our internal organs have the opportunity to detox, including the brain! Our immune systems are also restored during sleep.
Lack of sleep means you’re relying on your stress hormone (cortisol) to get you through the day, which puts your other hormones out of whack and can cause blood sugar dysregulation, and poor moods.
Now you’re ready to start trying to get pregnant with lots of great tools onboard! These tips are part of our comprehensive fertility program– and we understand if it feels like a lot.
Start with one or two areas and focus on improving those first. Then gradually make changes elsewhere as you can. Next thing you know, you just might get a positive pregnancy test! Let us know when you do!
Contact us at Portland Acupuncture Studio to learn how we can help you get pregnant soon.
Established patients can schedule online, patients who haven’t seen us at Kwan Yin Healing Center call (503) 701-8766, or email us to schedule your appointment.
