Just like making bread, our bodies need the right ingredients, temperature and timing to successfully conceive a baby. Following is the recipe for optimum human fertility.
First, prepare your body by being fit and healthy. Eating a well balanced diet and staying away from caffeine and high fat foods can help increase your fertility. Being as close to your correct body weight for your height is also important. Studies show that being above your body’s ideal weight (by more than 25%) can make women’s cycles become irregular and therefore impede the ovulation process. If you are overweight, plan to lose around 1-2 pounds a week to keep the body healthy. Begin taking a multi-vitamin daily and avoid alcohol (not more than 1 to 2 glasses daily), drugs and cigarettes.
Secondly, both men and women need to be aware of their body temperatures. Men, when trying to conceive, should stay away from wearing tight fitting pants and underwear, since too much heat on the testicles can deplete sperm production or reserves. Men should wear boxers as much as possible to keep testicles at a temperature a couple of degrees lower than their normal body temperature. They should also stay away from hot tubs, saunas, and hot baths. It can take up to 3 months for new sperm to regenerate.
Women on the other hand, should watch for their temperature to spike right before they ovulate. By reading a basil thermometer, women can tell what day they ovulate and when they are most fertile. By tracking your temperature, you may be able to track your ovulation cycle. Look for a rise of about .5 degrees for a few days before you ovulate, and even higher temps right after you ovulate (from about .5-1.6 degrees).
Finally, timing is everything. If you know when you ovulate, you have a better chance of conceiving. The egg only lives for 12 to 24 hours, while sperm can live up to 3 days. To have the greatest chance of fertilization, couple should have intercourse a few days before ovulation and then again on the ovulation day. Having sex two or three times that week can ensure a good amount of healthy sperm will be waiting for when the egg is released.
Now that you know the recipe for making a baby, have fun and don’t stress out while you’re trying. Stress can even hinder your fertility. Remember, 85% of couples do get pregnant within a year of stopping their birth control.