When can a woman become pregnant?
Girls can become pregnant as soon as their hormones bring them to sexual maturity. Today, this happens much earlier than it did with our grandparents and great-grandparents. For example, many a girl today could become pregnant at just under eleven years of age (boys are also becoming sexually mature earlier and earlier).
But even if a teenager or young woman has not yet had her first period, she should use contraception. Theoretically, she can be just before her very first ovulation and thus become pregnant – the sperm are viable in the female body for some time.
Incidentally, the same applies to women around menopause – pregnancy is not one hundred percent ruled out. Only when menstruation has been absent for more than a year is there a high probability that ovulation will no longer take place – you can then no longer become pregnant. Sometimes a hormone analysis at the gynecologist can clarify this.
How do I get pregnant?
Even the fusion of egg and sperm does not necessarily guarantee pregnancy. The fertilized egg must also make it into the uterine cavity and implant stably. At best, the lining of the uterus has already prepared itself for the egg.
So, in order for you to become pregnant, numerous, finely coordinated steps are necessary.
Video: Wanting children: How to get pregnant faster
When is the best time to get pregnant?
Once a month, about every 28 days, an egg matures in a woman’s body. You can therefore only get pregnant on the fertile days. These are around ovulation, which starts about 14 days after the first day of your last period. Sometimes ovulation takes place a few days later, individual differences are quite possible. If the egg pops, it means that the ovum leaves the ovary. It enters the fallopian tube and is capable of fertilization for about 24 hours.
Getting pregnant at 35 plus
The best age to get pregnant is between 20 and 30. After the age of 30, women’s fertility decreases and with it the probability of becoming pregnant. The risk of miscarriage or malformation of the embryo also increases. The age problem affects women somewhat earlier, but men must also expect their fertility to decline with age, starting around age 40.
How long does it take to get pregnant?
Getting pregnant doesn’t work right away? Then you should not immediately despair. Most couples have to try for a while. Sometimes the woman’s body also has to get used to the fact that hormonal contraceptives no longer set the pace. If pregnancy does not occur within a year – assuming regular unprotected sexual intercourse – there could be organic causes that impair the fertility of the man and/or woman and make it difficult to get pregnant. It is then advisable to seek advice from a gynecologist or “men’s doctor” (andrologist, urologist).
For women over 45, the pregnancy rate even approaches zero. That is why you should not let too much time pass in case of unfulfilled desire to have children – seek medical advice in time if getting pregnant does not work out.
How to get pregnant quickly?
Getting pregnant quickly without stress – that’s what every couple wants. With the symptothermal method, a combination of cycle, temperature and cervical mucus testing, you may be able to get pregnant a little faster. The method is also known as natural family planning (NFP) and helps detect ovulation. Knowing when you are fertile can increase your chances of getting pregnant.
However, some couples use the symptothermal method for the opposite – contraception. Practiced women apparently should achieve similar protection with the NFP method as with the birth control pill (Pearl index of 0.4). However, cycle uncertainties and lack of protection against infection make this method a suitable contraceptive only in exceptional cases.
Ovulation calendar: menstruation and cycle length
Measure waking temperature
There are several indicators of the days when the woman can become pregnant. One of them is this: the corpus luteum hormone progesterone acts on the temperature center in the brain and causes the woman’s temperature to rise slightly. This happens in the second half of the cycle, about one to two days after ovulation.
To get pregnant using this temperature method, it is important that you always take your temperature at the same time, before you get up. You transfer this basal body temperature to a curve sheet in your cycle calendar. If you have done this every day for a few months, you can predict your ovulation relatively well. But be careful: alcohol, lack of sleep, and infections can affect your temperature and interfere with the results.
Cervical mucus and cervix
In addition to your temperature, you should test the consistency of your cervical mucus (Billings method) and cervix daily. Both provide additional information about ovulation and the best days to get pregnant.
You can also check the firmness and position of the cervix with your fingers. With a little practice, you can distinguish between a high and a low cervix and between a soft and firm cervix. If the cervix is soft, slightly open and lies slightly higher in the vaginal entrance, you are just fertile and can become pregnant. After menstruation, on the other hand, the cervix is firm and closed.
Getting pregnant: Technical aids
Cycle computers have been around since the 1980s. Some measure the temperature or mucus, others the hormone content in the urine. More recently, there are also cycle apps for smartphones (NFP apps). All of these tools are intended to help women detect ovulation and make it easier to get pregnant. As long as studies are lacking, they are unsuitable as contraceptives (even though they are often advertised as contraceptive computers).
What is the best way to get pregnant?
If you have entered all the data collected into the cycle table every day for a few months and possibly supplemented it with data from technical aids, you will be able to predict your fertile days in the coming cycle well. However, if you want to get pregnant, you must not have sexual intercourse only at ovulation, but already a few days before.
Getting pregnant: Tips
The following tips can help you get pregnant:
Clear your head: Don’t just think about having children when you have sex – it should be fun, too. Because stress reduces the likelihood that you will get pregnant.
Healthy lifestyle: Those who eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and maintain a normal weight are more likely to get pregnant than those who lead an unhealthy lifestyle. Smoking, alcohol and drug use also have an unfavorable effect on fertility – for both women and men.
Position during sex: Positions while lying down promise more success. It is also said to help to elevate the pelvis a little afterwards.
Sperm-friendly lubricant: If you want to use lubricant, make sure it has a sperm-friendly pH value. It is best to ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice on this.
How often to have sex:To get pregnant, about every third day (without cycle control) is considered a good value.
Fertility-promoting factors for both men and women are:
- Healthy lifestyle: Sports, exercise, no stress
- No alcohol, nicotine and drug abuse
- Vitamin-rich diet
- Weight reduction in case of overweight or weight gain in case of underweight
And don’t forget: Even if your desire to have children is great, it is advisable not to build up pressure – it can make getting pregnant more difficult.