How to Get Pregnant Fast

Are there things you can do to get pregnant fast? It's certainly possible.

People have a variety of different reasons for wanting to conceive quickly. Maybe you want to space your children a certain number of years apart. Maybe you are trying to beat your biological clock. You might want to get pregnant because your partner is in the military, and you'd like to conceive before deployment. Or, you may just be eager to become a parent.

However, it's important to realize these tips will not work for everyone. Unfortunately, pregnancy isn't something that can be planned exactly. If you can't get pregnant as quickly as you'd like, don't blame yourself. Keep in mind that one in 10 couples will experience infertility. The good news is that there is help out there.

Discontinue Your Birth Control

Obviously, if you want to get pregnant, you need to stop using birth control. What you may not know is that you may need time for your fertility to return. It depends on what kind of birth control you were using.

With most forms of birth control, your fertility will return the next cycle after you stop using it. There may be a few bumpy months while your cycle regulates itself, but it’s also possible to get pregnant your first official fertile month.

However, it’s not always a simple and quick process. If you have an implant or an IUD, you’ll need to schedule a doctor appointment for removal. That takes time. It may also take a few months for your cycles to regulate after hormonal IUD removal. (With the copper only IUDs, your fertility should return quickly.) If you’ve been on the birth control shot, it may take several months for your fertility to return.

Talk to your doctor so you have realistic expectations when you can start trying to get pregnant.

Have Lots of Sex

Having sex often for the entire month is good for baby making. Every other day or every two days is a good amount, according to research and the opinion of the Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

You could aim to have sex every day of your cycle, but for most people, this will lead to burnout, and it's really not necessary. Having sex at least three to four times a week boosts your chances for success because it increases having sex on your most fertile days. If you're only aiming for ovulation and you make a mistake, you may lose that month.

If you have sex every other day or every two days, you're likely to have sex at least once, if not twice, during your most fertile time.

Frequent sex improves sperm health, too. Healthier swimmers mean you'll be more likely to conceive.

Optimize Your Baby-Making Sex

You may be able to get pregnant faster if you optimize your conception sex.

One important thing to be aware of is that regular personal lubricants, like Astroglide and KY Jelly, are harmful to sperm. The best lubricant for conception is your own cervical fluid. But if this is an issue for you, there are sperm-friendly options available, such as mineral oil, canola oil, or hydroxyethylcellulose-based lubricants such as Pre-Seed and ConceivEase.

It's debatable whether sexual position or lying down after sex will help you conceive. The committee opinion from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine says there is no effect. However, research on IUI treatment found that lying down after insemination boosts pregnancy rates. If you're trying to conceive faster, you may want to at least try lying on your back after sex for a few minutes. On the other hand, if missionary position is a big turn off for you, maybe more creative positions would help.

Research has found that sexual arousal plays a role in how much sperm is ejaculated. Female orgasm may also help with conception. Having passionate sex may help you get pregnant faster as well. That said, don’t stress about having an orgasm. It’s not required!

Use an Ovulation Predictor Kit or Ovulation Monitor

Your most fertile days are the two days prior to ovulation. You can figure out which days these are through several methods, including charting your body basal temperature, checking for fertile cervical mucus, tracking cervical changes, and using a saliva ferning microscope.

The problem with all these methods is they have a steep learning curve. For BBT charting, figuring out how to get your temps right in the morning and interpreting your chart is an issue. You may have an easier time using ovulation predictor kits or ovulation monitors.

Ovulation tests work like pregnancy tests. You pee on a stick or strip of paper to get a result. They are a little more difficult to interpret than pregnancy tests, so read the instructions carefully.

Ovulation monitors take much of the learning curve out of ovulation tests. The digital device tells you when you're most fertile. They are more expensive, though, so you may want to combine charting with ovulation predictor kits.

Optimize Your Fertility Health

In the short-term, there are quite a few things (many of which are probably obvious) that a woman can do—and not do—to increase her chances of getting pregnant.

Do

Get enough sleep. Odd sleep and wake cycles can throw off the menstrual cycle, which is unlikely to lead to infertility but could make getting pregnant quickly more difficult.
Eat a balanced diet and drink plenty of water. Avoid binge diets or other extreme eating plans when trying to conceive.
Cut back on caffeinated beverages. It’s debatable whether or not they impact fertility, but since you want to get pregnant fast, whatever you can do to optimize your overall health is best.

Don't

Get too stressed out. It's still unclear whether or not stress leads to infertility. However, acute stress can throw off a woman's cycle. For those trying to get pregnant in a month or two, just one off cycle can put a serious dent in those plans.
Douche. When you do, you disrupt the vagina's natural pH balance, wash away cervical mucus (which keeps sperm moving), and partially eliminate good bacteria. You also increase your risk of vaginal infection and irritation, which can make it difficult to conceive.

For the men, keep the family jewels away from the heat. Hot tubs, laptops placed directly on the lap, seat warmers, and sitting too long with the legs close together can all increase the scrotal temperatures. This can negatively impact sperm counts.

And finally, the most oft-repeated health tip—quit smoking and cut down on alcoholic drinks. This is for men and women. This will not only improve your health now but also help you have a healthier pregnancy and child.

There are other things you can do to improve your fertility and overall health that take more effort and time. Women should try to achieve a healthy weight before trying to conceive, as being just slightly overweight has been shown to decrease fertility. Obesity may also negatively impact male fertility.

One thing all women should do before they get pregnant is to make sure they're getting enough folic acid. This is essential for healthy pregnancy.

Go Easy on the Pregnancy Tests

Taking pregnancy tests won’t change how quickly you get pregnant, but it can affect your perception of time. Especially if you take multiple early tests, “peeing on a stick” frequently can make the days and weeks feel much longer.

Instead, commit to only taking a pregnancy test when your period is at least one day late. In other words, if you expected your period on Tuesday or Wednesday of a particular week, don’t take the test until Thursday. Better yet, wait until Friday. It’s not easy to wait to see if you’re pregnant, but remind yourself that when you take an early test, you are more likely to get a false negative anyway. (In other words, even if you did conceive, the test may not reveal your success.)

Get Medical Help If You Need It

If you don't conceive within six months (if you're over 35) or within a year (if you're younger than 35), see your doctor.

Getting help doesn't mean you're giving up; it just means you're brave enough to find out if there's a reason why you're not conceiving, and whether you can take steps to address it.

Some causes of infertility get worse with time. Getting help when you need it may help you get pregnant faster with the help of treatment.