Trying to Conceive How to Get Pregnant Fast What You Can Do When You're Not Getting Pregnant By Rachel Gurevich, RN Rachel Gurevich, RN Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Rachel Gurevich is a fertility advocate, author, and recipient of The Hope Award for Achievement, from Resolve: The National Infertility Association. She is a professional member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and has been writing about women’s health since 2001. Rachel uses her own experiences with infertility to write compassionate, practical, and supportive articles. Learn about our editorial process Updated on October 04, 2021 Medically reviewed Verywell Family articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and family healthcare professionals. Medical Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Leyla Bilali, RN Medically reviewed by Leyla Bilali, RN Leyla Bilali, RN is a registered nurse, fertility nurse, and fertility consultant in the New York City area. She works in house at a reputable private clinic in New York City while also seeing her own clients through her concierge fertility consulting and nursing services business. Learn about our Medical Review Board Print Verywell / JR Bee Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Stop Using Birth Control Set Realistic Expectations Have Lots of Sex Maximize Your Odds Wait to Take a Pregnancy Test Get Help Are there things you can do to get pregnant fast? Definitely, but they don't work for every couple. 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. 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. Some couples will get pregnant after trying for a month or two. But, for most, it takes longer. Keep in mind that it may take many months to get pregnant—and one in 10 couples will experience infertility. The good news is that there is help out there. It's important to remember that 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. Stop Using 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 in your first official fertile month. Set Realistic Expectations 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's appointment for removal. That takes time. It may also take a few months for your cycles to regulate after hormonal IUD removal. (With a copper-only IUD, 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. Trying to Get Pregnant After Birth Control? Here's What You Must Know 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 three to four times a week boosts your chances for success because it increases the odds of 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. Maximize Your Odds You may be able to get pregnant faster if you optimize your conception sex, which includes things like timing, frequency, and understanding when in your cycle you are most likely to conceive. 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. There is no evidence that certain sexual positions or lying down after sex will help you conceive. However, research on Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) 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. So having passionate sex may help you get pregnant faster as well. That said, don’t stress about having an orgasm. You can get pregnant whether you orgasm or not! Track Your Ovulation 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 (BBT), 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. Fertility 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. Using Ovulation Test Strips to Detect Your Most Fertile Time Boost Your Fertility In the short term, there are quite a few things (many of which are probably obvious) that a people can do—and not do—to increase their chances of getting pregnant. Do Get enough sleep. Odd sleep and wake cycles can throw off the menstrual cycle, which could make getting pregnant quickly more difficult. Eat a balanced diet and drink plenty of water. Cut back on caffeinated beverages. Don't Get too stressed out. It's still unclear whether or not stress leads to infertility. However, acute stress can throw off a person's cycle. 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. Exercise intensely. Extreme exercise regimes can reduce fertility. To keep sperm healthy, keep the testicles away from 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 important for both male and female reproductive health. 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. People 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 everyone should do before they get pregnant is to make sure they're getting enough folic acid, which is essential for a healthy pregnancy. Wait to Take a Pregnancy Test 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 that you're pregnant.) Get Help 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 what steps you can take 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. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit 5 Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Pfeifer S, Butts S, Fossum G, et al. Optimizing natural fertility: A committee opinion. Fertil Steril. 2017;107(1):52-58. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2016.09.029. Custers IM, Flierman PA, Maas P, et al. Immobilisation versus immediate mobilisation after intrauterine insemination: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2009;339:b4080. doi:10.1136/bmj.b4080 Pound N, Javed MH, Ruberto C, Shaikh MA, Del valle AP. Duration of sexual arousal predicts semen parameters for masturbatory ejaculates. Physiol Behav. 2002;76(4-5):685-9. PMID:12127009 Sheynkin Y, Welliver R, Winer A, Hajimirzaee F, Ahn H, Lee K. Protection from scrotal hyperthermia in laptop computer users. Fertil Steril. 2011;95(2):647-51. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2010.10.013 Lainez NM, Coss D. Obesity, neuroinflammation, and reproductive function. Endocrinol. 2019;160(11):2719-2736. doi:10.1210/en.2019-00487 Additional Reading Evaluating infertility. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.