Best Time to Get Pregnant If You Have Irregular Cycles or Fertility Issues
When a couple finally decides to have a baby, it seems like they want a surefire method to determine the best time to get pregnant. I was no different, being in my slack 20s and having a worrisome family history when it came to pregnancy and even potential infertility. Being on a budget, we dreaded the potential costs of fertility treatments. But we also wanted to have a baby…..strongly wanted to have a baby. My biological clock was not only ticking, it was sending off alarms daily!
Luckily, I was able to find a method to achieve pregnancy and to keep my son from being aborted (as you’ll see when you read the details of my experience, below), because I trusted my own instincts and knew when to stop listening to the so-called experts. Although I had to adjust things a bit to derive the best time to get pregnant while battling infertility, I think these techniques can work for many women, even those with normal cycles – perhaps even one who is reading this article right now.
Here is some brief info about my background, my struggles with infertility and how I got pregnant using DIY or low tech methods to collect the best time to get pregnant:
First, for those who may be worrying about whether they can salvage the best time to get pregnant if they have unfamiliar periods or fertility issues, I can say that yes…I believe it is possible for some women to become pregnant using low tech methods. Not only did I do this but I was also born before the days of fertility treatments – so my mother also achieved pregnancy using some of my own methods, ones I later adapted for myself, using her advice.
My mother had one baby in her early 40s and another one 18 months later….all before the days of high tech fertility treatments. There were no artificial inseminations, fertility drugs or other options to assist her and my father. Like me, she had exclusive periods.
Knowing my mother had struggled with fertility and pregnancy issues, I almost turned to fertility drugs from the originate. But I did not. Instead, I decided to learn about ovulation, how and when it occurs and even buy an ovulation kit. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try and time my pregnancy and even achieve pregnancy, although my body wasn’t anywhere close to being normal, as compared to other women I knew. I also had (and still have) a indecent thyroid. I also assumed my husband and I could turn to a fertility specialist if our own techniques failed.
Finding the best time to get pregnant was complicated by the fact that I did not have regular periods – even though I was in my late 20s.
Yes, you read that correctly. I did not have regular periods and most of the ones I did have were induced by doctors who gave me shots to make certain my system worked properly. According to them, it did. They also noted that I was ovulating but simply not having periods. At that time, I was relatively thin but not underweight. I was also a strong runner. There have been some studies that indicate that very thin women who run can have less frequent periods or stop ovulating completely. However, I did not stop running, although I gash support on the amount of running I was doing.
Even so, I had maybe 2-3 periods a year – at most! This definitely complicated my efforts to seek my optimum fertility times, let alone my normal ovulation date.
So what were my first steps in trying to get pregnant and time my pregnancy? I simply bought an ovulation kit, calendar and thermometer.
I tried a number of different ovulation kits so I am not going to recommend a specific one. Personally, I felt that using a plain thermometer and calendar gave me just as great information as any ovulation kit while trying to time my pregnancy. If you’d like to try one, however, be aware that ovulation kits measure LH or luteinizing hormones in urine. This hormone surges just before the best day or time for a woman to get pregnant. It is this hormone which is responsible for pregnancy.
What this means for women who are trying to find the best time to get pregnant: You’ll up your odds of pregnancy if you have sex or sexual intercourse within 48-72 hours after your ovulation calendar or ovulation kit indicates a LH surge.
I also kept track of my basal body temperature
If you know when you have periods or have regular cycles, you can take your temperature on the first day of your period. You then need to take it every day after that, doing this first thing in the morning. Although the change may be limited, you should notice a rise in temperature on the day that you ovulate. If you don’t have regular periods (raising hand)., then using a thermometer can be a famous tool. It was for me.
What this means for women, even those with fertility issues, who are trying to acquire the best time to gather pregnant:
A basal thermometer can provide important clues about when you are about to ovulate. You’ll want to have sex during those times. Hold in mind that your temperature will descend about 1-2 days before ovulation and then go up after ovulation. Also, if you are sick or running a temperature, this method isn’t going to work well for you (who wants to have sex when they are sick anyway? ). Even a low grade fever can mess up your results.
This was my experience and it is backed up by information found here on Web MD: www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/fertility-awareness#hw214035
The importance of knowing how to gash stress and making sure sex remained fun – not a job or chore to do
While it might seem like sex should automatically be fun, maybe you’ve talked to a couple or two who are so bent on timing a pregnancy that the whole thing is no longer joyful – it has become a goal, another thing to check off their To Do list. When that happens, it is time to select a breath and step back. Because of my family history of infertility and my own crazy cycles, I was already feeling a bit anxious. However, there is plenty of evidence that indicates stress can affect fertility.
What this means for those who are trying to find the best time to get pregnant:
Realize that there may well be a connection between stress and your ovulation date or ovulation cycles. Do your best to reduce stress and even consider acupuncture. Studies explain that stress reduction techniques may be an important tool in getting pregnant. You can see more about that here: www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/guide/infertility-and-stress or at other online sites.
I took advantage of free tools and information that were available
When I was trying to find the optimum time for pregnancy, I not only talked to friends and other women who had pregnancy advice but I read every book I could. I researched like crazy and got to know my own body’s cycles, as best I could. If you are one of those lucky women who have normal cycles, you can even use this nifty online tool to help calculate your peak fertility.:
www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/tc/interactive-tool-when-are-you-most-fertile-what-does-this-tool-measure
What this means for women who are trying to gather the best time to net pregnant:
Free information can set you the time, energy and cost of a doctor’s visit. It can also help you learn more about your most fertile days and the ones when you are most likely to have carry out pregnancy.
I became familiar with the words “cervical mucus” and learned not to get turned off by the term but actually learn to recognize important changes that indicated optimum fertility.
Until I tried to become pregnant, I really thought of anything connected to mucus as being totally ghastly and completely yucky. I couldn’t even eat okra because the two things seems so similarly slimy and disgusting. While I still don’t relish okra, I did learn to pay attention to my cervical mucus. I had to remember that I was looking for thin, clear and stringy cervical mucus.
What this means if you are trying to find the best time to get pregnant:
What might seem undesirable is spruce. Your best days to try to get pregnant are when your cervical mucus is thin and stringy. If it is thick and unclear, even cloudy, the odds are not in your favor.
Finally, my husband had to become aware of factors that could affect his fertility because…lets face it….timing a pregnancy depends on a guy’s fertility levels too.
There is plenty of info out there but we basically focused on eating healthy (both of us) and staying well. We learned that alcohol and even such over the counter drugs as ibuprofen might affect fertility. Loose underwear? Yes, that was used as well, since there was – and is- research to indicate that high temperatures can affect sperm count and fertility. Ironically, too much exercise can also have an effect. You’ll have to choose how far you are willing to go, as well as what sacrifices you want to make, in order to up the chances of pregnancy.
What this means if you are trying to regain the best time to pick up pregnant:
Never forget that there are two of you, working together, as a team. It isn’t all about one or the other of you. However, one person should never pressure the other to “get with the program”.
Although I consulted with doctors, I came to trust my own instincts and paid attention to my body. If I hadn’t, I am firmly convinced my son would have been aborted.
Here’s the final kicker to my experience, a nine pound, one ounce kicker….I had a healthy baby boy. However, the pregnancy test given by my doctor did not show I was pregnant. He wanted to do a “therapeutic abortion” in order to smart out my system and up my chances of pregnancy. I went home, felt odd, took a home pregnancy test and..surprise!…it indicated I was pregnant.
Not only that but my breasts were extremely sore and I had a shrimp flow of blood. I mistakenly assumed I was either having a period or miscarrying. The reality? I was pregnant. My doctor, however, refused to believe me and i had to go back (sigh) and take yet another pregnancy test in his office. I guess he thought I didn’t know how to do those home pregnancy tests, even though I could practically do them in my sleep. After all, I’d used those home pregnancy kits, month after month. I should have bought stock in the company or getting some residual payments.
What this means if you are trying to find the best time to earn pregnant:
Trust your instincts. Know your body and if anything changes drastically, from sore breasts to a sudden appearance of slight bleeding, take heed. Consult the experts but know when to step back and pay attention to your feelings. Gut instinct can often be your best ally, from what I learned.
