Now that the facts are on the table and the myths have been dispelled, it's time to learn what the birds and bees already know: Getting pregnant can take a little effort. There are some tips and tricks that can help a healthy, fertile couple's chances for conception increase. Trying them can, in some cases, help speed along the process or at least hedge the bets in favor of a healthy pregnancy once the goal has been achieved.
Stop birth control. If the desire is to get pregnant, this is a must. To clean out the system from hormonal medications before trying to conceive, consider using an alternative means of control during the first one to three cycles.
Treat yourself like you are pregnant. While it might take a little time to conceive, one of the best ways to ensure a healthy start is to begin early. This means cutting out smoking, drinking and caffeine in advance of conception and even starting on folic acid early to lessen the chances of birth defects down the road.
Prepare your body by getting into shape. While there's no guarantee for conception and no way to determine the outcome once it has happened, healthy women tend to have healthy babies. With this in mind, it's not a bad idea to get weight into check and other health issues addressed beforehand. There are some studies that show women who are under or overweight have a harder time conceiving.
Time ovulation. Getting pregnant absolutely requires good timing. To ensure having sex during the right time of the month, there are ovulation calendars, ovulation predictor kits and more to help. In general, the egg is released on the 12th to 16th day of a cycle, but this isn't always the right window in every woman. Learning to track ovulation can greatly increase chances for having sex on the right days and actually successfully fertilizing an egg.
Positions can help. This sometimes falls in the myth category, but there are experts who believe positions that offer the deepest penetration during sex can help ensure sperm is deposited as close to the cervix as possible. The suggested positions here include man on top, or missionary, and the man behind with both facing in the same direction.
In brief. Men can help in the process by getting rid of constricting pants and underwear. Boxers tend to be better for allowing sperm counts to rise, which can increase chances for conception.
