The Fertility Program
Your journey to parenthood can be an exciting time, and there are a few ways you can improve your chances of conceiving naturally.
Our Fertility Program will help you to understand the factors affecting your fertility, and set you on a correct path to pregnancy in simple steps.
1. Understand your cycle
The timing of intercourse plays a critical role in conception. Having sex 24-48 hours prior to ovulation gives a woman the best chance of falling pregnant because it is at this time that she is at her most fertile. One can calculate your approximate time of ovulation based on your menstrual cycle. Also, if tracking is too stressful you can have intercourse on alternate to every 2 day basis from approximate day 8/day 10 to day 18/day 20.
2. Improve your Lifestyle
As a couple, there are a number of ways you can best prepare for pregnancy from a health and lifestyle perspective. These include:
- Stop smoking, as it reduces fertility by around 40%, and also increases the risk of miscarriage
- Reduce alcohol and caffeine intake
- Follow a healthy diet and exercise routine
- For a female, taking folic acid, ideally for three months prior to trying to conceive, as it known to prevent neural tube birth defects
- Managing known conditions, such as diabetes, thyroid disorders. This improves the chances of a healthy baby, and reduces the risk of miscarriage
- Reviewing current medications and any implications for pregnancy with your doctor
- Understanding your menstrual cycle
3. Consult our fertility specialist
If you’ve tried the previous steps, and are not pregnant in the time you expected, we recommend you have a consultation with our Fertility Specialist. This is especially important if you are under 35 and have been trying for a year or more, or if you are over 35 and aren’t after six months of trying.
The specialist will do a comprehensive assessment of your fertility, which will help you understand your potential to fall pregnant and all your available options. This may include initial blood tests for her, to understand ovulation and the number of eggs available, and for him a semen analysis to understand quality and volume of sperm.