Naturally conceived after 12 months of TTC? Looking for success stories & advice

[Waltham5]

Hi all,
Looking to hear from those who have naturally conceived after a year of ttc. Did you do anything differently in the mo Th you finally conceived?

[bicky]

Hi I conceived naturally after 3 years of trying, low egg count was the problem, I took vitamins high dose vitamin b, e, zinc & a vitamin called dhea, had sex every other day, have you had any tests done ?

[ButterbingQueen]

Yes! We were due to start IVF. We’d been trying for ages and had completely given up hope. We’d had tests which showed that DH had poor sperm and my eggs weren’t great, so we’d resigned ourselves to the fact that IVF would be our only chance. I can’t say that we did anything massively different in the months we conceived (we went on to conceive again very easily), but we did change our diets to cut out cr*p and changed from having sex every day during the fertile period to every 2.5 days (still timetabled ). We later found out that loads of our friends had taken 12 months+ to conceive, so please don’t lose faith if it hasn’t happened within 12 months.

[notangelinajolie]

My 3 were conceived over 14 years of no contraception. I didn't ever go to the GP or make any lifestyle changes - we let nature decide.
I had menopause at 36 after number 3 so that stopped any more coming along. Maybe I did have fertility problems but I don't know.

It's great that Mumsnet is here for advice but there is a tiny part of me that is glad that I am not trying to conceive in today's world - if you'd asked me what ovulation was I would have thought you were talking about something to do with plants.

I don't know why you haven't conceived OP but whatever the reason please go easy on your self and don't stress about it if you can because sometimes it just takes a little longer than it does for other people

[Waltham5]

Thank you ladies, I sometimes wonder whether it is just stress adding to things. I had a chemical pregnancy back in the third month of trying and nothing after that so at this point I can’t even imagine what those BFP lines look like! I did have testing done too and everything checked out ok, hormones, clear tubes, etc.

[hlc123]

Started ttc dc2 September 2009. DC1 had taken 6 months to conceive so wasn't expecting any problems. Periods became very irregular in September 2010. Had a period at the end of May 2011, then nothing, kept testing but all negative so gave up in July 2011. Gave up hope and got referred for some tests and had some swabs taken at the end of August 2011, and prescribed some tablets to induce a period but told I must do a pregnancy test first. As I was waiting for a blood test the next week to check hormone levels I delayed starting the tablets. The morning of the blood test I did a pregnancy test sure it would be negative and it was positive! Wasn't sure how pregnant I was as I hadn't had a period in June, July or August but had negative tests and got referred for a scan and I was 6 weeks. DC3 was conceived without really trying! Good luck

[Waltham5]

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond to me! I’m in my new cycle now about day 6 so already the thoughts are starting to creep in about opks and all that. I sure hope this is my month!!! Pray for me 🙏

[SomewhereEast]

It took me just over that (13 months) with my eldest. We were just beginning to think there might be issues and DH did have a slightly below average sperm count as it turned out. Strangely enough, the subsequent two times we TTCed I got pregnant pretty much instantly. Anecdotally that it seems to be a thing - its almost as if your body figures it out?

[MrsMcTats]

I know it can be super annoying when people say 'just relax,' but I think for us it did make a difference. DH and I had stressful jobs, long hours. The month after month of negative tests was getting me down. We went on an amazing relaxing holiday, ate all the bad stuff, drank far too much and didn't think about TTC. Came home pregnant!

[Adelais]

My first child took 20 months to conceive though I did have long irregular cycles. It was the first month taking Agnus Castus/Vitex that I fell pregnant which might have helped.

[birkenstocks4ever]

My first took 2 years. Had investigations and had endo (that I didn't know I had lasered away), 3 months of clomid and got nothing. Found out I was pg a week before our ivf referral appt. DH had been taking amino acids for about 6 months to improve his count which had come back at the low end of normal. We didn't do anything different the month I conceived at all. Hang in there - I hope you get your positive test soon x

[serraserra36]

Another one who conceived naturally after a long time, no rhyme or reason found (though various theories from Drs that scared me into believing it'd never happen).

[Waltham5]

Thanks ladies! I really hope it’s my time soon, I’ve really always wanted 3 children and I’ll be 34 next month, just hoping it’ll all just happen on its own soon :)

[DefConOne]

I conceived after 18 months between first appointment at fertility clinic and waiting for DH to take in a sample. I had very irregular, light periods but blood tests didn’t explain it.

We were away when I conceived. Not a traditional relaxing holiday but an adventurous, challenging journey. I lost a bit of weight as I’m veggie and there wasn’t much dairy around. We had a fantastic time but it was really stressful at times. We weren’t thinking about TTC at all. No idea if distraction and diet helped.

Second child was first month of TTC.

[Hadenoughfornow]

Have you been to GP? They may do tests to see if there are issues with fertility.

It did take me significantly longer than 1 year. But in the end it did happen naturally. I had finally accepted we needed IVF - (had been approved but just wasn't quite ready in my head for it). The month I accepted it wasn't going to happen naturally was the month it did happen. It was Christmas so I think I was just so focused on other things.

[Waltham5]

Ladies these have been so helpful! Thank you so much. What I don't like is that I've come to a point where I'm almost not even interested in BD unless it's within the fertile period and I'm taking fertilitea and omega 3 second cycle of that and have been taking prenatals. Also using opks and had everything checked out so eggs, hormones and tubes look good. SO and I did have a CP cycle 3 of trying so I know it's possible just don't know what's taking so long! Any thoughts on this? And anything else I should try?

[Riotgirlxxx]

I had my first cycle of ivf for unexplained infertility after trying for nearly 3 years, it failed and I fell pregnant naturally the next month.

We were so pissed off about it failing we went on a brilliant all inclusive holiday, drank every day and had sex whenever we felt like it rather than on a planned schedule.

I wouldn't say we relaxed exactly but we pretty much just resigned ourselves to it not happening. Either that or the ivf fixed something?

Had DD2 two years later, conceived straight away.

[1point21gigawatts]

My story is slightly different, but worth adding. I got pg first time without really trying. One month of no contraception and there I was. Unfortunately the baby had a serious chromosome disorder, so I had a surgical termination for medical reasons.

I assumed I would get pg again quickly, but didn't. After 15 months we went to the gp, who told me, erroneously, that we wouldn't be eligible for IVF as this was secondary infertility. She was useless actually, but did put fertility tests in motion. Had a horrible phone appointment with gp to discuss results of blood test where she asked me why on earth I was trying to get pg after having a termination 🙄 Turns out the blood test had happened on a weird cycle which had only lasted 3 weeks (something that has never happened before or since, so v strange).

So, I decided to take control. Went for acupuncture, bought a clear blue ovulation monitor and some preseed lubricant. 3 months of acupuncture, second month on the other two and I was pg.

For dd2 I used the clear blue tester again and the preseed and got pg the first month.

[1point21gigawatts]

I would honestly recommend acupuncture. Apart from anything else, it chilled me right out. Colleagues even mentioned that I was less stressed, one even said serene! I am convinced it helped.

[Paranoidmarvin]

My aunt did. After years and years of nothing. (She didn’t want to do ivf. ). Bam. She got pregnant. Out of the blue. She then got pregnant her first time of trying the next time.

[Waltham5]

Ladies thank you so much, this really does help me have hope and not feel alone.

Are there any supplements you can recommend? I started prenantals a while back and have tried fertility tea and omega 3 for the last 2 cycles. Those of you recommending q10, any particular brand? also how did you use it and for How long?

Also had testing done, hormones, eggs and tubes in good shape, also we did get a CP at 3rd month of ttc but nothing since so don't even know what's going on.

[Waltham5]

Bump!

[TimeWastingButFun]

First baby was born by IUI (success first time). The reason for not conceiving naturally was 'unexplained' but after extensive googling I decided for myself the reason was hostile cervical mucus. So for the next baby I took loads of cough syrup with guaifenesin in it (it thins the mucus as it does with coughs). Along with ovulation predictor tests - I made sure to take the syrup a few days before and a few days after. I got pregnant naturally very quickly that way so no IUI needed second time. Good luck!

[1point21gigawatts]

Oh I forgot, I also upped my iron intake. I took spatone every day in a glass of cranberry juice. Might have helped.

[sunshineandshowers3]

@Waltham5 Did you get your BFP? I know this post hasn’t been commented on since last year but I’m currently at the 12 months ttc and feeling quite helpless x

[Hoping43]

Hi. I just wondered if anyone got pregnant in the end after 12 months?