To ask what you’d do if you were 37 and TTC naturally for the first time?

Stop DTDing like rabbits. Work out when your fertile period is and get DH to store up his sperm to use when you're most fertile.

We tried to conceive for 4 years in our mid 30s without success. DTD very regularly and started to think it was never going to happen.

One month we barely went near each other, both had been away with work and away on stag/hen dos and both had been unwell and I think we managed to DTD just the once ….. thank god we did as I ended up pregnant with twins.

Well I bought 2 ovulation kits to pinpoint the moment. Nothing showed. My temperature never rose either. A specialist scanned me and confirmed the egg had never launched. Two days later I had a positive test. Twins run in my family so I have always thought the egg that didn't launch was the twin that missed out. I was nearly 37 - a few months off. It took us 3 months at 37. It took us a month with our first at 34. I did the legs stuck up the wall thing too.

It really does because I'm living proof. If you've got nothing helpful to add just pipe down.

It proves nothing except that you happened to conceive afterwards. Unless there's another you in an identical situation that didn't do it and didn't conceive, all you have is a singular anecdote. It's not evidence of anything.

Folk saying to just have sex on certain days are wrong. I remember seeing an interview with Professor Robert Winston who is a leading fertility expert and he said frequently couples come and say we have sex on the most fertile day of the month and it isn't happening. He tells them they need to have WAY more sex on all different days and often that works before any medical intervention.

I’ve bought folic acid, we’re DTD like rabbits and I’ve bought some ovulation sticks to try but any top tips would be much appreciated

The only thing you need out of this sentence is the folic acid, statistically the best way to get pregnant is not to track but simply to have sex every two to three days.

This is because ovulation doesn't always occur at a predictable moment (as PPs have observed regarding sticks giving different results to trackers and so on), so what you want to do is just make sure there are always living sperm waiting for an egg as soon as it's released. Sperm can live for up to seven days but at 2-3 days you'll have a lot of healthy ones still, any longer than that and they'll start dying off quickly.

Tracking and peeing on ovulation sticks can raise your stress levels which counteracts their usefulness. I'd give it six months of regular sex, orgasming will raise your chances as will lying on your back with your legs on the wall for ten minutes. (I'm not familiar with the assertion that this does nothing except cause UTIs, as far as I'm aware it actually raises chances of conception by 20%!)

Conceived first month doing this aged 35.

Track cycles and ovulation on an app. I used natural cycles first time and flo second. You don't need to do it all the time to get pregnant, just target the best days. I got pregnant at 36 within a few months of doing this after getting pregnant after 9 months at 34 also doing this.

The first time I did realise I had quite irregular cycles and my leutal phase was often too short. I took some vitamin supplements that support hormone balance and fell pregnant the following month.

Also, stop drinking if you drink.

No one can say something "definitely works" about anything. Just because something worked for you doesn't mean it will for everyone. That's like saying only having sex once on your period definitely works because it happened to you. The only time I conceived naturally was when I had covid. But I don't think this is what made it definitely work.
The only thing that is most LIKELY to work is to have regular sex around your ovulation time. Is it guaranteed? No. If you're worried about your age and want to try and speed it up use ovulation sticks. Get as healthy as possible. Take vitamins esp Folic acid.
For most people just having regular sex will be enough eventually. Using ovulation sticks will increase chances if you have unusual cycles and aren't sure when you ovulate.
You just need a healthy sperm to meet a healthy egg and enough luck that it implants successfully. At 37 chances are very much on your side.

To be fair, it doesn’t really prove anything as you don’t know if you would have conceived without having done it.

I suffered from recurrent UTIs in my early 20s so always go for a wee immediately after sex, and I’ve conceived 9 times on the first or second try (had lots of mcs due to a now diagnosed immune issue), so you definitely don’t need to lie down or do anything special afterwards.

OP I’m pregnant now at 37 and as above conceived first month trying.

Not from personal experience, but a friend’s: if you’re not successful within the first 6 months of TTC, don’t hang around waiting for the NHS to do tests, if you can afford to do them privately.

Track ovulation

Don't have sex everyday- have it every other day (the sperm need a tad longer to regenerate properly, especially if the bloke is a bit older - google it, I'm not making this up). Also you really only need to focus on the sex around ovulation time.

Use pre-seed - Google it, you can get it from larger Boots that have a good section for TTC. It's absolutely amazing stuff - read the reviews.

Take your vitamins

Track your cycle

Don't forget your own orgasm after his. There's a biological function to the female orgasm - it launches the sperm inside you and really helps push it up. So once it's in - make sure you then finish.

If you like a drink, have a drink (not excessively but you don't need to ban that Friday night glass of wine if you usually have it).

Eat well for sure but don't ban foods, don't start throwing your body into any sort of shock diet. I can't stress this enough - don't start frantically exercising if you're not someone who exercises. That sort of thing.

Stress is nature's natural contraception. So the best thing you can do is make just those minor adjustments - the vitamins, a few more veggies on your plate, one less cup of coffee - but don't go mad. Eat well but don't start doing any detoxing.

Get outside, take some walks, be a bit more in nature, do things that make you happy.

Your DH needs to keep his balls cool - back off from jacuzzi's, tight boxers, hot baths, sitting with his laptop on his lap etc.

We did all the above, conceived the 2nd month of trying. I was nearly 40yrs.

No advice ... but plenty of women do conceive naturally in their late 30s/40s ... I did at 42 ... (first child) wasn't even 'trying' ... DH was much keener than me !

It really does because I'm living proof. If you've got nothing helpful to add just pipe down.

Yep. I was the same as you. It took about 9 months and now he's a 14 year old teenage (lovely) monster.
I'm glad I was older. I had so much more patience.

Positive story here: I convinced naturally first time at 37, after being on the pill and the coil for 20 years! I'd literally had my coil taken out a week earlier..didn't even get my period before I was pregnant!

It really doesn’t. There have been multiple studies on this and the only outcome was an increased risk of a UTI which is not great for conception and pregnancy.

When I was 35 trying to conceive my second it took 18 months. Month 18, I changed my diet, was super healthy, no drinking etc and I conceived!

Hope it’s quick for you, quite a few of my friends have conceived late 30s, no issues at all.

I conceived quickly in my 40s. Used ovulation tests and tracked my cycles on an app. Taking temperature every day.

also used advice from SMEP https://www.motherandbaby.com/getting-pregnant/trying-to-conceive/smep-sperm-meets-egg-plan/

Also worth getting your thyroid checked in case you have a stealth thyroid disorder. If you do, your TSH should be under 2 for conception which not a lot of GPs are aware of but it makes a massive difference. Maybe one to investigate if you end up with no success or you have recurrent miscarriages.

If I went back in time I would be your age OP when we first tried. I was pregnant three months after stopping the pill and sadly had a miscarriage in the first trimester. We both needed time (especially me) to recover. When we tried again (we realised time wasn’t on our side), it took just over a year of having sex at least twice a day just before and during fertile days. I tracked my periods via an app. I am someone with regular cycles - I know not every woman is like this.

We had a healthy baby girl in the year I turned 40. We are happy with one and done.

All the best for this journey ahead!

This plus take folic acid in the methylated form as folate, not the cheap lab made stuff. You should both take ubiquinol too. I think using the proconceive lube helped us too. Got pg naturally at 37 and 39

I conceived at 39 and 41 within a couple of months completely naturally and without any aids. So quickly in fact that we weren’t really prepared for it! I know that’s not everyone’s story but it happens often enough that I would relax for the first 6 months and then start looking at all these other things after that.

My cycle was roughly 30 days so I made sure we DTD on day 12,13 and 14. I didn’t use ovulation tests or anything, I just counted the day I started my period as day 1. I fell pregnant both times in the first month of trying.

I used the same method when I was almost 40 and fell pregnant in the 4th month of trying.

Good Luck OP

I recommend the book "it starts with the egg" that details things you can do to improve fertility. In a nutshell

• try to get to a normal weight. Being underweight or overweight will reduce your chances of conceiving
• Have a diet full of vitamins, antioxydants, omega3 and vitamin D: Reduce sugar, ultra-processed food and transfat as much as possible
• Reduce alcohol and cut down smoking
• If possible, try to take some steps to reduce your exposure to endocrine disruptors and everyday pollutants
• Your partners should eat healthy and cut down alcohol and smoking because it affects sperm health and it's pretty important too

Quite a few people conceive at this age without huge effort, so good luck!