Increasing fertility before seeking medical intervention

[MrsNuckyT]

Am trying to conceive DC2 after getting pregnant with first very quickly. I'm now 36 (was 33 then) and have been trying for 6 months.

Just starting to look into what I can do myself to help. I'm guessing cutting right back on alcohol (although it must be said that I was on a very boozy honeymoon when I got pregnant with DS!) and caffeine will help. What other top tips are there?

Pre-conception vitamins (am already taking a high dose of folic acid due to an underlying health condition which doesn't affect fertility)? What should DH be doing if anything?

Also, if I want to speak to a doctor but they say I need to wait until 6 months, what are the private options?

This might be stating the obvious, but the first thing to do is make sure you're timing it right. There's only quite a narrow window each month in which you can get pregnant. Do you know when you ovulate? If not, or if you only have a very rough idea based on cycle length, OPKs and temping can help to pinpoint it more accurately.

Taking vitamins is a good idea for both you and your DH and cutting back on alcohol and caffeine is obviously always a good thing to do, although I'm not sure how much any of these things actually help with conception as opposed to just helping you to have a healthy pregnancy when you do get pregnant.

You might want to try sperm friendly lubricant - we used pre seed which seems to have lots of success stories!

I don't know anything about private treatment but if you're over 35 you should be eligible for nhs treatment after 6 months. However, some areas have restrictions on what is available if you already have a child so worth checking that.

Good luck!

There are 2 useful things that both you and your partner can do before trying to conceive.
Try these for at least 3 months ahead of time - and have fun !

Go for a holiday in the sunshine
If that is not possible, boost your Vitamin D
This will increase your fertility and reduce your risk of preterm birth
Read more here:
VitaminDwiki
D*Action

Increase your Omega-3 & REDUCE your Omega-6
Eat lots of oily fish like Salmon
Take high strength Omega-3 fish oil
Eat less soya and oils made from soya, corn & sunflower
This will increase your fertility and improve the health of your baby
Read more here:
ExpertOmega3

Find out how to test your levels yourself:
How much?

You can buy these tests and supplements here:
GreenVits

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Interesting blog by a Consultant Gastroenterolgist, Dr David Grimes, about the best time to conceive:

DrDavidGrimes

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Thanks. Yes, I'm already tracking ovulation using the CGAFM so have good, accurate idea of when I'm most fertile. I haven't done temping yet so can't confirm for certain that I am ovulating when I think I am.

Will try the usual suspects and maybe some supplements!