Advice on trying to conceive - What worked for you?

[TinaMumsnet]

Hi there,

We’re writing an article about things you can do to improve your chances of conceiving.

We’re working with experts to make sure the advice in the article is medically sound and we know that there can be things outside of our control that makes conception more challenging, but we’d also love to include some stories of women who’ve been there before.

We’d be so grateful if you could share your experiences on some of the scientific stuff that worked for you, and also some the less scientific stuff that seemed to do the trick .

Here’s the kind of thing we think would be interesting for readers:

What differences did you make to your lifestyle before trying to conceive?

Do you think there’s anything you/your partner did that made a difference?

What advice would you give people who are trying to conceive?

If you're happy to share your thoughts, it would be great to know just a little bit about you too

How old were you when you got pregnant?
Occupation / some info about you and your partner when you conceived (If you think it’s relevant and you’re happy to share)

If you'd rather not share any personal info, that's obviously totally fine!

TIA

At 42 I met dh 31..a year in we ttc. 3 months before I gave up fizzy drinks, tea and coffee.. Ate vegetables every day.. Lots of greens... Took folic acid.. Dh took soluble vit c tablets (1000mg) twice a day for those 3 months. He cut down on alcohol.. Conceived on the second month actually trying...

I’m 29, DH is 30. We started TTC in October 2019, fell pregnant in April 2020 however that ended in an ectopic. We had to wait 3 months before trying again due to the treatment, and we fell pregnant again in December 2020.

What differences did you make to your lifestyle before trying to conceive?
Honestly, not many! I started taking folic acid and vitamin D 3 months before TTC and continually throughout. Neither of us stopped drinking on the weekends, we didn’t want to put more stress on ourselves and figured if we carried on fairly normally we would be more relaxed. I did OPKs for a few months but stopped as I found I was constantly stressing over sticks.

Do you think there’s anything you/your partner did that made a difference?
The second time we conceived my DH started taking Wellman conception vitamins about 6 weeks before. May just be coincidental though!

What advice would you give people who are trying to conceive?
It’s so cliche and very much easier said than done, but try to relax. I found myself living cycle to cycle, obsessing over OPKs and subsequently pregnancy tests trying to squint at a line that wasn’t there. It wasn’t healthy. Once I stopped the OPKs and all the tracking, I felt much calmer in myself. The disappointment would still be there when AF would roll around but it was nice to have the few weeks beforehand just kind of coasting.

What differences did you make to your lifestyle before trying to conceive?
I cut right down on drinking and starting to take folic acid.
*
Do you think there’s anything you/your partner did that made a difference?*
I think that doing my BBT each day helped and using TTC apps as they helped to know when I was ovulating. The second month we followed SMEP (Sperm Meets Egg Plan) and it worked first time (not sure whether this was a coincidence or not!)
*
What advice would you give people who are trying to conceive?*
Take BBT each morning.
Download an ovulation app.
Do the SMEP (easy to find by Google)
Use PreSeed (a sperm friendly lube that mimics the fertile fluids).

How old were you when you got pregnant?
Partner and I were both 28. Started to try August 2020 and fell pregnant September 2020.

What differences did you make to your lifestyle before trying to conceive?

I stopped drinking (partner already didn't drink). That's about it. I'm fairly healthy anyway.

Do you think there’s anything you/your partner did that made a difference?

I used ovulation sticks and conceived first time using them.
My partner also switched to looser boxers.

What advice would you give people who are trying to conceive?

Make sure you've got the correct ovulation date - I recommend the sticks as months previous when we tried just using an app I think I was out slightly.

How old were you when you got pregnant?

I was 34 (3 months away from 35th birthday)

Occupation / some info about you and your partner when you conceived (If you think it’s relevant and you’re happy to share)

Civil servants - currently working from home

Thanks so much @MimiDaisy11 @Easterbunnygettingready @MrsB2019x @MummyLE this is really helpful!

No lifestyle changes but previously healthy anyway, moderate alcohol consumption, healthy weight, healthy food, lots of exercise. Just started taking folic acid in advance.

It took four months to conceive the first and five for the second. I have PCOS but under control. I noticed that on both the months I conceived my BBT charts were much smoother and more 'classic' looking. I then realised that on both these months I had drank hardly anything. I looked up PCOS and alcohol and found a link with increased oestrogen production / oestrogen dominance. I can't prove anything, but I'm convinced that the minimal alcohol allowed me to conceive.

I was early thirties both times.

Advice:

• if you have PCOS, start taking inositol in advance, get weight under control and avoid alcohol when TTC.
• all people; track BBT as it tells you so much useful info, but don't obsess. Try to relax about timings, just DTD every other day from when your period ends to three days after you see your temp rise on BBT.

What differences did you make to your lifestyle before trying to conceive?
I started adding maca powder to my shakes which is apparently what they use in Peru! I initially was obsessed with tracking my ovulation and after a few months I deleted all my apps and just had sex when we felt like it and stopped obsessing with dates. Took 6 months to conceive after coming off the pill.

Do you think there’s anything you/your partner did that made a difference?

Stopped obsessing over ovulation dates and just let it happen!

What advice would you give people who are trying to conceive?

Focus on maintaining a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise (not extreme), outdoor if possible. Keep your mind busy with other things and projects rather than focusing too much on conceiving, especially in that first year when things can just take time.

If you're happy to share your thoughts, it would be great to know just a little bit about you too

How old were you when you got pregnant?
Occupation / some info about you and your partner when you conceived (If you think it’s relevant and you’re happy to share)

I was 26 almost 27 and my partner was 27 when we conceived. Had a chemical pregnancy first month after coming off the contraceptive pill (progesterone only), conceived 5/6 months later. I was working in an office although home based because of covid and partner is a builder.