Trying for a baby

[LizzieeLou]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had some good advice, me and my partner are on the process of trying for a baby, I came off the combined pill back in May last year, we’ve both been tested and everything has come back normal,my periods aren’t your normal 28 day cycle, can anyone recommend any tablets to help get pregnant, for both myself and my partner, I tried pregnacare last year but that seemed to have messed my cycles even more. The doctors just seem to not be bothered 😕 any advice would be great 😊

There aren't any tablets that can help you get pregnant. Supplements can help improve your over all health but it's impossible to prove a link to conception. Have you done everything you can in terms of lifestyle changes (both of you) - no alcohol, no/reduced caffeine, healthy/balanced diet with lots of whole foods, exercise, reduce stress. What is your cycle? It's very common to not have a 28 day cycle.

Yup I meant supplements 🤦‍♀️.
mine varies from 30 day to 40 but irregular, but the GP has said everything is both fine for us, which can be very frustrating

The only important thing you need to know is about finances .. boring I know .. but THE most important thing.

Where are you in all this ?

If you get pregnant and go on maternity leave.. what are your benefits ?

Is your pension paid ? Or does that stop whilst your partners continues without a blip.. ?

If you are married not such an issue .. but if not then you lose out ..

Do you rent ? Or own .. if so who owns ?

If not you and not married then that is not good..

A child puts a hand Grenade in a relationship.. months sometimes years without sleep and lack of libido cause a huge amount of relationship breakdowns ..

Just to say .. none of my daughters would consider a baby without the legal contract that is marriage - unless you have a substantial economic advantage over your dp..

Supplements won't help you get pregnant.
They are just to ensure your healthy.

As your Dr hasn't found any cause for concern yet they won't aid conception.

Did they only do blood tests or were there further investigations?

Yup I’ve had blood test I’ve also had an inside and outside scan, I’ve had the full MOT, but nothing, my partner has had a sperm count and all ok too.

@LizzieeLou it's a bit of a minefield and can be expensive- there are so many different supplements out there and who knows what helps. I've used Proceive before - I liked that it had so many different things included. Some people go for Zita West - but I think that can get very costly. I think sometimes it's about feeling that you are doing something to help. You could also try acupuncture - again not sure if it helps or not.

As mentioned before be healthy, exercise, limit caffeine and alcohol.

Only other thing is although exercise is good - overdoing it isn't.

Also good luck

I found reading 'it starts with the egg' really helpful in terms of what supplements to take.

Vitamins shortened my cycles. GP said she'd heard of that before but didn't know why.
Get separate Vitamin D & Folic acid.

I also really recommend the book “it starts with the egg”.

It’s quite a lot of information to take in at first but you don’t necessarily have to make all of the changes suggested.

I’m sure it’s what made the difference to us conceiving after a few years of trying and having a successful pregnancy, after many losses.

It is backed by research.

There is nothing you can take has been robustly demonstrated to improve your chance of conceiving. It starts with the egg grossly misinterprets and overstates evidence in this regard - please don't waste your money on the extortionate supplements it recommends. There is also no evidence to support reduction in plastic use or any particular diet or drink. There is also little evidence that caffeine and alcohol intake have much effect either but as those things are limited in pregnancy it makes sense to start the lifestyle changes. A normal healthy balanced diet with the usual occasional treats is perfectly fine - keeping your BMI in normal range is advantageous in terms of conception and pregnancy risk. It is normal for it to take 12-24 months to conceive, however frustrating that may be. If at 18-24 months you've still not seen success you may want to pursue further investigations. Robert Winston's 'the essential fertility guide' is an excellent book that legitimately gives you the facts based on current evidence base. It also covers fertility investigations and treatment and the evidence around this, which can be very helpful to read before you embark on that journey. Hopefully of course you won't need to. Best of luck.

No need for the misogynistic slur @LizzieeLou

Maybe get a period tracker app. Annoying that your periods are all over the place, but maybe a good place to start so it can predict when you are likely to ovulate?

Get some ovulation tests as well to work it all out.

I think having sex every other day around ovulation is what they recommend.