Millions of couples around the world are struggling to conceive. While contraception has been the core focus in the past, conception and fertility are getting more and more attention.
We share 10 tips to get pregnant from understanding what might be the cause of your challenges in conception, how to increase your chances naturally, treatments available to you, and when to speak with a fertility expert.
1) Remember, You Are Not Alone
It is important to know that difficulty in conceiving is very common issue among couples. According to data by the World Health Organization, one in every six people globally who are in their reproductive years have struggled to conceive. This frequency increases with age, especially after the age of 35.
2) Understand the Causes Infertility
Factors contributing to challenges in conception are multiple and sometimes complex. Common causes of infertility in Kenya for both men and women include:
- Blocked tubes
- Infrequent or failed ovulation
- Hormonal imbalance
- Endometriosis
- Uterine conditions, such as fibroids
- Untreated sexually transmitted infections
- Poor sperm transport
- Low sperm count
- Abnormal sperm shape
- Poor sperm quality
About one third of fertility issues can be attributed to the woman’s side, one third to the male side, and one third to a combination and/or unknown reasons.
The fact that men are as often the reason for fertility issues is not always well known. So getting pregnant should be a joint project to maximize chances of success.
3) How to Increase the Chances of Getting Pregnant
While some causes of infertility are not preventable, there are several things you can do to increase chances of getting pregnant naturally without resorting to assisted reproductive treatments.
- Eating healthy: Maintain a healthy weight by exercise and good diet as we’ll discuss below
- Stop smoking and use of recreational drugs
- Avoid sexually transmitted infections: Avoid multiple partners and/or use condoms, get screened and treated promptly if you contract an infection
- Age: Beware of rapid decline in fertility after the age of 35
4) Eat Healthy
Eating a healthy diet is not about strict limitations, staying unrealistically thin, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. It’s about consuming foods that can improve your fertility and get you closer to pregnancy. These include:
- Unsaturated fats: Fat from foods such as avocados and olive oil is better than fat from meat and other sources because they support healthy hormone production.
- Vegetables and fruits:Leafy greens, such as spinach and managu, contain folate that lowers the risks of birth defects and promotes healthy egg development, while anti-oxidant fruits, such as berries and bananas, protects reproductive cells.
- Whole grain: Whether maize, wheat, oat, rice, barley, or other carbs, opt for whole grains which help to level your insulin levels, directly supporting reproductive health.
- Meat: Fish is preferable over chicken and other meat sources because it’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids which regulate reproductive health hormones and improve egg quality.
A healthy diet will not only increase chances to conceive but also get you off to a healthy start in pregnancy.
5) Understand Timing of the Fertile Window
For conception to occur, a biologically healthy man must have sexual intercourse with a healthy woman at a favorable time of her cycle. Whether you get pregnant or not depends on whether you have sex during this favorable window which lasts between 3 and 6 days.
So When Is the Favorable Time Window for Getting Pregnant?
If you are having a regular 28 day cycle, the best time to get pregnant will be 10-14 days after your menstruation. If your cycle is shorter than 28 days the fertile period will be earlier, or later if your cycle is longer than 28 days.
The best way to get timing right is using a period tracking app to monitor your ovulation window. There are many free options available, with Flo or Clue being among the most popular. These apps use the calendar method where you fill in your period days and from there they can estimate your ovulation days. Some even have an option to add daily temperature measurements to increase the accuracy because a woman’s body tend to be warmer during ovulation.
The most accurate way to understand timing is to use an ovulation prediction kit, commonly available in chemists. These kits work by testing a woman’s urine for a surge in the luteinizing hormone which happens just before ovulation.
6) Should I Take Over-the-Counter Drugs to Boost My Fertility?
No, do not take any fertility treatment drugs without consulting a fertility expert or undergoing a gynecological evaluation.
The commonly prescribed clomid tablet is open to abuse, and prolonged use may cause serious risks such as ovarian cancer. Please talk to a medical expert before commencing on any fertility drugs.
7) Understand When You Need to See a Fertility Expert
If you are younger than 35 you should consult a fertility expert after one year of unsuccessful trying. Women older than 35 should do this after 6 months because the available time to get pregnant gets shorter.
Malaica has worked out a list with the best Kenyan fertility experts you can consult for medical advice, fertility tests, and treatment options.
8) What Tests Should I Do if I Am Having Problems Conceiving?
The results of your medical evaluation from a gynecologist or fertility expert will guide the fertility tests ideal for you.
Initial tests include assessment of sperms and confirmation of ovulation. In some cases a reproductive hormone profile is recommended, while further testing may involve assessing the condition of the fallopian tubes, uterus, ovaries and testes.
9) Understand the Available Fertility Treatment Options
The fertility treatment options your doctor will recommend depends on the issues identified. Some couples will benefit from simple lifestyle modifications such as quitting smoking or losing weight.
Additional interventions include the following:
- Fertility drugs: Such drugs may improve the production or quality of eggs or sperm
- Insemination (IUI): Sperm that has been washed and concentrated is placed directly into the woman’s uterus during her fertile window
- In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF): IVF is an advanced assisted reproductive technique that involves the stimulation of ovaries via hormonal medication to produce eggs, sperms and eggs retrieval from a couple, artificial fertilization in a laboratory setting, and finally, placement of the fertilized embryo into a woman’s uterus.
- Surgery: A minority of women may benefit from surgery to correct fallopian tube problems.
10) Understanding and Saving on the Costs of Fertility Treatments
Any couple who have faced sub-fertility are aware of the high costs involved in the testing and treatments. Some face endless consultations, tests, and operations that leave them drained out of cash, and nowhere near to conception.
There are reasonable steps that a couple can take to reduce these expenses such as:
- Doing initial consultations with a general gynecologist and ask for an early referral to a fertility expert if things are dragging on.
- Evaluating the male partner as well before embarking on expensive female fertility tests and treatments.
- Discussing your treatment options with your healthcare provider in detail, including the expected success rates and tabulated total costs upfront so you can both make an informed decision.
- Speaking with your insurance company or employer to see if they can cover all or part of the fertility tests and treatment costs.
- Researching low-interest ‘fertility loans’ for treatments as well as clinics that offer favorable payment plans.
Tubal disease is the most common cause of sub-fertility in Kenya and easily rectified through IVF treatment. On average, a single IVF cycle ranges from around KSh 400,000 to KSh 600,000, depending on the clinic, medications, tests, and any additional procedures needed and often translates into decent success rates.
For patients who cannot afford such amounts, low-cost IVF may be a good alternative to no treatment at all. Such approaches yield less eggs and embryos, and consequently lower success rates, but at a considerably lower cost.
How Malaica Can Support You
If you’re planning to get pregnant, start by understanding and optimizing your health through a lifestyle, medical, and nutritional assessment to learn how well your body is prepared for pregnancy. At Malaica, our preconception care provides personalized and evidence-based support to ensure you’re physically, medically, and emotionally ready for a healthy conception. We also carry out basic fertility tests for couples struggling to get pregnant and further refer you to fertility clinics for advanced treatments.
Curious how Malaica can empower your pregnancy journey from conception to postpartum? Book a consultation with us to learn more.