Getting Pregnant

You've gone and done it—decided to make a baby, that is. It may have taken you a long time to come to this decision, but now that you've decided to throw in your lot with getting pregnant, the thought of conception is occupying your every waking moment, day and night. You want to plan. You want to do things right.

Start with the mechanics. Maybe you thought it was going to be easy to conceive, but like many other couples, you've found that getting pregnant isn't as simple as you'd supposed. Here we talk about what you can do to increase your chances for conception.

Conception Mechanics

We begin by teaching you what you need to know about the mechanics of conception. Maybe your mother taught you about the birds and bees, or maybe you had to find out on your own, piecemeal. We fill in the gaps for you. Knowing how your body works is the first step toward realizing your goal of becoming pregnant.

What if you're not sure you're pregnant? What symptoms will you experience if you're pregnant? We teach you how to read the signs and signals of your body that tell you your goal has been achieved. We also tell you how to cope with those symptoms and how to distinguish between symptoms and danger signs that might signify a dangerous complication.

But before you even try to become pregnant or worry about signs and symptoms, you need to get in shape to carry and sustain a pregnancy. Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that all couples receive preconception care. We tell you what's involved and how far ahead you need to make that appointment. We also teach you about the lifestyle changes you'll need to make and what behaviors to avoid, such as quitting cigarette smoking and drinking alcohol, and how to bolster your nutrition in advance of pregnancy by taking folic acid. Preconception care is about making sure your baby has the best possible environment for growing strong and healthy.

Fast-Paced World

Today's world is a fast-paced one. Couples need to be creative in planning when conception will occur. We teach you how to predict ovulation—the most fertile time of your cycle. This gives you a bit of control over planning when you will conceive. You can choose to have conception sex around the time of ovulation, or avoid unprotected sex when you want to push off conception a few more months so delivery will coincide with your work schedule. All the information you need is right here at your fingertips!