There must be a lot of unanswered questions about pregnancy preparation for women who are planning to get pregnant and are ready to have a baby, whether they are just starting to prepare or are already on the road to preparing for pregnancy. Question 1: What position during intercourse helps conception? There is little evidence today to suggest that a certain position during intercourse will help conception. Sperm travel quickly without the help of gravity, and the strongest sperm can travel through the cervix to the uterus in as little as two minutes if conditions are right. The key is to make sure that you have intercourse frequently and don’t be obsessed with the idea of getting pregnant – you’re at your best when you’re enjoying sex and getting pregnant at the same time. Question 2: How can I recognize if I am ovulating? You can recognize it based on your physiological changes. Some women feel bouts of pain in the abdomen or pain similar to that experienced during menstruation during ovulation as the egg is expelled from the ovary. Prior to ovulation, the vagina produces mucus like egg white. Ovulation usually occurs 12 to 16 days before the next menstrual period, but it is important to keep in mind that ovulation may occur differently from month to month. If your menstrual cycle is less regular and you wish to determine when ovulation occurs, you can try to base your judgment on a temperature graph. During ovulation, your body temperature will rise by 0.3-0.5°C. However, this method of determination is so inconvenient that many maternity hospitals have abandoned its use. Nowadays, a variety of ovulation testers are sold in pharmacies, and with this instrument, you can know exactly when you are ovulating. Question 3: What should my husband and I do to improve our chances of conceiving? To maximize the chances of conception, you should have intercourse regularly, especially during the first half of your menstrual cycle. Since sperm can survive in the cervix for 3-5 days, it is recommended that couples should ideally have intercourse every 3 days as a way of ensuring a supply of sperm in time for fertilization of the egg when it is released. Ovulation and the days leading up to it are the best times to have intercourse as the egg usually only survives for 12-24 hours. Of course your physical health is also crucial for the arrival of your baby, so stop drinking and smoking immediately, maintain a balanced diet and eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. Women who are planning to get pregnant should consume 0.4 mg of folic acid daily, as folic acid has been proven to be effective in reducing the risk of Down’s syndrome and spina bifida in babies. Question 4: During which part of the menstrual cycle is intercourse most likely to result in pregnancy? The length of your menstrual cycle has no effect on pregnancy, unless you have an irregular cycle, which can make predicting ovulation difficult. Most women’s menstrual cycles change throughout their lives, with longer or shorter cycles as they age. As long as you can identify the day of the month when you ovulate, the length of your menstrual cycle will not have any adverse effect on your pregnancy. The average menstrual cycle is 28 days. If you count the day of your period (normal bleeding) as the first day, you will usually ovulate about two weeks before your next period. Your menstrual cycle doesn’t have to be exactly 28 days long, but if it’s irregular, or if you have fewer than six normal periods per year, there’s a problem. If your menstrual cycle is regular, you can roughly figure out the day of ovulation you can plan to have intercourse around the time of ovulation. Work out what day your next menstrual period is likely to be on and work backwards 16 days and that’s your approximate date of ovulation. Here is an example of a 30-day menstrual cycle: Day 1 (onset of menstruation); Days 15-19 (ovulation); Day 30 (the day before your next menstrual period). Question 5: How can I increase the number of sperm and improve the quality of sperm? To increase sperm count, you can encourage your husband to wear looser fitting underwear and long pants and let him take cool showers instead of hot ones. Excessive smoking and drinking can also contribute to reduced sperm count and quality, so advise your husband to drink and smoke less, and preferably quit smoking and drinking if possible. There is a lot of talk about certain vitamins and trace elements being able to improve sperm quality, but there is no research data on this. Question 6: Does having a miscarriage or taking birth control pills affect fertility? Fertility problems due to miscarriage are usually due to blockage and scarring caused by infection of the fallopian tubes. Blockage of the fallopian tubes can cause the eggs that are released during ovulation to not make it to the uterus. It is necessary for you to let your doctor know the entire medical history so that he or she can decide whether further tests are necessary. Previous use of contraception does not affect fertility. Fertility usually returns after you stop using contraception, and how quickly it returns depends on what kind of measures you are taking. If you are using an IUD, fertility will return as soon as it is removed. If you’re on the pill, it’s best to stop taking it for 3 months before getting pregnant, just to be on the safe side. For specific cases, you can consult your doctor. Question 7: How long should I prepare for pregnancy without success and should I seek medical help? There is no definite answer as to when you should seek medical help, but this question depends largely on the age of the couple and their personal circumstances. If the couple is under 35 years of age and there is no particular problem (e.g., a previous surgery or your menstrual cycle is irregular, etc.), you should consider seeing a doctor after a year of trying and still not getting pregnant. However, if your wife is over the age of 35, you should see a doctor sooner, as the chances of a woman conceiving plummet after 35. Question 8: After a year of trying, we are still not pregnant. What can the doctor do to help? The doctor will give you some basic tests so that common infertility problems can be ruled out. If these tests do not reveal a problem, the doctor will give you more complicated tests. Routine fertility tests include analyzing the man’s sperm and performing blood tests on the woman to check for normal hormone levels and ovulation. More complex tests include ultrasound.