Trying To Get Pregnant

Some women seem only to have to look at their partners to fall pregnant and for others it’s a struggle. Yet usually, falling pregnant is simply a question of timing because there is only a small amount of time during a month that conception will be possible.

There are only 12 to 24 hours after the reproductive system releases an egg, when conception can occur. A healthy sperm can survive for up to five days inside your cervical fluid so there are about six days of the month where you have a chance of conceiving when you are trying to get pregnant.

According to experts, the ideal time to have sex with your partner to conceive is the day before, or the day of ovulation, and as often as you can from over the five or six day period to increase your chances. To work out your day of ovulation, count the number of the days in your cycle from the day you begin menstruating one month, right up until the day before you begin the following month. Make a note of these days and count again two or three times, exactly the same way.

Soon, when you’re trying to get pregnant, you will discover what your own unique cycle length is. On average, ovulation happens about 14 days before the end of your cycle, but cycles can sometimes change, so regular intercourse throughout the month will increase your chances. If you have irregular cycles, there are ovulation-monitoring kits available so check with your pharmacist.

Generally, it is the considered view of experts that a healthy couple can take up to a year to conceive. Fertility declines after the age of 35, although many women have children into their 40’s. There are other factors to consider when trying to get pregnant.

If you’ve been taking any form of oral contraceptive, it’s best to wait until your natural cycle returns before you try to conceive. If you and your partner are healthy, relaxed, have a good lifestyle and have sex 2-3 times per week, don’t worry, conception will happen eventually.

Pregnancy and Exercise

Many women today work outside the family home during pregnancy and work until nearer the birth than perhaps their mothers did, but it is wise to respect your limitations during pregnancy. In the first three months you may feel nauseous and tired so it’s a good idea to avoid the rush hour and to put your feet up for an hour when you get home.

To stay fit during your pregnancy, once you five up work, practicing relaxation techniques once a day is beneficial to your body and will ease the pain of labor. Gentle exercises during pregnancy and exercise to practice breathing properly will help reduce fatigue and prepare you for labor.

For daily relaxation, lie flat on your back on the floor then concentrate on tensing, stretching, and then relaxing each part of the body, particularly those parts that are prone to tension like the neck and shoulders. Practice this relaxation technique once every day. The muscles of the pelvic floor control the vaginal and anal openings and to prepare for giving birth, it’s a good idea to become aware of them and to practice tightening and releasing them whilst practicing pelvic exercises during your pregnancy and exercise routine.

Lie on your back with cushions supporting your shoulders and head with your knees up. Place your fingers below your naval and breathe in. As you breathe out, raise your head and shoulders so that you’re looking towards your tummy. (You should feel your muscles tighten with your hands).

Then, lay your head and shoulders down. Repeat this exercise several times and then as you raise your head say, on the sixth time, pull in your vagina and buttocks, lifting your pelvis, and then relax.

During labor, it’s important that you breathe properly. Practicing during pregnancy and exercise time, daily, will help you breath correctly at delivery time. Breaths deeply; expand the chest and abdomen as you inhale, for 4-6 times a minute.

Then, breath in expanding only the chest and practice shallow panting with your mouth open slightly and your tongue relaxed on the floor of your mouth.

Pregnancy Stages

The development of a human baby, from conception to birth, inside your body, is a wonderful experience and even though that development has been well documented by today’s technology, nothing can prepare you fully for the unique experience that delivering a child into this world will bring to you. But you can learn about how your baby is developing along the way and what to expect as you journey through your pregnancy together.

It takes approximately 280 days for a baby to develop or 40 weeks, and after conception the remarkable developments that take place until birth, called pregnancy stages, are divided into three periods of time by medical practitioners.

During the first stage of pregnancy, from 0-12 weeks, your conceived egg changes into an embryo at two weeks, and by eight weeks it has developed into a fetus, with all the organs formed and a beating heart, and is now being fed by you through your blood via the placenta and umbilical cord.

It’s no wonder, with all this going on, that the early weeks of pregnancy bring so many new feelings to mother-to-be. For women, this is probably the most changeable and emotional of all the pregnancy stages, and by the end of it, at 13 weeks, your baby measures about 8 cm and its head is now a third of its body.

In the second stage, before your 20-week scan, your baby has developed taste buds, loves sweet tastes, has doubled in size by 19 weeks to 19cm and your breasts are developing the first milk called colostrums. This second stage lasts from 13-25 weeks. From week 26 you may want to rub lots of vitamin E oil and moisturizers daily over your skin to help avoid stretch marks.

In the last weeks of the pregnancy stages, from 26-40 weeks, you will both grow rather quickly, and you will tire easily. By 28 weeks, your baby weighs about 2lbs 3 oz, can open and close its eyes, and at 35 weeks, your baby responds to light. At 40 weeks you will be ready to deliver.