Fertility

Planning Your Pregnancy and Fertilit

If you are trying to have a baby, learning more about your fertility and staying healthy can improve your chances. Healthy eating, keeping active and avoiding certain substances can improve fertility for both males and females.

Understanding hormonal changes can help you find out when you are most likely to get pregnant. Tracking changes your body goes through helps identify when your body is releasing eggs, or ovulating. This will help you time sexual intercourse to try to become pregnant or to try to avoid pregnancy.

Learn about when you may want to get help from health care providers with trying to conceive.

Ovulation and Fertility Pregnancy Planning

Understanding fertility is an important part of pregnancy planning. You are most likely to conceive on your most fertile days. This is about 6 days each month, including the day of ovulation and the 5 days before. During this fertile window, you can track your menstrual cycle and find the day you ovulate. Your best days to get pregnant are one or two days before, and the day of your ovulation day.

Basal Body Temperature (BBT) Charting
Find Your Ovulation Day
Interactive Tool: When Are YouMost Fertile?
Ovulation
Ovulation and Fertility for Pregnancy Planning
Ovulation and Transport of Egg
Superovulation

Fertility Awareness

Fertility awareness is a type of natural family planning. It helps you track your body’s changes during your menstrual cycle. These changes include your cycle length, basal body temperature and day of ovulation. Using fertility awareness methods will make you more aware of the natural rhythm of your cycle. Fertility awareness may help you find out when you are most likely to get pregnant.

Infertility

There are many factors to consider when trying to become pregnant. Your age, stress level and the health of your reproductive system all affect your ability to get pregnant. Most healthy young couples are successful after 1 year of trying. Others will experience infertility problems. After age 35 female fertility decreases, making infertility more likely. If you have been trying to get pregnant for over 1 year and are 35 years or older, you may want to visit your health care provider for advice.

Infertility
Infertility Concerns when Planning a Pregnancy
Fertility Problems

Female Factors in Infertility

Learn what factors contribute to infertility in females.

Infertility: Problems with Fallopian Tubes
Infertility: Problems with Ovulation
Infertility: Problems with the Uterus and Cervix
Infertility Treatment for Women with PCOS
Planning a Pregnancy After 35
Pregnancy After Age 35
Pregnancy Issues for Women Over Age 35

Male Factors in Infertility

Learn about factors that contribute to infertility in males.

Infertility: Problems with the Man's Reproductive System
Undescended Testicle

Fertility Treatments

If you are experiencing fertility problems, treatment options are available. Treatment can include medication or fertility drugs, surgery or in vitro fertilization. To learn more, visit your family doctor or nurse practitioner.

When you are ready to visit a health care provider, learn about topics you may want to discuss during your visit.