Getting Pregnant ASAP, Start Here
Hey there mama-to-be! My name is Karine, and I'm the Fertility Educator here; welcome.
This “Getting Pregnant ASAP, Start Here” page has a rollup of resources that'll help you save time and reduce heartbreak during those first 12 months of trying.
Starting your trying to conceive journey can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. You'll be feeling confident you’re doing everything within your power to get to a healthy pregnancy ASAP in short order. And if you get stuck? I'm almost always lurking around here, answering questions and providing help — leave a comment, and I'll get back to you.
When: Anytime
Step 1 - Decide when you’re ready & mark in on the calendar!
Making the decision to become a parent is a massive, life-altering choice. There’s a lot to consider, such as whether you can afford it, whether you are in the right relationship for it, and if you want to add another child to your family.
Sometimes, people decide to start trying right away, while others set a date in the future when they'll begin trying. No matter what you decide, we want to be a resource for you, from the moment you make that decision to preparing to start trying and eventually guiding you through those crucial first 12 months of trying to conceive.
Step 2 - Learn the Basics
Congratulations! You've made the decision that you want to get pregnant someday!
It feels like you need to do something to prepare, right? Start by learning the basics.
So much of our initial education about our cycles is focused on menstruation and avoiding pregnancy, causing us to miss out on valuable information that can be instrumental in our journey to conceive.
Watch these free videos on the fundamentals of having ovaries to get you started on your journey.
When: 0-6 Months Before You Start Trying to Conceive
Step 3 - Get off hormonal birth control & make alternate plans
If you're the kind of person who's planning the specific date they're going to start trying to conceive, months (even years) in advance, I see you. I am you. I applaud you!
There are a couple of things you'll want to think about in the meantime. Depending on what you've been using to prevent pregnancy, here's how it affects your ability to get pregnant and how long it takes, on average, for your cycle to return to healthy, baby-making cycles. Use these resources to inform your decision about how early you want to stop using hormonal birth control before starting your TTC (Trying to Conceive) journey.
If you need a birth control option in the meantime, we've got you covered with our Preventing Pregnancy Naturally Online Course.
Step 4 - Evaluate your Fertility
If you've completed our Preventing Pregnancy Naturally Online Course, you already know how to do this step, so you can skip ahead to step 5.
If you've just discontinued hormonal birth control, welcome back to the world of cycling! It's about more than just regaining your period; you're gaining so much more and shedding even more.
Hopefully, by now, you've completed our free video series about the basics of being a woman with ovaries, and you've gained an understanding of what a healthy ovulatory cycle, primed for getting pregnant, looks like. It's time to get to know your own body by learning to interpret your own fertility biomarkers, so you have the knowledge you need to evaluate your fertility and ability to conceive.
Get started with Module 1 of our "Navigating the First 12 Months of TTC" Course.
Step 5 - Resolve any identifiable subfertility
*The most underrated step in your trying to conceive journey.*
In an ideal world, a negative pregnancy test would explain itself. Sadly, that's not the case, and it's heart-wrenching not to know why.
The conventional wisdom suggests trying for 12 months and then, if unsuccessful, embarking on an invasive and costly fertility investigation.
Simply have unprotected sex for 12 months and if after that you're still not pregnant, you get a full, invasive, and often expensive workup to try to find an issue.
But here's a smarter approach – let's call it the "Ovary Mindful" method. Your menstrual cycle is like a vital sign. While it won't spill all the beans on what's blocking your path to parenthood, it can reveal some crucial hints. If there's a potential problem, why wait for 12 months of uncertainty when you could uncover and address issues sooner?
Module 2 of our online course on getting pregnant teaches you how to identify all these possible roadblocks to conception within 2 months instead of being left in the dark for up to 12 months.
Check out my personal journey to discover and resolve a fertility issue that could've thwarted my dream of becoming a parent.
When: 1 Month Before You Start Trying to Conceive
Step 6 - Understand timing
Starting your trying-to-conceive journey often begins with timing sex to ovulation. But how can you pinpoint your ovulation? Many rely on period data input into prediction apps. While it can work for some, there's a risk.
Consider this: Women who interpret their fertility biomarkers have a 68% chance of conceiving in the first 3 cycles, compared to 50% for those who don't.
Why? Reading biomarkers means detecting fertility accurately, not just guessing. So, take charge of your journey with informed choices.
Module 3 of our online course on getting pregnant is all about how to increase your chances from 50% to 68% chance within the first 3 months of trying.
Step 7 - Make Your Plan
Here's what I can almost guarantee you: you will be surprised at how disappointed you are if/when you get your first negative pregnancy test when you wanted it to be positive. Even if you know, logically, that the chances of getting pregnant on your first cycle are only around 30%, almost every woman I've worked with has been surprised by the emotional toll it took on them.
Unfortunately, it doesn't necessarily get any easier with the more negative tests you accumulate.
Module 4 of our online course on getting pregnant helps you create a 12-month roadmap with your partner so you have an agreed-upon plan for moving through this time of your lives with minimal stress.
When: The Big Day
Step 8 - Start Trying to Conceive
Eeek! Congratulations on this major milestone!!
If you're joining us ready to start trying or you've already been trying to a couple of months, it's NEVER TOO LATE to get to know your body, maximize your fertility, identify subfertility and advocate confidently.
Here are a few helpful links:
Navigating the First 12 Months of Trying to Conceive Online Course
Ultimate Guide to Getting Pregnant Free Download
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