10 Top Ways to Boost Your Odds of Getting Pregnant
Some women get pregnant effortlessly; others spend months or even years trying to conceive. Why? Experts concede it’s still largely a mystery. “We have hints—factors like when your mom went through menopause and how regular your cycles are—but they don’t tell us everything,” says Sarah Berga, MD, chair of ob-gyn and women’s health at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. “So much of it depends on the individual.”That said, there are ways you and your partner could increase your chances of getting pregnant. Try these lifestyle tweaks.
Kick your soda addiction
Women who drink two or more servings of any type of soda a day have about a 16% lower fertility rate than women who don’t drink any, according to a 2012 study co-authored by Lauren Wise, ScD.
Go to bed early
Research suggests that women undergoing IVF treatments see the best results when they regularly clock seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Stop tossing and turning and sleep soundly with these seven tips for the best sleep ever
Be a better brusher
Gum disease can add an extra two months to the amount of time it takes to become pregnant, 2011 Australian research shows. Make sure you get your teeth checked before trying to conceive.
Exercise, but not too much
Thin women who work out vigorously five hours a week or more are 42% less likely to get pregnant than those who don’t exercise as strenuously, Wise’s research suggests.
Don’t let him turn into a couch potato
Guys who watch more than 20 hours of TV weekly have a 44% lower sperm count than those who watch almost none, a 2013 Harvard study showed.
Get a handle on chronic anxiety
“If your stress levels become high enough, you’ll simply stop ovulating,” Dr. Berga explains
