Written by: Dr. Amy Beckley, PhD, Founder and Inventor of the Proov test — the first and only FDA-cleared test to confirm ovulation at home.
Written on 5/11/22
For many of us, sex education prepared us for how to not get pregnant. If you’re thinking about starting or just starting out on your journey to pregnancy, you may be wondering about how you can best reach your goals.
Good news — we can help! Here at Proov, we’re all about providing you with the right tools and right information so you can get pregnant.
Here are our 5 top tips for anyone trying to conceive!
Tip #1: Check your ovarian reserve
Have you heard of ovarian reserve? This term refers to how many eggs you have left in your ovaries.
Women are born with all the eggs they’ll ever have. As we cycle and ovulate throughout the years, the amount of eggs we have left slowly decreases over time until there are no more eggs left and we transition into menopause.
The amount of eggs you have left usually starts to get lower closer to your late 30s or early 40s. However, some women may experience low ovarian reserve much earlier.
Understanding your ovarian reserve can help you have a better idea of where you stand on the reproductive timeline. After testing, you can share this valuable information with your doctor so you can make a plan together.
The closer you are to a low ovarian reserve, the sooner you may need to think about getting pregnant or you may need to look into further testing with your doctor. Knowledge really is power, so testing your ovarian reserve is a great first step on your unique path to pregnancy.
By now you may be wondering, so how do I test ovarian reserve? Great question!
You can test your ovarian reserve with our at-home Proov Reserve hormone test. With this test, you’ll receive data about your FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) levels, that can give insight into the amount of eggs you have left and where you sit on the reproductive timeline.
Tip #2: Take a prenatal and iron supplement
Since we are born with our egg reserve and know we can’t change the amount we have left, it’s important to focus on the factors we can impact, like overall health and hormone balance!
Leading a healthy lifestyle is essential for your overall health and wellbeing, and this ultimately impacts on your ability to conceive. While you’ve probably heard many healthy living tips, two easy ones to implement are incorporating a prenatal vitamin and an iron supplement.
Prenatal vitamins help ensure you’re getting essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to help you and baby thrive. You’ll want to start taking it about 3 months before you start trying.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, you’ll want to look for one that has:
- Folic acid for brain development
- Calcium and vitamin D for bone development
- Vitamin A for eye development
You’ll also want to ensure you’re getting enough iron. Insufficient iron levels when trying to conceive may actually prevent ovulation and without an egg, there’s no chance of pregnancy.
Additionally, the amount of blood in your body increases during pregnancy and studies show that iron is even more necessary to support the growing baby, placenta, and blood volume.
While some prenatal vitamins contain iron, many don’t because it can cause or worsen nausea. Proov High Absorbing Iron was formulated with all our mamas and mamas-to-be in mind! It’s easy on the stomach and contains a higher amount of iron per dose than the leading iron brands, meaning you’ll get exactly what you need without the unwanted side effects.
Tip #3: Time intercourse correctly
Believe it or not, the main cause of infertility for healthy couples is mistimed intercourse, meaning sperm and egg never have a chance of meeting.
To get pregnant, you have to have sex around ovulation so sperm and egg can meet. In fact, they have the highest chance of meeting a few days before ovulation actually occurs. This gives sperm enough time to be waiting for the egg once it’s released.
Ovulation varies according to the length of your cycle, so tracking your ovulation to know when to time intercourse is key! Ovulation tests — like Proov Predict — can help you predict when ovulation is going to occur and time sex around when you’re most ferile.
Tip #4: Confirm ovulation
Yes, you read that right. The previously mentioned “ovulation” tests detect the hormone that triggers ovulation, therefore predicting ovulation may be close.
While most women will ovulate about 12 to 36 hours after a positive ovulation test, that ovulation test tells you nothing about whether or not the egg was actually released. In fact, it’s pretty common to not ovulate after a positive ovulation test, especially if you have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).
After predicting ovulation with an ovulation test, you should always confirm ovulation with a PdG test, like Proov Confirm. PdG is only released after ovulation actually occurs, meaning its presence confirms that ovulation happened.
And after confirming ovulation, tracking your PdG levels during 4 critical days can help you understand if your body is ready for conception. PdG is necessary for ensuring your uterus is ready to receive an embryo, so knowing your levels is really important!
Tip #5: Check his swimmers
Now, we’ve talked a lot about you, but let’s not forget the other half of this equation! It takes two to tango, after all.
About 50% of infertility cases in the U.S. involve a male fertility issue. This can include a wide variety of different factors, one of the most common being issues with sperm.
There are two important factors when it comes to healthy sperm: quantity and quality. Quantity refers to how much sperm he produces and quality refers to whether or not the sperm can swim where it needs to go (the egg!).
At home sperm tests like the Yo Male Fertility Test can help you check both his sperm quality and quantity, so you can know if either may be a barrier to getting pregnant.
With these 5 tips for trying to conceive, you’ll be on your way to pregnancy in no time!
