Get pregnant

Nicole Wendler holds a PhD in biology in the field of oncology and immunology. As a medical editor, author and proofreader, she works for various publishers, for whom she presents complex and extensive medical issues in a simple, concise and logical manner.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

Getting pregnant is one of those things: First, many women want to avoid it for years, then suddenly the biological clock starts ticking, and it should work out with a pregnancy as soon as possible. Read here when is the best time to have children, how you can get pregnant faster and what you should consider as you get older.

When can a woman get pregnant?

Girls can get pregnant as soon as the hormones bring them to adulthood. That happens much earlier today than it did with our grandparents and great-grandparents, for example. Some girls could become pregnant today at just under eleven years of age (even boys are becoming sexually mature earlier and earlier).

But even if a teenager or young woman has not yet had her first period, she should use contraception. Theoretically, she can be just before her very first ovulation and thus become pregnant - the sperm are viable in the female body for some time.

The same applies to women around the menopause - pregnancy is not one hundred percent excluded. It is only when the menstrual period has stopped for more than a year that there is a high probability that ovulation will no longer take place - you will then no longer be able to become pregnant. Sometimes a hormone analysis at the gynecologist can clarify this.

How do I get pregnant?

All contraceptive methods are discontinued, a romantic mood is provided - then you can start getting pregnant! Unfortunately, it's not that simple. The prerequisite for becoming pregnant is that - in addition to sexual maturity and sexual intercourse - an egg cell matures in the woman's body and ovulation occurs. If a fertilizable sperm arrives relatively punctually for ovulation and fuses with the egg, you can get pregnant - at least in theory.

Because even the fusion of egg and sperm cells is not necessarily a guarantee of pregnancy. The fertilized egg must also make it into the uterine cavity and implant itself in a stable manner. At best, the lining of the uterus has already prepared itself for the egg cell.

In order for you to get pregnant, numerous, finely coordinated steps are necessary.

Video: Wanting to Have Children: How to Get Pregnant Faster

When is the best time to get pregnant?

Once a month, i.e. about every 28 days, an egg cell matures in the woman's body. You can therefore only get pregnant on fertile days. These are around ovulation, which starts about 14 days after the first day of your last period. Sometimes ovulation also takes place a few days later, individual differences are quite possible. If the egg jumps, this means that the egg cell has left the ovary. It gets into the fallopian tube and can be fertilized for about 24 hours.

So the time window to get pregnant is small. It is therefore almost a miracle if it actually works. However, the sperm improve the situation a little. They can survive in the woman's body for around three days, i.e. around 72 hours - sometimes one or two days longer. The best time to get pregnant therefore starts 72 hours before and ends around 12 hours after ovulation.

Getting pregnant at 35 plus

The best age to get pregnant is between 20 and 30 years. After the age of 30, fertility decreases in women and with it the probability of becoming pregnant. The risk of miscarriages or malformations of the embryo also increases. The age problem affects women a little earlier, but men too have to expect that their fertility decreases with age, from around 40 years of age.

How long does it take to get pregnant?

Don't get pregnant right away? Then you shouldn't despair right away. Most couples have to try for a while. Sometimes the woman's body has to get used to the fact that the hormonal contraceptives no longer dictate the rhythm. If pregnancy does not occur within a year - assuming regular unprotected sexual intercourse - there could be organic causes that impair the fertility of men and / or women and make becoming pregnant more difficult. Then it is advisable to seek advice from the gynecologist or "men's doctor" (andrologist, urologist).

Basically, the older the partner, the longer it can take for couples to conceive naturally. Artificial insemination promises one way of fulfilling the desire to have children anyway. But here too, the older you are, the lower the chances of success. Even with artificial insemination, getting pregnant at the age of 40 can be difficult.

In women over 45, the pregnancy rate even goes to zero. You should therefore not allow too much time to pass if you do not want to have children - seek medical advice in good time if you cannot become pregnant.

How do you get pregnant quickly?

Get pregnant quickly without stress - that's what every couple wants. With the symptothermal method, a combination of cycle, temperature and cervical mucus examinations, you may be able to get pregnant a little faster. The method is also known as natural family planning (NFP) and helps to detect ovulation. Knowing when you are fertile can increase your chances of getting pregnant.

However, some couples also use the symptothermal method for the opposite - contraception. Experienced women should apparently achieve a similar level of protection with the NFP method as with the birth control pill (Pearl index of 0.4). Cycle uncertainties and a lack of protection against infection make this method a suitable contraceptive only in exceptional cases.

Ovulation calendar: menstruation and cycle length

To make it easier to get pregnant, you should note the first day of your last menstrual period and the length of your menstrual cycle, i.e. from the first day of menstruation to the onset of the following menstrual period, in your ovulation calendar. You can also record information about intermenstrual bleeding, pain or times when you had sexual intercourse. This will give you a better idea of when sexual intercourse could lead to you becoming pregnant.

Measure wake-up temperature

There are several indicators of the days the woman can get pregnant. One of them is this: the corpus luteum hormone progesterone acts on the temperature center in the brain and causes the woman's temperature to rise slightly. This happens in the second half of the cycle, about one to two days after ovulation.

In order for you to get pregnant using this temperature method, it is important that you always take your measurements before you get up. You transfer this basal temperature to a curve sheet in your cycle calendar. If you've done this every day for a few months, you can predict ovulation with relative goodness. But be careful: alcohol, lack of sleep and infections can affect the temperature and disturb the result.

Cervical mucus and cervix

In addition to the temperature, you should test the condition of the cervical mucus (Billings method) and cervix every day. Both also provide information about ovulation and the best days to get pregnant.

The cervical mucus comes from the glands in the neck of the uterus and can be easily removed with two fingers at the entrance to the vagina. Shortly after the menstrual period it is hardly or not at all. Then it becomes flaky to sticky and appears yellowish-white. If the mucus is transparent, relatively fluid and forms a thin thread when the thumb and index finger are pulled apart, ovulation is imminent. In this consistency, it makes it easier for the sperm to move forward and helps to get pregnant. Shortly after ovulation, the mucus changes again - it becomes tough and white again.

In addition, the firmness and position of the cervix can be checked with the fingers. With a little practice, you can distinguish between a high and a low cervix, as well as between a soft and firm cervix. If the cervix is soft, slightly open and is a little higher in the vaginal entrance, you are fertile and can become pregnant. After menstruation, on the other hand, the cervix is tight and closed.

Getting pregnant: technical aids

Cycle computers have been around since the 1980s. Some measure the temperature or the mucus, others measure the hormone levels in the urine. Lately, cycle apps for smartphones (NFP apps) have also been available. All of these tools are designed to help women determine ovulation and make it easier to get pregnant. As long as there are no studies, they are unsuitable as contraceptives (even if they are often advertised as contraceptive computers).

What is the best way to get pregnant?

If you have entered all the data collected daily in the cycle table for a few months and possibly supplemented it with data from technical aids, you can predict your fertile days in the coming cycle. If you want to become pregnant, you must not have sexual intercourse until ovulation, but a few days beforehand.

Getting pregnant: tips

The following points can help you get pregnant:

Lustkiller: Don't just think about having children during sex, it should also be fun!
How often do you have sex? To get pregnant, about every third day (without cycle control) is considered a good value.
Lying positions promise more success.
Fertility lubricant: A sperm-friendly pH value of the lubricant should make it easier to get pregnant.

The following are fertile factors for men and women:

Healthy lifestyle: sport, exercise, no stress
No alcohol, nicotine or drug abuse
Vitamin-rich diet
Weight reduction if you are overweight or weight gain if you are underweight

And don't forget: Even if you have a great desire to have children, it is advisable not to build up any pressure - it can make getting pregnant more difficult.

Tags: travel medicine smoking sleep