Pregnancy Prep: ovulation tracking and fertility awareness
Trying to conceive can be stressful, but there are more options than ever to gain insight into how to improve fertility awareness for both men and women.
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Fertility is often considered a women’s issue, but in many cases it isn’t. In fact, statistics show that when it comes to infertility — defined as an inability to conceive following one year of unprotected intercourse — the cause could come from either or both partners.
According to the Office on Women’s Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, about one third of infertility cases are due to health conditions in women, another third are due to health conditions in men and the remainder is a combination of both or other factors.
Research shows that while fertility obstacles can be a natural part of the conception journey, affecting an estimated 10 to 15 percent of couples in the United States, the stigma around infertility may unfairly cause feelings of shame, with women carrying this burden squarely on their shoulders.
This can not only threaten women’s psychological well-being but also cause stress that can make getting pregnant harder. So it’s important to learn the facts about fertility if you’re trying to conceive.
It’s important to talk to your doctor before taking any over-the-counter supplement. For most women, doctors recommend taking a prenatal vitamin that contains at least 400 micrograms of folic acid and 27 milligrams of iron for at least one month before getting pregnant and during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Folic acid can help prevent neural tube defects, and iron supports the development of the fetus and placenta.
Testing fertility at home
Over-the-counter tests give both women and men the ability to learn more about their fertility in a private, at-home setting — but it’s important to keep in mind that test results won’t necessarily match up to how easy it will be for a couple to conceive when the time comes.
At-home male fertility tests
At-home sperm tests enable you to check out certain qualities of semen, such as whether sperm are present and how well they are moving, in the privacy of your home.
If the results indicate a problem, you’ll need to schedule a follow-up visit with your health care provider to confirm the count and discuss next steps. “I support using at-home tests as an initial conversation, but they’re only the start of the conversation, not the end,” says Ashley Margeson, BSN, ND, a naturopathic doctor with a focus in hormonal health.
At-home sperm tests generally measure only one factor reliably (sperm count), and they don’t always measure other important components to achieving pregnancy, like motility or morphology (shape of the sperm). “This can only be done at a testing laboratory because sperm samples can be time and temperature sensitive,” Margeson says.
At-home fertility tests for women
Depending on the test, you can measure estradiol (one of the main types of estrogen), follicle-stimulating hormone (a hormone that stimulates egg growth) and/or prolactin (a hormone that causes breasts to grow and make milk).
You can also take an at-home anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) blood test. AMH plays an important role in egg production and can be used to predict how many potential eggs a woman may have left. This is known as the ovarian reserve.
The higher your AMH levels, the higher your egg count may be. However, Dr. Margeson notes, AMH results are best used only as a guide. Ideally, other tests should be completed at the same time to give a full picture of the ovarian reserve.
Tracking ovulation
Tracking ovulation can help couples time intercourse so it takes place during the fertility window — the six or so days during your monthly cycle when you can potentially conceive.
At-home ovulation tests can help you to identify this window each month. These ovulation tests require you to dip a test stick in your urine. The test stick then turns a certain color or displays a positive sign if it detects a surge in luteinizing hormone (LH).
While LH is always present in your urine, levels surge 24 to 36 hours prior to ovulation. This LH surge triggers one of your ovaries to release an egg.
Some such products include the Clearblue Advanced Digital Ovulation Test and CVS Health® daily ovulation predictor.
Have intercourse on the day of a positive ovulation test and the day after to increase your odds of pregnancy. Two weeks later, you can start testing for pregnancy using over-the-counter options.
Issues surrounding intercourse
Sexual dysfunction not only gets in the way of enjoying intimacy, it can also make trying to conceive even more difficult. Dysfunction can look like a lot of things, including, for men, the inability to maintain an erection and absent, delayed or premature ejaculation. For women, common issues include inadequate vaginal lubrication or inability to relax vaginal muscles so intercourse can proceed.
If you’re experiencing these problems, it’s always a good idea to talk to a health care provider. However, certain over-the-counter options, such as personal lubricants, can help as well, if you look for those that don’t interfere with sperm viability.
When to seek fertility help
If you’ve been trying to get pregnant for a year or more with no success, it may be time to visit a health care provider with your partner. Women who are trying to get pregnant after age 35 and those with known biological factors that can impact fertility, including a history of endometriosis or irregular menstrual cycles, should consider seeing their health provider sooner for guidance.
*This content is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult with your health care provider before taking any vitamins or supplements and prior to beginning or changing any health care practices.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.