When is the Best Time to Get Pregnant?

When to get pregnant if we want to have 3 kids in the future?

With the knowledge that the reproductive system of both male and female ages rendering infertility and challenges to conceive at increasing age, a study conducted by Habbema, Eijkemans, Leridon, and Velde had set out to identify the appropriate age when couples need to attempt for getting pregnant without compromising their chances of realizing the desired number of children.

Click here to learn more about the aging of the reproductive system

Couples who wish to have three children are recommended to start attempting for the first child’s conception at prospective mother’s age at 23-24, 9-15 months after the child’s birth for the next pregnancy.

For a 90% chance of having a two-child family, couples are recommended to start at the age of 27 for a natural conception and accept IVF at the latest age of 31.

Couples who are content with one child and do not expect a high chance of success can start at age 37 for a 75% success rate and at age 41 for a 50% success rate.

As predictors of  individual fertility, family size desires must be adjusted to take into account partners’ desires and changes over the life course.

Is IVF the backup plan after attempts of natural conception?

The study took into account both natural conception and in vitro fertilization (IVF). The impact of IVF on starting age should not be confused with the effectiveness of IVF in terms of an increase in the chance of success.

The increase, 6–8%, in the chance of having a two-child family by using IVF is considerable for starting ages between 30 and 40. The chance decreases outside this range because of the high natural pregnancy chances under age 30 and decreasing IVF success rates over age 40.

Both natural and IVF pregnancy chances decrease sharply at older ages, and IVF will therefore influence the high maximum starting ages only slightly.

The chances of getting pregnant deteriorate gradually at young ages, and the small extra probability of IVF will increase the maximum starting ages by several years.

Male partner’s age also matters.

While the study focused on females’ age as the female contribution is a more determining factor in the success of getting pregnant, it is also recognized that the age-related decline in fertility concerns both women and men, including the male partner’s age. Particularly, it refers to a man’s age concerning the woman’s. The older the male partner is, the lower the chance for the woman to yield live birth.

In conclusion, for couples who wish to adopt the study’s results for family planning, young couples should consider the use of IVF to optimize the chance of conception rather than many years later when both men and women would be increasingly reproductively challenged. If the couples prioritize natural conception, it is highly recommended that couples start younger for attempts of natural pregnancy while applying the study’s recommended age as a threshold for IVF to benefit the better chance of conceiving at younger ages.

Some Tips For Conception:

Certain things can help you for a healthy pregnancy.

1. Look for the Cause: Have a proper look at what can cause complications in your pregnancy like Diabetes and Blood Pressure.
2. A preconception Visit: Visit your Obstetrician to ensure that you are healthy enough to get pregnant. Keep a schedule and follow up!
3. Healthy Weight: Being overweight and underweight can affect pregnancy. Maintain a normal BMI.                                            Click here to find the ideal BMI.
4. Quit Smoking: Chances of miscarriage and reduced egg supply are more if you are a smoker. It is advised to quit smoking to get pregnant.
5. Reduce Caffeine and Alcohol: Excess caffeine intake ( more than 2-3 cups a day) can affect pregnancy in a harmful way, as per research. For Alchohol, it can prolong the conception time.
6. Stay Stress Free: Several recent studies have discovered a relationship between women’s daily stress levels and their chances of becoming pregnant. For example, women with high alpha-amylase levels, a stress-related enzyme, required 29 % longer to conceive than those with lower levels. Stay Stress-free.!

Click here to learn more about in vitro fertilization and egg-freezing.

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