Planning a Pregnancy

• Try to have sexual intercourse every day or every other day during the woman’s most fertile time (middle of the menstrual cycle).
• Don’t smoke. If you still do, supplement with extra vitamin C (250 – 500 mg. a day).
  • In women: nicotine can be toxic to sperm in the cervical mucus.
  • In men: smoking may lower sperm count, decrease sperm movement and cause abnormally shaped sperm.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Dieting after getting pregnant is not recommended.
• Limit alcohol consumption and don’t use drugs.
  • In men: alcohol & drugs such as marijuana or cocaine can reduce sperm count.
  • In women: drugs such as marijuana or cocaine can effect hormone production.
• Men should avoid hot baths and saunas. Wearing boxer shorts keeps the testicles from being too close to the body and staying too warm.
• Exercise regularly. 20-30 minutes a day ensures adequate blood circulation and lymphatic drainage for men and women.
• Eat a nutritious healthy diet with plenty of protein, complex carbohydrates, fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Take a multivitamin with 400 mcg (0.4 mg) of Folic acid.
  • For women: to prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord called neural tube defects (NTD’s). You need to be on it before pregnancy occurs and in the early weeks for a chance to be effective.
  • For men: supplementing with Zinc and Folic acid showed a 74 percent increase in the number of normally formed sperm.
  • For men: supplement with vitamin E to improve function of sperm and may increase ability of sperm to fertilize the egg (400 IU a day).
• For women – avoid using Advil (Ibuprofen), Aleve (Naproxen Sodium) or similar product after period is over as they may affect implantation of the egg. Tylenol (acetaminophen) may be used.

Using the Basal Body Temperature Chart

• If done over several months, can show when ovulation occurs.
• Just prior to ovulation, vaginal mucus is “wetter”, gel-like and stretches when touched.
• As ovulation occurs, the temperature increases due to an increase in heat generated by increased levels of progesterone.
• Resting body temperature (at night) drops slightly just before ovulation and rises up to 0.5 (1/2) degrees where it stays until the period starts, then falls again or pregnancy has occurred.
• Ovulation occurs at the beginning of the rise.