If you have a habit of stopping through a drive-thru during your lunch break, it’s time to wind that up. It’s important that you eat a healthy diet, even while

you’re trying to make a baby. Start with foods that have folic acid in them like kale, whole grains and oranges. It’s important to get a considerable amount of calcium

too, so have yogurt or snack on some cheese a few times a week. While cooking, use olive oil; it’s high in monounsaturated fats. And coffee? Don’t worry. You can

have some, but no more than 200 milligrams a day. Caffeine has been directly linked to fertility issues. And, of course, reduce the drinking and totally quit smoking (if that’s

your thing).

If you’re used to averaging 4-5 hours a night, that needs to change. Up your amount to 7-8 hours. Sleep reduces stress, rejuvenates the body and also helps to keep

your hormone levels balanced. In fact, if you can squeeze in 9 every now and then, that’s even better! One study revealed that women with IVF who got

that much sleep were 25 percent more likely to see a plus sign on their pregnancy test.

If you’re overweight, that can also delay conception. By losing as little as five percent of your body fat, you can significantly increase your chances of getting pregnant. Do this

by committing to 30 minutes of cardio three times per week, loading up on fruits and veggies and drinking lots of water. Speaking of weight, if your man is on

the heavy side, get him to join you. Weight affects sperm quality. The more in shape he is, the better.

Spontaneous sex is awesome! It really is. But if you’re aiming to get pregnant, invest in some ovulation tests. That will let you know when your peak fertility times of the

month are. Also, while it’s good to have sex consistently, several times a day is not necessarily going to up your chances of conceiving. In fact, it can affect the

potency of your man’s sperm. You might’ve read that the missionary position is best. Eh. The truth is that so long as he ejaculates in you, sperm will swim towards

your fallopian tubes. So yeah, don’t get too caught up in how you do it. And definitely don’t make sex a chore. Wanting to make a baby should make the

experience that much more exciting! Don’t go into the act like it’s a race to the finish. Relax and enjoy yourself. You up your chances of conceiving if you do.

We already touched on this, but keeping up with your cycle is important. Even more so if you don’t have regular periods. Remember that sperm can live inside of you

for 3-5 days while eggs can be fertilized from 12-24 hours. That’s why knowing your ovulation period is so important. You can read more about that here.

If you’re making a baby the old fashioned way, you can’t make him or her alone. Your man is going to play a significant role and so he needs to

be aware of a few things too. Aside from keeping his weight in check, he needs to take a multi-vitamin (that improves his sperm quality); drink less (alcohol affects sperm

quantity); consistently check his blood pressure (having high blood pressure makes getting a woman pregnant harder to do); spend less time in hot tubs and saunas (the heat alters a man’s sperm

count) and pay attention to his own biological clock (men over 50 see a significant decrease in their testosterone levels). Good luck!