35 tips to get pregnant after 35

Turning 35? You can still get pregnant. This is how!

It's always better to conceive at a younger age since your biological clock starts to slowdown after age 30. If you have crossed 35, conception can become a challenge. However, a healthy lifestyle and proper planning can help you become pregnant and experience the joys of motherhood. Here are few tips to help you conceive despite being on the wrong side of 30.

1. Get pre-pregnancy counselling:  Remember, as you age the quality of your eggs decline and so do the sperms of your partner, which could delay conception. Knowing your health status, especially the health of your ovaries, hormonal levels, functioning of the various organs is vital before you start planning.  Here is all that you need to know about pre-pregnancy counselling.
2. Quit smoking: Studies have shown that smoking affects a woman's fertility adversely. The nicotine and other harmful toxins that are inhaled harms the ovaries, Fallopian tubes and uterus that can make conception difficult and steadily decline one's quality of ovum. Here are five reasons that is coming in the way of your pregnancy.
3. Give up alcohol: How alcohol affects one's fertility is not known completely. But studies have shown a direct link between drinking and decline in fertility among women. Here is why pregnant women are advised not to smoke and drink.
4. Limit your caffeine intake: Caffeine is a bad companion during conception as it delays the process. Also, regular caffeine intake during pregnancy increases chances of miscarriage. With late pregnancy the chances of miscarriage increases exponentially. So stay off caffeine.
5. Check your weight: Being overweight or underweight can affect your pregnancy adversely. If you are obese and have an unhealthy lifestyle this could influence hormonal changes and affect ovulation. On the other hand, low body fat percentage in women who are underweight can also suffer from anovulation (decreased or ceased egg production). This is because the body needs at least 22 per cent of body fat to help one experience regular periods and ovulate on time. Here is how your weight can affect your pregnancy.
6. Eat healthy: Eating healthy  is a natural way to boost fertility and increase your chances of conception. Apart from eating fresh fruits, green vegetables and whole grains, include proteins and other essential vitamins that can regulate hormone production naturally. Eat foods rich in omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin B6, C, E and beta carotene. Here are top 10 pregnancy superfoods for every woman.
7. Have more sex: With age your libido can take a backseat, add to it the normal stress of your life and sex can become infrequent. However, if you are planning to have a baby, infrequent sex isn't going to help. So have sex as often as possible. Learn toknow when you should have sex to get pregnant.
8. Track your fertile days: It's imperative to have sex on your fertile days. You are most fertile between the 8th day of your menstrual cycle to the 19th day of the same cycle, where the first day of your period is considered to be the first day of your cycle. Having sex during your fertile period increases your chances of conception. Here is a step-by-step guide to track your fertile days.
9. Check your cervical mucus: Your cervical mucus becomes clear and slippery five days before ovulation. This is a good indicator to have sex, as the mucus will help the sperm travel to the ovum smoothly.
10. Use an ovulation kit: To know precisely when you are ovulating use ovulation kits that work the same way like a home pregnancy kit. This will help you know when you are more likely to conceive.
11. Keep track of your basal body temperature: Due to the various hormonal changes your basal body temperature increases just after ovulation. If you can keep a track, it will help you plan your pregnancy better.
12. Try different sex positions: This can help you get creative and lift your mood. And some positions are better for conception. Here are eight sex positions that will help you get pregnant.
13. Undergo requisite tests: To ascertain your fertility and quality of your eggs your doctor might advise you to undergo certain tests. These tests might include a complete hormonal profiling, checking for chromosomal abnormalities that could hinder conception and other imminent physiological problems.
14. Control your stress levels: Stress doesn't influence conception directly. However, the various irregularities that happen due to stress like interrupted sleep, unhealthy eating, weight gain, etc., affect the endocrine system and hence alter the hormone production and arrests ovulation. Here is how stress can interfere with your conception.
15. Exercise regularly: If you are not in the habit of exercising, start with taking a short stroll daily if you are planning your pregnancy. This will increase oxygen intake to various parts of the body including the reproductive system, boost fertility and help in conception. Here are five ways in which you can start exercising after conception.
16. Take prenatal vitamins: Start taking prenatal vitamins during your planning stage to avoid birth defect in babies, like, a dysfunction in the brain or the spinal cord. With age the chances of having a baby with birth defect increases. Timely intake of prenatal vitamins can tackle this issue effectively.
17. Meet your doctor often: While trying to conceive, keep your doctor's appointments diligently. This will help you resolve any issues related to fertility.
18. Opt for special screening tests: If you have been trying to get pregnant for a while without much success, talk to your doctor for special screening to check on your egg quality and your partner's sperms. This will also help you and your doctor plan for other alternatives like in vitro fertilization.
19. Control other health problems: In case you suffer from other health problems like diabetes, blood pressure or the more complex PCOS, take special care to control these conditions to make conception easy. For conditions like PCOS and endometriosis, medications and other assistive therapy might be needed to help one conceive.
20. Avoid environmental hazards: Apart from your health, your environment plays a huge role in helping you conceive. Stay away from chemicals and radiation while you try to conceive. This means limit your use of electronic gadgets and products that are high on chemicals.
21. Check your partner's health status: The woman is not to be blamed for delayed conception. Remember, your man's health also plays an important role in the entire process. So make sure that your partner goes through all the requisite health check-ups and is on the same page with you when it comes to conception.
22. Opt for organic foods: While eating healthy is important during conception, make sure that that veggies and fruits you consume are devoid of pesticides. High levels of pesticides in your food can slower the process of conception making all your effort goes to waste.
23. Try to get more vitamins naturally: Taking vitamin pills will do you great deal of good. Try acquiring the requisite vitamins from natural food sources. These will nourish your systems and help in regulating hormone production for ovulation. Especially, for vegetarians it is necessary to get vitamin B12, zinc and magnesium and folic acid through diet as their natural diet lacks in animal-rich fatty acids that could help aid fertilisation.
24. Eat more fish: The essential fatty acids present in fish sources aid in fertilisation and increase your chances of conception despite your age.
25. Get your thyroid checked: Thyroid functioning affects fertility in a big way. Low levels of hormones secreted by the gland can impair fertility and affect ovulation. Ideally, you should get a thyroid profiling done right at the start while planning. Know how your thyroid can come in the way of your pregnancy.
26. Avoid having over–the-counter drugs:Herbal supplements taken to increase libido can affect your partner's sperm count and health. This can make conception difficult.
27. Avoid having sugar and high processed foods: Excessive sugar intake and processed foods are known to interfere with fertility.
28. Avoid extreme weight training: Extreme physical exertion like weight training or sports can also affect the hormonal cycles and retard the process of ovulation. Instead, while planning pregnancy do more aerobic exercises that will help boost organ functions and fertility.
29. Take care of your dental hygiene: This might come as surprise but your dental hygiene can also influence conception. So be sure you are taking good care of your teeth.
30. Join a prenatal class: You become wiser with age, but when it comes to conception and pregnancy, a little help won't hurt. Attend classes that are designed for couples who are trying to conceive to learn the tricks and tips.
31. Write your birth plan: A late pregnancy doesn't mean that you can't plan things accordingly. Write your birth plan and include everything that you want in your plan and keep your family in the loop.
32. Don't self-treat acne: Treating acne during pregnancy with over-the-counter creams can result in birth defects in the fetus. Using such products during conception can also hamper the entire process of fertilisation. So stay away from them.
33. Tell your doctor about medication you take: If you or your partner is taking any pills to control other lifestyle related ailments, inform your doctor about the same. Many medications alter the hormonal functioning in the body that could make conception impossible.
34. Don't lose hope: If you were consuming birth control pills, it might take some time for your system to settle into the regular hormonal cycles. Don't lose hope if you had been trying for up to six months without results. After discontinuing birth control pills it can take up to a year to conceive.
35. Be positive: A negative frame of mind influences conception and pregnancy to a great extent. So be positive and hope for the best while you try for a baby.

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