It’s without a doubt the most beautiful project of your life, but you can’t help but feel a little stress. You have decided, as a couple, to have your first child. From that moment on, you wonder if things will be easy for you, and you dream of a pregnancy for the following months… Since there is no miracle recipe and every couple is different, here are some helpful tips based on the experience of young people and future mothers.
Prepare yourself!
It’s true—a pregnancy is all about preparing. There is no question about it—you must start to working to get your body in the best shape possible: a balanced diet, exercise, well-being—everything is linked, and it is recommended to adopt a healthy lifestyle when trying to conceive. A piece of advice that also applies to aspiring future dads, who must also preserve their fertility by adopting a balanced lifestyle. You can talk about your desire for a child to your gynecologist to give you their first advice, make the necessary examinations, or even prescribe the intake of vitamins in preparation for pregnancy.
Our advice: Brazilian nuts, seafood, pumpkin seeds… Some foods work as fertility “agitators” by boosting our hormones. Follow the advice of a naturopath to guide you if you are ready to change your eating habits. If not, start with the basics using this small list of products to include in your menus.
Know how to choose the right moments
It is nice to let Mother Nature operate its magic. You must still know at least the basics of your cycle to put the odds on your side. You will learn quickly that while you ovulate only once a month, you are nevertheless fertile for 5 days… There are lots of ways to identify these specific dates successfully, provided you have a “normal” cycle (i.e. every 26 or 28 days). Online calculators, urine ovulation tests or manual counting are all options. Know that ovulation occurs “on average” 14 days before the presumed date of the first day of the cycle, which means that your fertility period begins at least 18 days before the date of your next period.
Our advice: If, like us, you do not like numbers, if the ovulation tests to be practiced in the morning in the bathroom discourage you, and if your cycles do not seem to be regular, opt for a simpler and reassuring solution: a “fertility tracker.” We had the chance to test one called Ava*. This bracelet is worn only at night to measure nine physiological parameters to detect your fertility period. Every morning, you simply synchronize it with the application so that the data is registered. After two cycles of calculation, you’ll be able to maximize the fertile days of your cycle. It’s that easy…
Relax…
Under no circumstances should you begin to stress and create tension around this project, keep it as a precious little secret within your couple, and try not to talk about it with everyone around you. This is the only way you will avoid recurring questions about your condition or the little cornering glances when you refuse a glass of alcohol… Consider this period as a kind of honeymoon for your couple, go on a weekend holiday, change around your sexual routine, and involve both of you in calculating your fertility period.
Our advice: send some helpful readings (like this article) to your spouse to help them become informed, and offer to download the AVA application: you will not need to inform him about the dates for fertilization, and he can take the lead to organize an evening (almost) surprise for the two of you…
*The AVA bracelet (and application), a fertility monitor, was developed in Switzerland with the collaboration of a scientific team and submitted to a one-year study at the University Hospital Zurich under the direction of Professor Dr Brigitte Leeners, a specialist in the mathematical modeling of menstrual cycles. It has been shown that Ava detects an average of 5.3 days of fertility per cycle, with an accuracy of 89%.
Discount offer: enjoy a 15% off reduction on your Ava bracelet with the code: leslouves
M.D.
Translation: Ashley Griffin
Photo credit (cover): Jean Laurent Gaudy / La mariée aux pieds nus
Article made with our partner: Avawomen.com
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