It takes two to conceive a baby and when it’s just not happening, it’s a good idea for both the man and the woman to take a look at what it takes to conceive a child.  In fact, it takes motivation on both sides to help the woman get pregnant.

Let’s take a look at some tips that both the man and woman can do in order to increase the chances of having a pregnancy. Men need to do whatever is necessary to insure the integrity of the sperm and to keep them viable.  This primarily means keeping the sperm cool.  Tight binding underwear can increase the temperature of the sperm, as can frequent hot tub visits, which can cause sperm to lose motility and be less likely to fertilize the egg.

Smoking does damage to sperm DNA which can cause birth defects in children.  Ejaculating too many times in a day (more than two) can reduce the sperm count and affect fertility.

Getting some extra sunshine can increase testosterone levels which can create improved sperm.  Being too thin or too heavy can reduce the sperm count.  The BMI should be between 20 and 25.  You can achieve this through healthy eating and exercise.  Alcohol can affect male fertility so it is recommended to have just one drink per day.  If you do drugs, this can seriously affect male fertility, particularly using marijuana.

To improve sperm health and motility, consider drinking green tea or taking gingko biloba.  Both of these enhance male fertility.  Gingko biloba improves sexual energy and sexual performance.  Above all, make sure you relax.  Sex drive is lowered by stress and it is important to just relax and let the conception process happen.

Women need to pay attention to some fertility tips in order to get pregnant.  A woman should also relax as stress can affect ovulation.  She needs to make sure she is ovulating, and if she is, she needs to know when she is ovulating so as to have sex during that time.  Having a curvy body shape enhances fertility and it is important for the woman to have a BMI somewhere between 20 and 25.  BMI levels outside of these levels affect the ability of a woman to ovulate.

If the woman is not ovulating, she needs to consider taking medication that stimulates ovulation.  The most common drug for this is Clomid®, which triggers ovulation in most women.  The biggest risk of taking such a medication is that of having multiple pregnancies, which happens about 11 percent of the time.

There are some old wives’ tales that may help improve fertility.  One is to take guaifenesin a few days before an anticipated ovulation.  Guaifenesin is found in cough syrup and loosens the cervical mucus, making it easier for sperm to ascend into the uterus.  Lying flat with a pillow under the buttocks will increase fertility by enhancing the number of sperm that get through the cervix and into the uterus.

If all efforts fail, consider seeing a fertility specialist who can help decide what is going wrong and make suggestions as to what might improve the fertilization of the egg.  It may all come down to in vitro fertilization, in which eggs are retrieved and fertilized outside of the womb, being inserted into the womb when the fertilized eggs have reached the 8-cell stage.  The biggest risk of this is multiple pregnancies, which can actually be excessive if too many embryos are implanted.