When and how often should you have sex to get pregnant

If you're wondering when to have sex to conceive, you wouldn't be alone. Around 1 in 7 couples may have difficulty conceiving and having a baby can be challenging. What starts as fun, trying to create your family, can quickly turn into baby-making see - all-consuming thoughts like "how long it takes to get pregnant after sex?" can dominate and all of a sudden it's another thing on the 'to do' list. 

According to the World Health Organisation, sexuality is a central aspect of human beings that encompasses identity, sex, eroticism, pleasure, intimacy and reproduction. When reduced from all these aspects to just a way of reproducing, it can emotionally affect the couple, as a unit as well as individuals.

When to have sex to conceive?

There are only a few days every month when a woman can get pregnant. These days are the best time to try for a baby. To identify your fertile window each month, you need to track your cycle and learn about when you are ovulating. Once you´ve ovulated, the egg only lives for about 12-24 hours. Sperm, on the other hand, can live inside the female body for a few days. Considering the short survival time of the egg it´s so important to identify your fertile window.

Because timed baby-making can be quite stressful for couples, we want to help by giving you a few strategies to help you in your most intimate moments.

Go back to the beginning

Remember ways you and your partner enjoyed sex early in your relationship and find ways to recreate it, doing things that with time, you stopped doing. Plan a romantic encounter, a weekend away or maybe a bubble bath together or even a couples’ massage.

Mindful sex

Mindfulness is all about being fully present, noticing our feelings and environment non judgementally. For the second strategy, we invite you to let go of baby-making thoughts like “is this the best time to try and conceive” or “is this the time, when his sperm is going to fertilise my egg?” and embrace the moment. Notice your partners’ skin, the smell, bodily sensations, the way he/she makes you feel.

How often should you have sex to get pregnant?

You only have a few days a month when you could get pregnant so try not to make the entire month all about 'baby-making'. Having regular sex is the advice that's usually given, but if you want to have the best possible chance of sex resulting in pregnancy, you need to know when you're about to ovulate so you can time intercourse. Knowing that you'll only have 'timed sex' on specific days, a handful of times per month will help to keep stress levels at bay and keep the romance alive. 

Using a personalised fertility tracker like Mylo can help you identify your fertility window to take the stress out of trying to conceive, making it a pleasure rather than an item on your to-do list! The strategies above can also help you reconnect as a couple and have special intimate times together every day of the month.