Adding a baby to the family is the goal of many couples and for most people, getting pregnant is easy. For those couples who seem to get pregnant at the drop of a hat, it’s likely that they’re practicing some helpful hints to increase their odds of getting pregnant quickly.

You can implement these same tips and increase your chances of becoming pregnant fast, too.

#1 – Make Sure Your Timing Is Perfect

Timing really is vitally important when it comes to trying to have a baby. It takes the right time within your fertility cycle for the sperm and egg to get together and of course once that happens, a baby develops.

For this meeting to happen, you can’t simply leave it up to chance. But because the sperm likes to hang out once it’s released, you have a small window of time in order to get the job done.

When you know that you’re ovulating, you need to have sex. So you’ll want to predict your ovulation – and it’s easier to do than you might think. You can predict ovulation time by counting the days of your cycle.

You have about a 5 day window during the month in which you can get pregnant. First, figure out when your last period started. You can back up two to three months prior to help figure out your cycle average.

Most women have a cycle that falls within a 28 to 30 day average. If you fall within that time frame, then your ovulation time will be around the middle of the month – or 14-18 days into your cycle’s timing.

If that method doesn’t work for you, you can also check your timing by checking your body temperature. By checking your basal body temperature, you’ll be able to pinpoint when you’re ovulating.

If you use this method, you’ll also want to keep an eye out for the mucus that occurs when you’re ovulating. This will be noticed as a clear discharge. It should not, however, have a strong odor.

Some women like to use an ovulation predictor that you can get yourself from your local store. These inexpensive tests work similar to pregnancy tests, but these will tell you when you’re ovulating. These tests check your urine for ovulation and you get about a week’s worth of tests within a kit.

#2 – Find the Perfect Pregnancy Position

If you’ve heard that the position matters when you’re trying to conceive, then you heard correctly. While trying out new sexual positions can be fun and add some spice to your love life, some of the positions can actually work against you if you’re trying to have a baby.

The reason that some positions make it harder to conceive is that these positions make it more difficult for the sperm to reach its intended target – the egg.

When referring to a difficult task, the phrase ‘trying to swim upstream’ has been used. That’s the same difficulty that sperm face in certain positions. These positions make it tougher for the sperm to swim against gravity.

So if having a baby is your goal, you’ll want to avoid some positions until you know that you’re pregnant.

Avoid standing up while having sex. The sperm has too tough of a time trying to swim upward and the body’s natural pull against gravity also pulls downward on the vaginal mucus. Even strong sperm swimmers find it tough to beat that.

You’ll also want to avoid sitting up – such as when using a sex chair. While these toys can make sex interesting, they’re not helpful either when it comes to getting pregnant.

The best position you can use to enhance your odds of conceiving a baby is to use the missionary position – also known as the man on top. In this position, the sperm gets a straight shot at the cervix.

After you’ve been with your partner, you want to lie still immediately afterward in order to give the sperm some time to reach their intended goal. You should remain still for at least 10 minutes – 15 is even better.

Avoid going to the bathroom right after you have sex. You’ll also want to avoid using anything that upsets the vagina’s pH balance such as certain lubricants and douches.

Using different positions doesn’t mean you won’t get pregnant. You can get pregnant having sex standing up or being on top, but we’re talking about maximizing your odds.

#3 – Rule Out Fertility Problems

If you’ve tried to conceive for at least a year and you haven’t used any type of contraceptive during that year, yet haven’t been able to conceive, then you may want to visit the doctor to rule out fertility problems.

Your doctor can schedule a consultation where he’ll go over both you and your partner’s histories. By delving into your health and habits, your doctor can help you eliminate or discover things that may be preventing conception.

Certain medical problems for a woman can interfere with ovulation, so after the consultation, your doctor may order a pap smear to rule out these barriers. These obstacles can be diseases like STDs.

Your doctor may order blood work to check your progesterone level. He may also order tests that will check for hormone imbalances. And he might suggest ovulation tests that you can use at home.

If he doesn’t see anything unusual with the blood work or the at-home tests, he’ll probably want to check your reproductive organs. By getting a visual of your uterus and fallopian tubes, he can rule out any blockages or other problems.

Sometimes, infertility issues can be caused by the male partner. Your doctor can check your partner’s sperm count and the viability of the sperm. He can perform tests to see if the sperm is healthy.

Sometimes men can have a blockage that prevents the sperm from following through to the penis after leaving the testicles.

A man can also have a condition where his body creates antibodies against sperm. If that’s the case, his body will fight against his sperm, making it difficult to achieve fertilization of the woman’s egg.

#4 – Get Pregnant After a Vasectomy or Tubal Ligation

If your husband has undergone a vasectomy, it doesn’t always rule out the possibility of a pregnancy. Sperm is present right after a vasectomy and in some cases, the female partner became pregnant as late as a year following the procedure.

Though a tubal ligation is said to be permanent, it does have a pregnancy rate even years after the procedure is performed. During the procedure, access of the egg through the fallopian tubes is blocked. This is done through clipping, burning or cutting.

The main cause of a pregnancy after a tubal ligation occurs because the tubes reconnected themselves. It’s not impossible for cut tubes to go back together. However, there are some tubal ligations that make pregnancy more difficult than if the tubes were simply cut.

If you or your partner has had one of these procedures done, they can be successfully reversed and you can conceive – though your chances of conceiving are rated according to how long either procedure has been in place.

Reversing a vasectomy takes a couple of hours and can be done as an outpatient procedure, which helps minimize the cost of the operation. You’ll have to abstain from intercourse until your doctor gives the okay.

Successful reversal of a tubal ligation depends on the type of tubal that was done. The most difficult procedure to reverse is one where the fallopian tubes have been cauterized.

This is one of the most permanent methods. Your doctor will check before scheduling a surgery to see if the reversal is a good option for you. The surgery to rejoin fallopian tubes that have been cut or clamped usually takes a couple of hours.

Depending on your age and health, you may have to have a recovery period in the hospital. For couples where a tubal reversal is not an option, in-vitro fertilization can help.

#5 – Conceive When You’ve Been Using Birth Control

If you’ve been a long term user of birth control, then you may have some questions about being able to get pregnant. Being on oral contraceptive doesn’t impact your ability to get pregnant once you’ve stopped taking the pill, because your cycle will regulate itself.

Birth control pills don’t decrease your chances of regular ovulation. Many women get pregnant right away after they stop taking the pill. Other birth control methods, such as the patch, condoms or vaginal rings don’t decrease your odds of getting pregnant once you stop using them, either.

Some women end up pregnant while taking a birth control method because while the methods are useful in decreasing the chances of getting pregnant, they aren’t 100% foolproof.

So if you’re worried that your birth control might cause difficulty in allowing you to get pregnant, you can relax and know that your chances are very good. Some doctors will put you on birth control for a short period of time and abruptly take you off as a way to help you conceive if your cycle isn’t regulated.

#6 – Eat Right to Get Pregnant

The time to prepare your body for pregnancy is before it actually happens. You can increase your odds of getting pregnant by making sure your nutritional needs are met.

You need to make sure that you’re eating a healthy array of foods. Eat lean meat and don’t forget your vegetables and fruit. When you’re trying to get pregnant, having a healthy diet isn’t always enough.

Eat a lot of plant protein. It’s been shown to decrease your odds of having fertility issues.  Drink milk and eat whole-fat ice cream, too. It aids in ovulation. Increase foods rich in iron and eat foods that keep your blood sugar steady and low.

That’s why your doctor will often prescribe vitamins. You’ll want to get your folic acid level checked. This vitamin is vital in the fight against birth defects and it’s one of the reasons that doctors prescribe it to pregnant women.

Get a jump on this by adding this vitamin to your daily nutritional intake. Calcium is important for your pre-pregnancy health. Calcium aids the body in many ways – including hormone production and muscle contractions.

Go ahead and start a vitamin regimen under a doctor’s care so that you can prepare your body with the best chance of conceiving a healthy baby. Nutritional needs are not always about what you put into your body.

It can also be about what you don’t put into your body. While you’re preparing to get pregnant, there are certain substances you should not put into your body. Caffeine consumption needs to be cut out.

Don’t go cold turkey or you may get caffeine headaches. Come off of this stimulant slowly. You’ll also want to stop consuming anything that can be harmful to a baby and this includes alcohol, cigarettes and even certain medications.

#7 – Increase the Odds of You Having Twins

Having twins isn’t something that happens only to people with a family history of having twins – though that certainly does raise the odds. Even without a genetic history of twins, there are several ways that you can increase your odds of giving birth to multiples.

Breastfeeding women who get pregnant have a higher chance of conceiving twins. Though many doctors warn against weight gain, studies have shown that women who are overweight have an increased chance of getting pregnant with twins.

Adding folic acid to your nutritional intake can also raise your chance of having twins. Foods like yams and milk work in your favor as well.

Hyperovulating – the condition in which more than one egg is released when ovulating – can also cause a woman to conceive twins. Women who choose to undergo fertility treatments are often given fertility drugs that greatly increase the odds of having twins.

Being pregnant 4 or more times can increase the chances of having twins – and age can play a role as well. Because of higher hormone production, older women have a higher chance of getting pregnant with twins.

#8 – Things Your Man Can Do to Help You Get Pregnant

Get a check-up. Your man should head to the doctor and get a clean bill of health or take care of any health concerns the doctor raises so that it can increase your chances of getting pregnant.

He can avoid taking things that can contribute to a lowered sperm count. One of these things is alcohol. If he balks at that, explain that it’s not forever – just during the window of time you both need in order to conceive.

Your partner needs to eat healthily and take his vitamins. He needs to stay physically fit. Unlike a woman, where extra weight can increase the odds of having twins, extra weight for a man can result in a lowered sperm quality.

He needs to make sure he keeps his testicles at a cool temperature. Taking a hot shower, a hot bath or chilling in a hot tub can damage sperm and decrease your chances of conceiving due to the damaged sperm. Even wearing tight underwear can ruin his sperm count.

Finally, your partner can make sure that the two of you are as financially fit as possible. This action will relieve the stress that can be put on finances when a baby comes along.

If he can make sure that the budget can handle you taking time off for maternity leave, that can help you relax and enjoy the time with the new baby. And if conception is more difficult than you thought it would be, a cushion of funds for fertility treatments can help you navigate the process with ease.