Important

When you want to become pregnant, it can be useful as a woman, but also as a man, to reflect on the daily lifestyle. It is possible that with a small adjustment the risk of a condition in the baby is reduced.

• It is especially important to start taking folic acid tablets as soon as you want to become pregnant. You can simply buy this at the drugstore or pharmacy. Folic acid is a B vitamin that lowers the risk of having a child with a neural tube defect (eg spina bifida). National advice is that women should take a daily amount of 0.5 mg folic acid from 4 weeks before pregnancy up to and including the 10th week of pregnancy. It is wise not to stop taking folic acid before the first ultrasound, so you can be sure that you have taken it for the entire period.
• Other matters that can affect your own health and that of the child include obesity, smoking, alcohol, drug use, medication and, for example, the use of harmful substances or radiation such as X-rays in the workplace. See brochure:Risks at work 
• If you want to know whether it is necessary to change your diet, it is best to check the website of the nutrition center. (see below)
• Even if you or your family have congenital defects or hereditary disorders, there is the possibility to find out in time what this could have for your pregnancy and child.

There are a number of good websites available where you may be able to get answers to some questions

www.groeigids.nl/algemeen/kinderwens

www.strakszwangerworden.nl

www.voedingscentrum.nl

In addition, we offer the option of answering your questions in a consultation and arranging additional research if necessary.

You can make an appointment for this during the telephone consultation hour on 0297-561542

Become pregnant

If you stop using contraception, you can have spontaneous and random sex in the beginning. Usually it is not immediately possible to get pregnant in the first month(s), but know that 85-90% of all couples who want to have children are pregnant within a year.

If you are not pregnant after six months, you can try to increase the chance of pregnancy by having sex on the days when you have the greatest chance of getting pregnant. As a woman, you have two to three fertile days per cycle. You can calculate which days those are yourself.

Calculate fertile days

The chance of pregnancy is greatest if you have sex in the days before ovulation (ovulation). This can be up to five days before ovulation, because the sperm cells remain alive for about three to five days.

• Ovulation is usually two weeks before menstruation.
• Before ovulation up to and including the day of ovulation, it is best to have sex every other day.
• With a 28-day cycle, that is the days 10 to 15 after the start of the last menstrual period.
• You are most fertile during the three days around ovulation.

How can you tell that you are ovulating:

• Your temperature rises slightly around ovulation. If you measure and record your temperature every day before getting up, around the same time, you will notice this.
• Also, around this time, your discharge turns into a clear and shiny mucus, like raw egg whites and can sometimes be stringy as well. After 3-4 days, when the fertile period is over, the secretion becomes whiter and thicker again.
• If you are fertile, the cervix also changes, during the fertile period it is as soft as your earlobe or lips and is slightly open. Outside these fertile days, the cervix is harder, like the tip of your nose, and closed. You can recognize these changes through internal self-examination.
• Some women can feel ovulation. They then have a bit of cramping or pain on the left or right side of the abdomen.
• Another option is an ovulation test, which measures the amount of LH (luteinizing hormone) in your urine. This hormone causes an egg to be released. The ovulation test measures a rise in this hormone and determines the best days to have sex. Ovulation tests are available at the drugstore or pharmacy.