Trying to Conceive: Where to Start

You've decided you're ready. Maybe you've been ready for a while. Now you're wondering what you should actually be doing to get pregnant.

The internet will give you a hundred answers. Supplements, apps, ovulation kits, fertility diets, specific positions, pineapple core. Some of it is helpful. Much of it is noise. And almost none of it addresses what actually matters most.

Here's what we've learned from over twenty-five years of helping women conceive: your overall health matters more than any single intervention. The women who struggle most aren't always the ones with the worst labs. They're often the ones running on empty, pushing through exhaustion, ignoring what their bodies are telling them.

This is where to focus.

How Long Does It Take to Get Pregnant?

Most couples who are trying to conceive will get pregnant within a year. Research published in Human Reproduction found that 92% of couples conceive within 12 cycles when timing intercourse to the fertile window.

But averages don't tell the whole story. Your timeline depends on many factors: your age, your health, your partner's health, and how well your body is functioning overall.

The egg that will ovulate three months from now is developing right now. It takes approximately 90 days for a follicle to mature from recruitment to ovulation. During that window, the developing egg is influenced by everything happening in your body: your sleep, your stress levels, your inflammation, your nutrient status.

This means you have real influence over the quality of your eggs. What you do in the next three months shapes the conditions for conception. This is why we encourage women to think about fertility preparation, not just fertility treatment. The choices you make now matter.

What to Do When Trying to Conceive

Before you focus on supplements and interventions, look at the foundations. These matter more than most people think, and they're often where the biggest gains are made.

Sleep

Sleep is when your body does hormone regulation and cellular repair. Poor sleep directly affects FSH, increases inflammation, and disrupts the hormonal balance that supports egg development and ovulation.

Research in Fertility and Sterility found that women who slept less than seven hours per night had significantly lower rates of conception compared to those who slept seven to eight hours. Sleep isn't optional for fertility.

Most women we see are running on less sleep than their bodies need. They've adapted to six hours and think that's just how they function. But adaptation isn't the same as thriving. They're waking up tired, relying on caffeine, crashing in the afternoon. Their bodies are managing, but not flourishing.

If you're not sleeping seven to eight hours and waking rested, this is the first place to look. It's not glamorous, but it's foundational.

Stress and Your Nervous System

This is the factor that gets the least attention and often matters the most.

Chronic stress keeps your body in survival mode. When you're running on cortisol and adrenaline, your body deprioritizes reproduction. It's not a conscious choice. It's biology. Your nervous system is assessing your environment and deciding whether conditions are safe enough to create new life.

A study in Human Reproduction found that women with higher levels of alpha-amylase, a stress biomarker, took 29% longer to conceive. The researchers suggested that stress reduction should be considered as part of fertility optimization.

We often ask women: when was the last time you felt genuinely at ease in your body? Not distracted by your phone, not decompressing after a hard week, but actually calm and settled? Most can't remember.

If you've been pushing hard for years, building a career, managing everything, running on stress, your nervous system may be stuck in a mode that doesn't support conception. This isn't about relaxing more. It's about helping your body remember what safety feels like.

Nutrition

Your eggs need nutrients to develop well. Iron, folate, vitamin D, omega-3s, antioxidants, protein. A diet rich in vegetables, healthy fats, and clean protein supports egg quality. Processed foods, excess sugar, and inflammatory oils work against it.

Blood sugar stability matters too. When your blood sugar spikes and crashes throughout the day, it creates inflammation and hormonal disruption. Eating regular meals with protein and fat, rather than grazing on carbs or skipping meals, makes a real difference.

You don't need a perfect diet. You need a consistent one that gives your body what it needs.

Movement

Moderate movement supports circulation, stress regulation, and hormonal balance. Walking, yoga, swimming, and strength training are generally supportive.

But more isn't always better. If you're doing intense workouts while also running on stress and not sleeping well, you may be depleting rather than supporting your body. Exercise is a stressor, and your body doesn't distinguish between stress from a hard workout and stress from a hard job. If you're exhausted, scaling back may actually help.

How to Track Ovulation

Understanding when you ovulate is essential for getting pregnant. You can only conceive during a short window: approximately the five days before ovulation and the day of ovulation itself.

Track your cycle length first. A normal cycle is 24 to 38 days, counted from the first day of one period to the first day of the next. If your cycles are significantly shorter, longer, or irregular, that tells you something about your hormonal balance worth investigating.

Ovulation predictor kits detect the LH surge that happens 24 to 36 hours before ovulation. They're useful for timing, though they don't tell you whether you actually ovulated or how strong the ovulation was.

Cervical mucus is another signal. Around ovulation, it typically becomes clear, stretchy, and slippery, like raw egg whites. This indicates your body is preparing for conception.

For timing intercourse, the days leading up to ovulation are your most fertile. Every other day during your fertile window is typically sufficient. You don't need to time things perfectly or make it stressful. Sperm can survive for several days, so consistent intimacy in the days before ovulation gives you good coverage.

Fertility Tips: What Often Gets Overlooked

Beyond the foundations, certain factors affect fertility more than most women realize.

Your digestion plays a bigger role than you might think. Your digestive system is where you absorb nutrients, clear excess estrogen, and regulate inflammation. If you have bloating, constipation, irregular bowel movements, or heartburn, these aren't just annoyances. They can indicate imbalances affecting your hormonal health and fertility.

Thyroid function is frequently missed. Even subclinical thyroid issues can interfere with ovulation and implantation. Many women have been told their levels are "normal" when they're actually suboptimal for fertility. If you haven't had a full thyroid panel, it's worth requesting.

Chronic inflammation affects egg quality and creates a less hospitable environment for implantation. It often shows up as joint pain, skin issues, fatigue, or headaches. You might not feel inflamed, but your body may be dealing with low-grade inflammation from diet, digestive issues, or chronic stress.

Your partner's health matters too. Sperm quality contributes to half the equation. If your partner hasn't had a semen analysis, this is easy and important information to have. And sperm health responds to the same factors as egg health: sleep, stress, diet, alcohol, and overall health. This is something you can work on together.

When to See a Fertility Specialist

The standard recommendation is to seek evaluation after one year of trying if you're under 35, or after six months if you're 35 or older.

But there's no reason to wait if you have concerns. If your cycles are irregular, if you have painful periods, if you have a history of endometriosis or PCOS, if you've had previous pregnancies that didn't continue, getting information earlier makes sense.

A basic fertility workup gives you data: where your ovarian reserve stands, whether your partner's sperm is healthy, whether there are any obvious obstacles. This isn't about rushing into treatment. It's about understanding your situation so you can make informed decisions about how to proceed.

Does Acupuncture Help Fertility?

When women come to us early in trying to conceive, we focus on creating the best possible conditions for conception.

Acupuncture increases blood flow to the reproductive organs, supports hormonal balance, and helps regulate the nervous system. Research published in the Journal of Integrative Medicine found that acupuncture improved ovulation rates and pregnancy outcomes in women trying to conceive. For women who've been running on stress for years, nervous system regulation is often the most impactful piece. Many women tell us their acupuncture sessions are the only time they truly relax, the only hour in their week when their nervous system actually settles.

Chinese herbs can address specific patterns: irregular cycles, short luteal phases, PMS, or underlying imbalances. We customize formulas based on what's happening in your body and adjust as things improve.

We also look at the factors that conventional medicine often misses: sleep quality, digestion, stress patterns, subtle signs of inflammation or hormonal imbalance. We want to understand your whole picture, not just your lab numbers.

Many women conceive naturally within a few months of this kind of focused preparation. And even if you eventually need more intervention, starting from a healthier baseline improves your chances with any path you take.

What This Looks Like in Practice

A woman came to see us at 35. She and her husband had been trying for eight months with no success. Her cycles were regular, her initial labs looked fine, and her OB had told her to keep trying. But she wanted to be proactive rather than just waiting.

When we talked, a fuller picture emerged. She was an interior designer with a packed client schedule. She described herself as always in motion, always thinking about the next project. Her sleep was inconsistent, sometimes great, sometimes terrible depending on deadlines. She ate well when she had time, but often skipped meals when she was on site or in client meetings. Her periods had gotten shorter over the past year, down to three days from what used to be five.

Her labs were normal. But her body was showing signs of depletion, and her cycle was reflecting that.

We started with weekly acupuncture focused on building her reserves and regulating her cycle. We talked about how her irregular schedule was affecting her hormones and strategized ways to protect her sleep and meals even during busy project phases. We added herbs to lengthen her luteal phase and support ovulation.

Within two months, her periods lengthened back to five days. Her energy improved. She said she felt more like herself again.

She conceived naturally in her fourth month of working with us. She delivered a healthy baby at 36.

Her body needed time to rebuild. The preparation we did together created better conditions for conception.

Read stories from women we've worked with →

Your Next Step

If you're trying to conceive and want support, we can help you understand what's happening in your body and create a plan tailored to your situation. Whether you're just starting or you've been trying for a while, there's value in looking at the whole picture.

Learn more about our Fertility & Health path or contact us at 212.432.1110 or info@fafwellness.com.