I’m going to give you some tips about things you can do at home to increase your chances of conceiving – whether you are going through infertility treatments or not – these tips may help! Check with your doctor first because these tips are not meant as a substitute for medical advice.
1. Take Robitussin: Robitussin contains guanefesin. Guanefesin is an expectorant – it thins mucous. It thins mucous in the lungs the same way it thins mucous in the cervix. In order for sperm to be able to swim through the cervix into the uterus, the mucous should be thin and this will help. Some fertility drugs such as clomid can affect the lining of the uterus and the cervical mucous to make pregnancy harder to achieve so by taking guanefesin – you are hopefully counteracting the side effect of drying up the cervical mucous. Mucinex has the same effect. Just plain Robitussin is what you take – start it 5 days before your expected ovulation until you ovulate. For example, if you think you ovulate around cycle day #14, start the guanefesin on cycle day #9. Drink plenty of water with each dose: 2 teaspoons 3 times a day.
2. A very common question I hear is: when should we start or stop having intercourse? It is quite common for couples not to be intimate during an infertility treatment cycle. The reason is that they are worried that if they are intimate, the sperm count will be too low when it’s around ovulation time. Unless you have a very low sperm count, being intimate can only increase your chances of pregnancy. Ask your doc the following question: based on what you know about our situation, when should we be intimate during this process to increase our chances?
There are products on the market that you can buy and use in the privacy of your own home whether you are planning on doing an insemination in the doctor’s office or not.
You can use this a couple of days before the insemination or after the insemination to improve your chances. The concept is this: catch the semen and keep it in the vagina so that the sperm can swim up over several hours. Check out the websites below and see what types of products are out there. You have to know your body to feel comfortable using them. They certainly are not for everybody.
http://www.conceptionkit.com/default.aspx?
I do not have a relationship with these companies but think that their products are nifty and may help someone conceive. Just some tricks I’ve learned – some from patients! You can also buy the Diva cup which is similar to the above products from Wholefoods or online.
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