The single most effective thing you can do to get pregnant is have sex during your fertile window, which spans about seven days each cycle. Beyond timing, a combination of body weight, diet, supplements, and habits for both partners can meaningfully improve your odds. Here’s what the evidence supports.
Know Your Fertile Window
Your fertile window includes the five days before ovulation, the day of ovulation itself, and the day after. That’s roughly seven days total. Sperm can survive inside the reproductive tract for up to five days, but an egg only lives about 12 to 24 hours after it’s released. This mismatch is why having sex in the days leading up to ovulation is actually more effective than waiting until ovulation day itself.
For someone with a typical 28-day cycle, ovulation usually falls around day 14. But cycles vary, so tracking your body’s signals gives you a more reliable picture than counting days on a calendar.
Track Cervical Mucus for Better Timing
Your cervical mucus changes throughout your cycle in a predictable pattern. In the days after your period, it’s thick, white, and dry. As ovulation approaches, it becomes wet, stretchy, and slippery, closely resembling raw egg whites. When you notice that texture, you’re at your most fertile. This egg-white mucus typically lasts three to four days, and it signals the ideal time to have sex.
Ovulation predictor kits (which detect a hormone surge in your urine) and basal body temperature tracking are other common methods, but cervical mucus gives you a real-time signal that doesn’t require any equipment.
How Often to Have Sex
You don’t need to have sex every single day. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends sex every day or every other day during the six-day fertile window. Both frequencies produce similar conception rates. If daily sex feels like pressure, every other day works just as well. Outside the fertile window, frequency doesn’t matter for conception purposes, so there’s no need to stick to a rigid schedule all month.
One practical note: some lubricants can interfere with sperm movement. If you need lubrication while trying to conceive, look for products specifically labeled “fertility-friendly.”
Weight and Fertility
Body weight has a direct effect on ovulation. Being underweight (a BMI of 18.5 or less) can cause your body to stop producing enough estrogen, leading to irregular or absent periods and no ovulation. On the other end, carrying extra weight also disrupts the process. Fat cells produce estrogen, and when there’s too much of it circulating, your body can react as though you’re on hormonal birth control, suppressing ovulation.
The encouraging finding is that for women with overweight or obesity, even modest weight loss has been shown to restore regular menstrual cycles and improve the chances of getting pregnant. You don’t necessarily need to reach a “perfect” BMI. Moving closer to a healthy range makes a measurable difference.
What to Eat
Diet appears to influence fertility more than many people expect. A Mediterranean-style eating pattern, rich in vegetables, whole grains, fish, olive oil, and legumes, has been linked to higher pregnancy and live birth rates. One study found that women with high adherence to a Mediterranean diet were nearly twice as likely to achieve a live birth during fertility treatment compared to those with low adherence. Another found that women who followed this pattern during their university years were 44% less likely to need fertility treatment later in life.
A broader “fertility diet” pattern, emphasizing unsaturated fats, vegetables, full-fat dairy, and key supplements, was associated with a 66% lower risk of ovulatory infertility in a large study from the Harvard School of Public Health. On the flip side, a high energy-density diet (lots of processed, calorie-dense foods) was linked to a 70% reduction in clinical pregnancy rates in one study.
You don’t need to follow a rigid meal plan. The consistent finding across studies is that eating more whole foods, healthy fats, and vegetables while cutting back on heavily processed foods supports reproductive health.
Supplements Worth Taking
Folic acid is the one supplement every woman trying to conceive should take. The CDC recommends 400 micrograms daily, ideally before you get pregnant. It doesn’t boost fertility directly, but it prevents serious birth defects of the brain and spine that develop in the earliest weeks of pregnancy, often before you know you’re pregnant.
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has shown promise for women concerned about egg quality, particularly those over 35. It supports the energy-producing structures inside eggs. A meta-analysis found that CoQ10 supplementation improved pregnancy rates in women with age-related declines in ovarian function. The dosing used in studies varies, so it’s worth discussing with your provider if this applies to you.
Alcohol, Caffeine, and Smoking
Caffeine gets a lot of worry, but the evidence is reassuring. A Harvard study found that caffeine consumption by either partner didn’t appear to affect the odds of pregnancy or live births. Your morning coffee is not the problem.
Alcohol is a different story. Women who drank more than seven alcoholic drinks per week were 7% less likely to conceive after fertility treatment. When their male partners drank at the same level, the chance of a live birth dropped 9%. Cutting back or eliminating alcohol while trying to conceive is a reasonable step for both partners.
Smoking has a clear negative effect on both egg and sperm quality. If either partner smokes, quitting is one of the highest-impact changes you can make.
His Health Matters Too
About half of infertility cases involve a male factor, so his habits deserve equal attention. Several lifestyle changes have solid evidence behind them:
- Stay cool. Excess heat around the scrotum can reduce sperm production. Wearing loose-fitting underwear, limiting time in saunas and hot tubs, and avoiding long periods of sitting all help.
- Maintain a healthy weight. Higher BMI in men is linked to lower sperm counts and reduced sperm movement.
- Don’t smoke. Smokers are more likely to have low sperm counts.
- Limit alcohol. Heavy drinking lowers sperm counts and testosterone levels, and can make it harder to maintain an erection.
- Manage stress. Chronic stress can lower sex drive and affect the hormones needed for healthy sperm production.
- Avoid toxins. Exposure to pesticides, lead, and other environmental chemicals can damage sperm quantity and quality.
When to Get Evaluated
If you’re under 35 and have been having regular unprotected sex for 12 months without getting pregnant, it’s time for a fertility evaluation. If you’re between 35 and 39, that timeline shortens to six months. And if you’re 40 or older, ACOG recommends talking with your doctor right away rather than waiting.
These timelines exist because fertility declines with age, and earlier evaluation means more options. A basic workup typically checks whether you’re ovulating, whether your fallopian tubes are open, and whether sperm count and quality are normal. Many causes of infertility are treatable, and the sooner they’re identified, the better the outcomes tend to be.