10 Myths About Conceiving

Falsehoods that Could Hold You Up

By Jessica Williams

While you may feel perfectly fit and healthy on the outside, feeling this way is no indicator of your fertility. Many men and women have severe fertility problems and show no outward signs. Of course, being unhealthy can be a risk factor for infertility, but it does not necessarily work the other way around.

If we aren't pregnant in the first few months of trying, there must be something wrong. Those sex-ed teachers (and everyone else who want to scare young people into taking responsibility for their reproductive lives) really want you to believe you can get pregnant at the drop of a hat, don't they! But, according to American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), a couple isn' t considered infertile until they have been trying to conceive for one year. That's a long time to keep trying without worrying! Eighty percent of healthy couples will conceive by this time.

If we have sex often enough, we will get pregnant. Unless your partner has a problem with his sperm count, by all means, have all the sex you want! But, it is important to realize that you only need to have sex during a few crucial days of each month. These are the days you ovulate, and unfortunately, you could have sex 29 days out for a 30-day cycle and still miss ovulation. Timing, not repetitiveness, is important.

As long as I am younger than 35, I am very fertile. While it is true that a woman's fertility dramatically decreases once she is older than age 35, women in their 20s can also have fertility problems. You are most fertile in your 20s, but each year that passes without pregnancy can increase your risk to fertility problems.

I will get pregnant if I have sex 14 days after my period. This is one of the biggest misconceptions still taught to many young girls today. Unless you have a perfect, consistent 28-day cycle (which is not the norm for most women), you are not always most fertile on day 14. The old "calendar" method of birth control was based on the false assumption that women ovulate on day 14. This is simply not true for most women, and only tracking your fertility signs will help you determine when your ovulation period is.

My partner and I don't have to do anything different (sexually) to conceive.

Want to see more?

• Mulling Over Motherhood: Do You Really Want to Be a Mom?
• Preconception Visits: Working With Your Doctor
• The Right Way to Get Pregnant
• Talk about it!