As we enter a new year, one area in life that many of us may well focus on is money. Let’s face it, if you are planning to have a baby, it can be an expensive business! With this in mind, we have put together some simple fertility tips that might help you save money when trying to conceive.
Know Your Cycle
You will get pregnant a lot quicker if you know your cycle. Ovulation Tests can help you identify the times when you are most fertile, allowing you to plan intercourse around these peak times. you can get apps for your phone that will help with this.
Ladies who use a BBT chart to record their cycle will also have an advantage over those that don’t as they will also have a good idea of the best time to have sex. All you need in this case is a cheap basal ovulation thermometer and a free BBT chart.
Use Ovulation Test Strips
Ovulation test strips have comparable accuracy to the more costly midstream and digital ovulation tests. They are much less expensive since there isn’t much packaging. If you buy 40 Ovulation Test Strips from Zoom Baby you will save money by buying in bulk. And because the tests have a shelf-life of up to 2 years, you do not need to worry that they may run out of date.
Stop When You Get a Positive LH Surge
When you notice a positive surge in LH levels using your ovulation prediction test, don’t do any more testing. How long the LH surge stays detectable is irrelevant. The important part is when the surge starts because this is when the ovary is triggered to release an egg. After you have noticed the LH surge, simply save the remainder of the ovulation tests for the following month’s cycle.
While ovulation test strips are incredibly affordable, you may be wondering how they actually work. The key is that they detect the surge of luteinising hormone (LH) that occurs just prior to ovulation. As an egg begins to mature, LH levels rise sharply to trigger its release from the ovary. This “LH surge” happens about 24-36 hours before you ovulate.
Ovulation test strips have antibodies that specifically bind to the LH hormone. When you get a positive result with a darker test line, it means LH levels have peaked – your most fertile window! So using these strips allows you to pinpoint your 1-2 most fertile days each cycle for maximising your chances of conception.
But what if your test line always looks faint? Don’t panic – some women simply have lower baseline LH levels. As long as you see a visible line get darker compared to previous days, that’s your sign ovulation is imminent. Consider using a free ovulation calculator or app to identify the typical length of your luteal phase after ovulation. With some observations over a couple cycles, you’ll get the hang of interpreting your personal results.
Use Fertility Lubricant, Only When You Need To
Are you applying a fertility lubricant in your efforts to get pregnant? If so, only apply it up to and after your fertile period since they are costly when you compare it to your regular water-based lubricants. During the non-fertile period of the month, apply a water-based lubricant such as K Y Jelly, which is 50% of the cost of Conceive Plus or Pre-Seed. (This is one of the simple fertility tips that could save you a lot of money!)
Don’t Use Expensive Pregnancy Tests
Similar to ovulation tests, pregnancy test strips are inexpensive compared to midstream and digital pregnancy tests since the branding and packaging are much less. However, the technology is similar and they are just as accurate. They are searching for the discovery of hCG hormone detectable in the pregnancy test by a line. A digital pregnancy test announces the outcome of your test for you, however, this isn’t needed unless as the outcome is easy to interpret visually.
Speaking of pregnancy tests, have you ever wondered why there’s such a wide price range? From cheap strip tests to pricey digital models, they’re all checking for the same thing – presence of the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). This hormone is only produced after an embryo implants, making it the universal marker for pregnancy.
So what accounts for the cost differences? Basically, more expensive tests are designed for extremely early detection of just trace amounts of hCG. Cheaper tests require higher hCG levels built up over some days for a positive. That said, all tests become reliable for medical pregnancy confirmation once you’ve missed your period.
If you’re simply looking for those two pink lines as soon as possible, go for an affordable strip test and start testing a few days before your expected period. Once you get a positive, you can always treat yourself to a fancy digital test as a cute way to share the news with your partner! Those digital tests remove any doubt by spelling out “Pregnant” in words.
Don’t Take a Pregnancy Test Every Day
Is your pregnancy test positive? One our easiest fertility tips is to refrain from re-testing daily. Allow a minimum of 48 hours from an early test to the next test. This will let the levels of the pregnancy hormone hCG to increase. Are you going to retake the test again? If so, use the less expensive pregnancy test strips.
Buy Ovulation & Pregnancy Tests in bulk
As mentioned earlier, most ovulation and pregnancy test strips have long sell-by dates on them, up to two years. This means that you can order a larger pack in confidence knowing that they won’t go out of date on you. As well as saving money doing this, you can thus ensure that you never run out of tests when you most need them!
For example, our own Zoom Baby Pregnancy Test Value Pack contains a bumper selection of 10 pregnancy tests. Buying them this way saves you a massive 25% on if you’d bought them separately. A great saving!
Eat Healthily When Trying to Conceive
If you want to conceive quickly, it’s important that both the man and the woman are in the best physical shape. Eating well is an important part of this. You will save money if you ditch ready meals and cook using natural, fresh ingredients from scratch. You boy will thank you for this and you are putting yourself in a better position to get pregnant by being healthy. (A lot of good tips can be found in our blog post on The Best Foods to Eat When You’re Pregnant)
If cooking from scratch is not always an option, due to your lifestyle. You may want to consider supplementing with pre-natal vitamins in order to make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need. Pregnacare Conception is recommended here, but Seven Seas Trying For A Baby is another good but cheaper option.
If you can tie in eating better with exercise, even better! Also, make sure that you get enough sleep.You will be improving your fertility chances even more if you can improve in these areas.
While adopting healthy habits is wise when trying to conceive, you’ll also want to cut yourself some slack. Stressing over every little thing can actually make it harder to get pregnant. Instead, focus on making sustainable lifestyle improvements without obsessing.
For example, you might meal prep some nutritious lunches on weekends but allow yourself a weekly pizza night. Or commit to taking a 30-minute walk each day, but don’t beat yourself up over occasional missed days. The key is finding a balance that feels manageable for the long-term.
Remember, millions of women have gotten pregnant despite less-than-perfect diets and exercise routines. As long as you’re in generally good health without any major issues, have faith that your body knows what to do. Give it the fuel, rest and care it needs, but also have fun with your partner! Keeping the joy and intimacy alive is so important on this journey.
Use a Zoom Baby Discount Code
Finally, it’s worth pointing out that when you buy from Zoom Baby you will have already begun to save money as often our prices are cheaper than most high street pharmacies and health stores. Once you become a Zoom Baby customer we send you a special discount code that you can use every time you order form our website. This is our small way of saying “Thank you” to our army of loyal customers.
To get you on your way, you can use this discount code TTC5. This will immediately give you a 5% discount when you place your first purchase with us. Just enter the code at the checkout!
We hope that these fertility tips have proved helpful. Good luck!
Photo credit; “Piggy” by Anthony Cunningham for Zoom Baby
Zoom Baby is a leading supplier of Pregnancy Tests and Ovulation Test Kits
