Trying to Conceive
(TTC): Everything You Need to Know
TTC stands for “trying to conceive,” a simple enough acronym to describe what can be a maddening experience.
For some women, getting pregnant is no problem. They simply stop using their chosen method of birth control and—poof—the magic happens.
But for most of us, that’s not the whole story.
Getting Pregnant Can Be Maddening
Seriously. We spend our whole lives being told to avoid getting pregnant, and it feels like more women struggle with getting pregnant than those who don’t.
While women who need help getting pregnant are actually not in the majority, trying to conceive (TTC) is not as easy and exciting as many of us hope it will be.
Research suggests that 84% of couples will “get pregnant within a year if they have regular sex and don’t use contraception.”
The American Pregnancy Association suggests having “intercourse every other day of your cycle starting from day 10 through day 20. There is no need to have sex every day because sperm can live from 2 to 5 days in the woman’s body.”
But the fact remains that it’s not all having sex/fun.
Ovulation Symptoms
While 84% of couples will get pregnant within the first year of trying to conceive, that leaves 16% who will not. Also, when you’re regularly peeing on a stick hoping for a positive pregnancy test each month, a year can feel like a LONG time to wait.
That’s why many people turn to ovulation testing methods when trying to conceive.
You can learn about the different ovulation symptoms, including:
- Light spotting
- Pain or cramping on one side of the lower abdomen/pelvis
- Breast tenderness
- Increased sex drive (nature’s way of telling us to procreate)
- Egg white cervical mucus (EWCM)
Because these symptoms can be easy to overlook, or can be caused by so many other issues, many women don’t feel like tracking ovulation symptoms is enough.
Ovulation Testing
This is why, for many women, trying to conceive (TTC) often looks a lot like calendars, charts, remembering to take your temperature before you move or peeing on a stick first thing in the morning.
It’s a frustration-filled time of tracking ovulation symptoms and endlessly researching the various types of ovulation tests. How many ways to track ovulation are there, anyway? A FREAKIN’ TON, it turns out!
- Using fertility apps
- Tracking changes in cervical mucus
- Testing basal body temperature (BBT)
- Ovulation predictor kits
- Fertility monitors
It’s an overwhelming process trying to even decide if and how you want to track ovulation to improve your chances of getting pregnant.
Good thing we have you covered on choosing the best ways to track ovulation for you!
The Truth About Getting Pregnant
Trying to conceive (TTC) can be emotionally charged, isolating, and upsetting.
We’re here to teach you everything you need to know about TTC, preparing your body for pregnancy, tracking ovulation symptoms, choosing the best ovulation test for your lifestyle, and more.
You’re not alone in this journey of trying to conceive!
Two Week Wait Symptoms 101: What’s Going On Inside Your Body?
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could “do the deed” or have an embryo transfer and automatically know whether or not the process worked? That would be SO nice, but the best we can do is be on the lookout for two-week wait symptoms. Following my own embryo transfers, I obsessed over what was happening […]
From Mind to Body: Learning to Look for Important Ovulation Day Symptoms
Walk into any sex education classroom, and you’re bound to leave feeling as though the only trick to getting pregnant is an unprotected roll in the hay. But most adults quickly discover that there’s more than just an absence of condoms and birth control to contend with when trying to conceive (TTC). Ovulation day symptoms, […]
IVF vs IUI: Which Option is Right For You?
In the world of trying to conceive (TTC) acronyms, different procedures, medications, and vocabulary can all start to sound the same: IVF, IUI, ICSI, TTC, 2WW – the list goes on and on. Take IVF vs. IUI, for example. While you might be familiar with the jargon, there’s a good chance you have no idea […]
Factors Behind TTC Infertility & Natural Remedies for your TTC Journey
When a couple decides to start a family, they usually remove any “pregnancy prevention” from their bedroom activities. Strangely enough, there’s a difference between this type of “trying to get pregnant” and TTC (trying to conceive) infertility. But what is it? How do you differentiate between the concept of “trying” and “TRYING?” Furthermore, at what […]
Implantation Cramps 101: What Do They Feel Like and Why Do We Get Them?
While you were preparing for pregnancy and researching any unusual early pregnancy signs to look out for, I have a sneaking suspicion you didn’t think to research the side effects of implantation – like implantation cramps, for example. That is, unless you have a slight case of health anxiety like me and research every strange […]
Progesterone and Pregnancy: How Does One Affect the Other?
As we begin fertility testing and start examining our infertility treatment options, we’re likely to confront a kaleidoscope of new jargon, acronyms, and subject matters. Information on how progesterone and pregnancy go together is sure to be one of these things. It’s funny to think back to my first experiences with infertility. While I understood […]
Drinking While Trying to Conceive: Should You Do It?
There are so many jokes floating around about mom wine culture, and it’s no different for fertility. Tracking fertility and hoping to get pregnant are incredibly stressful, and many of us love to enjoy a glass of wine or a margarita to help take the edge off. But when trying to conceive, many women worry […]
The Basal Body Temperature Method: Can it Help You Get Pregnant Naturally?
While old wives’ tales about conception have a certain amount of intrigue, the one thing they don’t always offer is reliability. If you want to improve your chances of getting pregnant naturally, it’s best to rely on trusted techniques, such as the basal body temperature method. Sure, there are tons of modern fertility tracking methods […]