Before jumping into bed, you might want to give sex a second look.
Sure, you've probably been doing it for years-and chances are you're pretty good at it by now.
But will sex for procreation have to be different from sex for pleasure? In most cases, not at all (not surprisingly, egg and sperm typically meet up without any nudging necessary).
Still, a few minor adjustments here and there might be just the ticket you need to hop onto the baby express.
Ready to take the plunge into unprotected sex? Baby making might seem as easy as tossing the pills, pulling off the patch, or letting the condoms gather dust in your bedside drawer.
But you'll need to look before you leap into the sack without that prophylactic parachute and give your birth control method a preconception assessment first.
Here's the lowdown on how pregnancy protection can affect pregnancy planning: Pills, patches, and rings.
Because these contraceptives manipulate (make that, fool around with) your natural hormone levels, in effect creating artificial cycles, it's best to shelve the Pill, patch, or ring a few months before you want to start trying to conceive.
That will allow your cycles to return to normal first, so that planning the pregnancy and dating the pregnancy will be easier.
It'll also allow time for your uterine lining (the endometrium) to thicken, making it easier for an embryo to implant.
Finish your Pill pack to avoid midcycle (breakthrough) bleeding before you ditch the package and use a barrier method (condoms are probably most convenient) while you're waiting for your cycles to get back up and running on schedule.
For some women, fertility returns as soon as they quit the hormones, but for others, it may take a month or so to resume ovulation-sometimes even longer, especially if you've been using the hormones for years.
If you do get pregnant before your period becomes regular again, or if you get pregnant right after stopping a hormonal contraceptive, or even while using it, don't worry-there's no harm to the baby.
The only tricky part if you get pregnant while you're transitioning might be figuring out exactly when you conceived.
Early ultrasound can step in and solve that mystery.
Barrier methods (diaphragms, condoms).
No need to plan way ahead with these types of contraception, so they're perfect for the spontaneous set.
Just ditch the diaphragm or condom anytime (how happy are you about that?) and you're ready to get busy baby making.
And while you're ditching your diaphragm, you might as well toss it out, too.
You'll need to be fitted for a new one after delivery since pregnancy and childbirth change the shape of your cervix (and ill fitting diaphragms don't do their job).
Spermicides.
Like barrier methods, spermicides don't need to be stopped until you're ready to roll.
Don't worry if you accidentally conceive while using a spermicide-it won't hurt your baby.
Intrauterine device (IUD).
Stop anytime by having your doctor remove the device.
Once it's out, you maybe able to start your baby-making efforts pronto (check with your doctor).
Typically, your fertility will be the same as it was before the device was put in, with no or little downtime.
Even an IUD that releases hormones shouldn't delay your baby making efforts (the level of hormones is much lower than that in the Pill).
Depo-Provera.
There's plenty of advance planning required here because it can take 6 months to a year for ovulation to resume after you stop getting these progesterone shots.
Talk to your ob-gyn about the best timing for you.
And plan on using another method of non hormonal birth control (condom, spermicides, or diaphragm) while you wait for your cycles to return to normal.
Natural family planning.
As a practitioner of this method, you're ahead of the baby-making game, since you're likely an expert on your own fertility.
Now that you're ready for a baby, just reverse your efforts.
Instead of avoiding sex during fertile times, bring it on!
Sure, you've probably been doing it for years-and chances are you're pretty good at it by now.
But will sex for procreation have to be different from sex for pleasure? In most cases, not at all (not surprisingly, egg and sperm typically meet up without any nudging necessary).
Still, a few minor adjustments here and there might be just the ticket you need to hop onto the baby express.
Ready to take the plunge into unprotected sex? Baby making might seem as easy as tossing the pills, pulling off the patch, or letting the condoms gather dust in your bedside drawer.
But you'll need to look before you leap into the sack without that prophylactic parachute and give your birth control method a preconception assessment first.
Here's the lowdown on how pregnancy protection can affect pregnancy planning: Pills, patches, and rings.
Because these contraceptives manipulate (make that, fool around with) your natural hormone levels, in effect creating artificial cycles, it's best to shelve the Pill, patch, or ring a few months before you want to start trying to conceive.
That will allow your cycles to return to normal first, so that planning the pregnancy and dating the pregnancy will be easier.
It'll also allow time for your uterine lining (the endometrium) to thicken, making it easier for an embryo to implant.
Finish your Pill pack to avoid midcycle (breakthrough) bleeding before you ditch the package and use a barrier method (condoms are probably most convenient) while you're waiting for your cycles to get back up and running on schedule.
For some women, fertility returns as soon as they quit the hormones, but for others, it may take a month or so to resume ovulation-sometimes even longer, especially if you've been using the hormones for years.
If you do get pregnant before your period becomes regular again, or if you get pregnant right after stopping a hormonal contraceptive, or even while using it, don't worry-there's no harm to the baby.
The only tricky part if you get pregnant while you're transitioning might be figuring out exactly when you conceived.
Early ultrasound can step in and solve that mystery.
Barrier methods (diaphragms, condoms).
No need to plan way ahead with these types of contraception, so they're perfect for the spontaneous set.
Just ditch the diaphragm or condom anytime (how happy are you about that?) and you're ready to get busy baby making.
And while you're ditching your diaphragm, you might as well toss it out, too.
You'll need to be fitted for a new one after delivery since pregnancy and childbirth change the shape of your cervix (and ill fitting diaphragms don't do their job).
Spermicides.
Like barrier methods, spermicides don't need to be stopped until you're ready to roll.
Don't worry if you accidentally conceive while using a spermicide-it won't hurt your baby.
Intrauterine device (IUD).
Stop anytime by having your doctor remove the device.
Once it's out, you maybe able to start your baby-making efforts pronto (check with your doctor).
Typically, your fertility will be the same as it was before the device was put in, with no or little downtime.
Even an IUD that releases hormones shouldn't delay your baby making efforts (the level of hormones is much lower than that in the Pill).
Depo-Provera.
There's plenty of advance planning required here because it can take 6 months to a year for ovulation to resume after you stop getting these progesterone shots.
Talk to your ob-gyn about the best timing for you.
And plan on using another method of non hormonal birth control (condom, spermicides, or diaphragm) while you wait for your cycles to return to normal.
Natural family planning.
As a practitioner of this method, you're ahead of the baby-making game, since you're likely an expert on your own fertility.
Now that you're ready for a baby, just reverse your efforts.
Instead of avoiding sex during fertile times, bring it on!