Illustrated by Austin Watts.If you ask a group of women between the ages of 18 and 40 how to avoid getting pregnant, chances are, you'll get a long and varied list of answers. But, ask them how to increase the chances of conceiving a child? *Crickets*. The U.S. education system focuses on teaching young people how to avoid pregnancies, and that's understandable. But, somewhere along the line, we totally skipped the lessons on how to get pregnant when you're ready.
A group of OB/GYNs recently published a study in the journal Fertility & Sterility that revealed how women are uninformed about the specifics of making a baby (aside from the main act, of course). The study surveyed a variety of women from ages 18 to 40 online, and found across the board that women didn't actually know that much about conception.
For example, many women didn’t know the best time each month to try to get pregnant — it’s the two days before you ovulate, which was news to about 90% of the surveyed ladies. Also, a lot of the women didn't realize that OB/GYNs recommend starting folic acid supplements one month before trying to get preggers, in order to prevent neural tube defects. There are tons of things that can decrease your fertility: age, obesity, smoking, irregular periods, and past STDs. One thing that doesn't hurt your chances? Stress — even though many of the surveyed women thought so.
When reviewing the study findings, it becomes clear there are a lot of wanna-be moms who could use a primer when it comes to starting a family. Who could've guessed that most of us only know half the story of those birds and bees?
(NPR)