Ready to start a family? This is what you should know about fertility

Does sexual position boost your chances of conceiving? How about the food you eat? We sort fertility fact from fiction and explain what might actually work.

Thinking of becoming a parent but not sure how to increase your odds of falling pregnant?

When it comes to fertility, there’s a tsunami of information out there and it can all get very confusing.

That is why we have asked fertility experts to debunk six common fertility myths and give some advice on what may realistically help.

• Fertility help: What you need to know about IVF

Myth 1: Certain food will help you conceive

It’s true that a healthy diet increases your chance of conceiving.

But loading up on individual foods is not the key to success.

Monash IVF clinical director Dr Gareth Weston says while diet plays a role in general health, there is not enough evidence that eating certain foods may help.

“However, certain foods certainly can decrease your fertility,” Dr Weston cautions.

“For example, if you’re having excessive amounts of caffeine – think chocolate, cola drinks and coffee – these will definitely reduce your fertility, so you should be having no more than one cup of coffee per day.”

• Second child: What you need to know about secondary infertility

Myth 2: Fertility is a woman’s issue

“This is an absolute misconception,” Dr Weston says.

“It’s quite frequent for a woman to have the referral to the fertility specialist, but the man will only tag along or will not even be there for the consultation.

“But when we look at the percentage of factors (influencing conceiving) that are identifiable, for one-third of couples their fertility is purely male factor.

“One-third is a purely female factor, and one-third is both.”

Myth 3: Age doesn’t matter

Many people think women can still easily conceive naturally well into their 40s.

“I continue to get patients who present to the rooms over the age of 45, thinking that they still have a chance of conceiving naturally,” Dr Weston says.

“(But) fertility declines steeply after 40 and accelerates even after 35.

“Success rates with IVF are only 10 per cent for a 40-year-old woman compared to 50 per cent for a 35-year-old woman.”

• Pre-pregnancy diet: How to fuel your body for a baby

Myth 4: Being on the pill for long periods will delay pregnancy

According to fertility specialist Dr Lynn Burmeister, being on the pill, even for longer periods, shouldn’t affect your future fertility.

“The pill presses pause on ovulation but it doesn’t stop it forever,” Dr Burmeister says.

“Normal hormone production should resume within a couple of months of stopping the pill, and most women will be pregnant within 12 months of stopping.”

However, she cautions that being on contraceptives can mask issues under the surface, such as endometriosis.

• Family time: 7 tips to boost fertility

Myth 5: Sexual position matters

Any couple trying to get pregnant will undoubtedly be told the way they are “doing it” is wrong.

But, Dr Burmeister says, the truth is it doesn’t really matter what position you have sex in.

“But it can help to lie still afterwards to give the sperm the best chance of finding their way up through your cervix to the egg,” she says.

“I’ve heard stories of women lying with their legs up the wall for an hour after having sex – you definitely don’t need to do that.”

Myth 6: The average time for a heterosexual couple to fall pregnant is three months

The reality is that getting pregnant is harder than many people might think.

Dr Weston says this is an issue because it means some people worry too early, and others worry too late, “delaying getting help”.

Dr Burmeister says most couples under 35 who are in good health will get pregnant within a year, but it takes longer for every year over the age of 35.

“It’s perfectly natural to take a year to conceive, but when your main focus is having a baby, that year can feel like a long time,” she says.