Have sex often this seems obvious but the less frequently you have sex the longer it will take you to become pregnant.

Lifestyle make sure you have time to have a baby in your life. Look at your work schedule. Do you have two diaries? Do you work over 37 hours a week? Are you either at work or at the gym? Be realistic.

Eat regular meals including breakfast, include plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, protein and avoid excessive fats or sugars. ·

Aim to drink at least 2 litres of water a day, reduce tea and coffee intake. ·

Try and ensure you are neither underweight or overweight as this can influence your hormones, periods and ovulation. ·

Take regular exercise. Exercise helps with your weight control, managing stress, encouraging restful sleep, and combined with a healthy diet can help improve your fertility. ·

Sperm Quality. Encourage your partner to wear loose underwear and jeans, to avoid hot baths, to try and avoid long distance driving and working with his lap top on his lap. Sperm quality is affected by the temperature of his testicles; they need to be slightly cooler than his normal body temperature. ·

Give up smoking. Smoking has a detrimental impact on your partner’s sperm quality and mobility. In female smokers the effect is of aging your eggs, reducing the chances of you getting pregnant and increasing your risk of miscarriage. ·

Alcohol. Sperm quality is influenced by excessive alcohol intake. Although the occasional alcoholic drink is unlikey to effect the chances of you getting pregnant it is best to be avoided by both parties if possible. ·

Reduce Stress. It is impossible to avoid all stress in your life because we all need some stress to be able to function well in certain situations. However, too much stress will have a negative effect on you and your partner’s fertility. Irritability, disturbed sleep, lack of concentration, digestive problems are all signs that you are stressed. If you are having problems with stress it is important you see your GP or a Traditional acupuncturist. ·

See a Traditional Acupuncturist sooner rather than later. It’s better to see an acupuncturist who works in the fertility field before you start trying for a baby, although traditional acupuncture will be of benefit at any stage. Starting acupuncture treatment before you start trying will help improve both you and your partner’s fertility before you get into the situation where you have been trying to conceive for a while and you both start feeling negative emotions.