Every step to pregnancy, in order

Start a daily supplement with 400 mcg of folic acid at least one month before you try, book a preconception checkup to review medications and vaccines, and give your partner a 3-month head start: sperm take about two and a half months to develop.

The fertile window is the six days ending on ovulation day, and the two days before ovulation give the best odds. Have sex every one to two days in that window. LH strips or a fertility monitor tell you when it opens; temperature confirms ovulation afterwards.

Implantation happens 6 to 12 days after ovulation, most often on days 8 to 10, and pregnancy hormone (hCG) only appears after it. The most sensitive tests can turn positive 10 to 12 days past ovulation in some pregnancies; testing from the day of your missed period is more reliable.

ASRM recommends a fertility evaluation after 12 months of trying if you are under 35, after 6 months at 35 or older, and sooner over 40 or with irregular periods or known conditions. Test both partners: male factors contribute in about half of couples. At-home tests are a start, not a diagnosis.

Treatment usually steps up from timed cycles with ovulation medicine to IUI (sperm placed in the uterus) to IVF (eggs fertilized in a lab). The right first step depends on age, diagnosis and both partners’ results. Single people and same-sex couples often start with donor-sperm insemination, at home or in a clinic.

After a positive test, keep taking a prenatal with folic acid, call your clinician to book a first prenatal visit (usually in the first trimester), work out your due date, avoid alcohol and keep caffeine under 200 mg a day. Call sooner for heavy bleeding or one-sided pain.