3 Tips for Trying to Conceive During COVID-19

With the emerging spread of COVID-19 in our communities, many people are wondering if and how to continue trying to conceive (#TTC) during this time.

For example, those who are #TTC with the help of an IVF clinic may find that their clinic is shutting down temporarily during the outbreak. While this may seem like a disappointing setback, we also understand their reason for pausing operations. In the end, it’s better to play it safe. 

So, what should you do while #TTC right now? Here are a few tips to keep your enthusiasm high and the ball rolling while you work toward pregnancy.

1. Continue boosting your fertility with diet and exercise. 

Although it’s always important to maintain a healthy diet and level of exercise, it’s even more important when you’re #TTC—especially when you’re indoors a lot.  

Even if you’re not preparing to conceive right away, this is a great time to build up those habits you’ll want later when you’re pregnant.  

One easy way to incorporate a healthier diet and a little more exercise? If you have the space, consider starting a garden. Even with shelter-in-place orders affecting some of the country, people are still allowed to go outside. A garden is a nice way to get some sunshine, a little exercise, and healthy fruits or vegetables come summer. 

Check out Amazon’s selection of seeds to get started.

2. Create a fertility board. 

Similar to how a vision board might help you envision your ideal life, a fertility board allows you to envision your future family.  

Maybe you can post a picture of a smiling family on a beach, to symbolize more time spent together outdoors. Or you can try posting pictures of places you’d like to travel to one day.  

Feel free to add anything you like, as long as it serves as a source of hope and inspiration.

3. If you haven’t met with a fertility specialist yet, consider remote visits.  

Although many clinics are closed for the immediate future, clinics like the Fertility Institute of Hawaii are now providing telemedicine consults. Contact your local specialists and see if they’re accepting remote sessions.

Bonus Tip: Continue searching for an egg donor. 

Even if you’re unable to have a donor egg transfer until the COVID-19 outbreak passes, you can always choose your donor now to keep your enthusiasm high and to remain in the queue for shipping when your fertility practice is ready to move forward.

While this delay in treatment may be inconvenient, if you select your egg donor now, we will be ready to move you forward as soon as your fertility clinic is ready to receive eggs. This will lessen your TTC because most nurses won’t start your cycle planning until your selected donor eggs are in the lab.  

At Donor Egg Bank USA, we take the health of our donors very seriously. We want to assure you that through our network of fertility practices, we’re taking the proper precautions with all of our donors.  

Our standard operating procedures already include rigorous steps designed to prevent the spread of communicable diseases through donor gametes.  

In addition, we are closely monitoring and following AATB (American Association of Tissue Banks), CDC, and WHO best practice recommendations across all our laboratories and offices to mitigate risks associated with COVID-19. 

Read more about what we’re doing during this time to minimize risk here.