No matter where you live in the world, couples wanting children face a dilemma. From the United Kingdom to Japan, Europe to Malaysia or Turkey couples must juggle financial, career and personal goals when considering trying for a baby. This can be clearly seen in the statistics with the average age of first time mother’s in the UK up from 21.4 years in the 1970’s to 29.4 years in 2010, in Japan the average age for mother is now 29.7 years old and in Switzerland 29.4 years. Nearly half of all babies born in the UK (47%) in 2008 had mothers aged 30 or over.

These trends seem to be a reflection of the economic forces on modern family life supported by the modern concept of "family planning", or in other words using birth control to delay starting a family in order to achieve career and financial goals. The problem with this concept and what many couples who have left starting a family until later are increasingly aware of, is that this concept ignores or leaves out that there is a gradual decline in fertility, and in particular women’s fertility with age, especially after 35. The decline in fertility has been compounded more recently by a decline in overall health for example obesity and Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) combining with other modern lifestyle factors to negatively affect the fertility of both sexes.

As a result many couples may take longer to conceive, or have to face problems of sub-fertility. While there are exceptions, as a general rule for couples in their 20’s there is 25% chance of conceiving in each cycle while at 35 there is 15% chance of conception with the conception rate dropping with each year closer to age 40. On average it can take 7 months to conceive, and this can be a stressful and isolating for many couples. More pregnant women in this age group will consider undergoing fertility treatment that can be costly and invasive. Couples who have not conceived after 6 months are advised to consult their GP for a referral to a Gynecologist.

For Lisa and Mark, 36 and 33, a working professional couple in Western Sydney Australia the decision to start a family was the catalyst to improve their health and lifestyle in preparation for conception of their first child.

Because we had set aside a limited time to have a family and considering our age we did a lot of research about what we could do to prepare ourselves mentally and physically to conceive as quickly and naturally as possible…."Mark stopped smoking, we improved our diet, took supplements such as folic acid, exercised three times a week and started using Conceive Plus fertility lubricant", says Lisa.

Research suggests many women are not well informed about their fertility or how to notice the signs of peak fertility such as elevated body temperature and changes in cervical fluid. Cervical fluid is vital in the transportation of sperm to the egg and lack of fluid can be a barrier to conception, while dryness can often be a symptom of intercourse on demand. "We thought it was best to have intercourse everyday…we found that I had a lack of cervical fluid or dryness, we also discovered in the course of our research that most lubricants can damage, inhibit and even kill sperm".

Now expecting their first child Lisa and Mark were asked what they would recommend to other couples in similar circumstances. "We are really pleased with everything we did to get pregnant naturally and feel very blessed, we didn’t stress out to much and certainly we are now healthier as a result."

Conceive Plus fertility lubricant helps to provide an optimal environment for conception and facilitates sperm motility to increase the chances of fertilization for couples trying to get pregnant. Conceive Plus can assist you on your path to pregnancy by supplementing natural cervical fluid, supporting sperm health and preventing vaginal dryness.

Other Lifestyle changes that are generally accepted to improve overall health your chances of conception include;

• Stopping or reducing alcohol intake

• Getting quality sleep

• Reducing stress

• Undertaking Moderate exercise

• A healthy diet

• Aiming for healthy weight (BMI)