Naturally pregnant in 10 steps.
At the Wunschbaby Institut Feichtinger we support you all the way – from compassionate guidance and comprehensive diagnostics to high-tech fertility treatment – on your path to a successful pregnancy in 10 simple steps.
Getting pregnant naturally – what really matters.
Many couples do not need high-tech treatment, but the right timing, an honest work-up and someone who reads the cycle along with them. That is exactly where our path with you begins.
Understanding the fertile window
After ovulation, an egg is capable of being fertilised for only a very short time – sperm, by contrast, survive for several days in favourable cervical mucus. This results in a narrow window of a few days per cycle in which a pregnancy can occur at all.
Regular intercourse on these days is more effective than any elaborate calculation. Clues to ovulation are stretchy cervical mucus, a rise in basal body temperature afterwards, and ovulation tests. However, ovulation can only be reliably confirmed by ultrasound and hormone testing – and that is exactly what we do as part of cycle monitoring.
When a work-up makes sense
As a guideline: if you are under 35 and have had regular unprotected intercourse for a year, or over 35 and for six months, without a pregnancy occurring, a work-up makes sense.
You should not wait if your cycle is irregular or absent, with known endometriosis, after abdominal surgery, after chemotherapy or after repeated miscarriages. An early look at the man is also worthwhile: a semen analysis is quickly done and often spares months of guesswork. Find out more under when help makes sense.
Your path to a natural pregnancy.
These ten steps describe what we do together with you – from booking the first appointment to the positive test.
Booking your appointment
Is your longed-for baby keeping you waiting? Don't hesitate any longer and book an appointment at the WIF – or attend a free information evening first: every month we offer a general one-hour group information evening as well as personal 15-minute orientation talks.
Would you rather not wait? Then arrange your personal initial consultation by phone in Vienna on +43 1 877 77 75, in Baden on +43 2252 206857 or via our contact form.
Preliminary examinations
Ideally, you will bring all documents and previous test results to your initial consultation. A semen analysis and the woman's blood test (hormone levels, cycle-dependent) are important preliminary examinations that you are also welcome to have carried out with us. Our team at the information desk will be happy to assist you.
Initial consultation
We get to know each other and develop your individual treatment plan based on the available test results. In a first personal consultation, you will receive comprehensive advice and information: together we analyse your situation and suggest the method best suited to your individual needs. Rest assured that our team of doctors, laboratory specialists and assistants will explore every possibility to make your wish come true.
Fallopian tube check
Using a simple and usually painless ultrasound or X-ray examination, the patency of the fallopian tubes is checked. The ultrasound examination (HyCoSy – hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography) can be carried out at our institute in the first half of the cycle.
Cycle monitoring
Using ultrasound and urine or blood tests, the growth of a follicle and the development of the uterine lining are monitored. Every woman has her own individual cycle.
Ovulation
When a mature follicle can be confirmed by ultrasound and the uterine lining has built up sufficiently, ovulation can either be triggered using natural hormones or the body's own ovulation can be awaited.
Fertilisation
A few hours before ovulation, the couple should have intercourse – provided the sperm quality is sufficient – or, if necessary, an insemination is carried out.
Implantation
In the second half of the cycle, we support the implantation of the embryo with the corpus luteum hormone (progesterone). If necessary, other supportive medications can also be given that promote implantation or help prevent a miscarriage.
Pregnancy test
About two weeks after ovulation, the pregnancy can be confirmed by a urine or blood test.
Finally pregnant!
Ideally, it worked the very first time and you will soon be holding your longed-for baby in your arms. The WIF is regarded as a pioneer of modern reproductive medicine and is one of the leading clinics worldwide – with our help, many thousands of children have already come into the world. Thank you for your trust!
What you can additionally influence.
None of this replaces a work-up – but all of it works in your favour on every further path you take.
For the woman
- Avoid nicotine – it affects egg quality and blood circulation.
- Reduce alcohol, especially in the second half of the cycle.
- Aim for a weight in the healthy range: both marked overweight and underweight can disrupt the cycle.
- Take folic acid, ideally starting a few months before a pregnancy.
- Have your thyroid and vitamin D status checked.
For the man
- Have a semen analysis done – even when there is no suspicion of a problem.
- Do not smoke: nicotine accelerates the DNA fragmentation of the sperm.
- Avoid heat in the groin area, such as long sauna sessions or the laptop on your lap.
- Exercise yes, extreme exertion rather not.
- Anabolic steroids and similar substances are a frequently underestimated problem.
For your timing
- Note your cycle length over a few months – this is the simplest basis of any planning.
- Watch for stretchy cervical mucus: a good clue to the fertile days.
- Basal body temperature or ovulation tests can complement this, but do not replace an ultrasound.
- Regular intercourse within the fertile window is more effective than exact precision landings.
- Don't put yourself under pressure – that too is a factor.
Gentle help – and when more becomes sensible.
Between "just keep trying" and assisted fertilisation, there are several stages. We go through them in this order.
What is possible in the natural cycle
Cycle monitoring with ultrasound and hormone levels shows whether a follicle is maturing, when ovulation takes place and whether the uterine lining has built up sufficiently. On this basis we can support in a targeted way: triggering ovulation with natural hormones if it comes too late or not at all, or stabilising the second half of the cycle with the corpus luteum hormone progesterone so that implantation succeeds better. Accompanying factors such as thyroid values, prolactin or insulin metabolism are also part of it – they are often easy to correct and have a direct effect on the cycle.
When the next step makes sense
If success fails to appear over several well-observed cycles, we talk openly about the next stage. That is usually first an insemination – a gentle step in which the prepared sperm is placed into the uterus at the optimal time.
If the fallopian tubes are blocked, if semen quality is significantly reduced or if time is an essential factor, the path leads to assisted fertilisation – that is, to IVF or ICSI. We recommend this step no earlier than necessary, but also no later than sensible: in fertility medicine, time is the most important factor that cannot be brought back. You will find an overview of all stages under fertility treatments.
Videos to accompany your steps.
Pregnancy test
An institute that begins with the smallest step
You might not expect it from a high-tech institute: many couples who come to us do not need assisted fertilisation. They need a thorough work-up, precise cycle monitoring and someone who tells them what the problem is. That is why we begin with the gentlest method that realistically offers a chance of success in your situation – and not with the biggest.
That we can do this has to do with our history. The Wunschbaby Institut Feichtinger has been a pioneer of reproductive medicine in Austria since 1982/83: the first Austrian IVF baby was born here, in 1993 ICSI was introduced in Austria by the WIF, and more than 30,000 births have resulted from treatments with us. With our own hormone and genetics laboratory in-house, you receive diagnostics and treatment from a single source – 360 degrees, at our locations in Vienna, Baden and St. Pölten.
And because a wish for a child is more than a medical matter, we take time for your questions – including the ones that are not medical. We are family.
Frequently asked questions about getting pregnant naturally.
How long is it normal to take to get pregnant naturally?
For a large proportion of couples, a pregnancy occurs within the first year – it is normal for it to take a few months, and no sign of a problem. As a guideline for a work-up: under 35 after twelve months, over 35 as early as after six months. With an irregular cycle, known endometriosis or repeated miscarriages, you should not wait.
How do I find my fertile days?
Clues are given by clear, stretchy cervical mucus, a rise in basal body temperature after ovulation, and ovulation tests that measure the LH surge in urine. These methods are helpful but imprecise. Ovulation can be determined reliably via ultrasound and hormone levels – that is part of the cycle monitoring we carry out in-house.
How often should we have intercourse to get pregnant?
Regular intercourse roughly every other day around the fertile days is a good rhythm. Long "saving up" does not improve semen quality, and exact precision landings are not necessary. More important than any calculation method is that you do not put yourselves under pressure with it.
Can an insemination also take place in the natural cycle?
Yes. If your cycle is regular and a follicle matures reliably, an insemination is possible without hormonal stimulation. It is then placed within the fertile window based on the ultrasound and the hormone levels. If no follicle matures or ovulation does not occur, we support gently with medication.
What is the point of cycle monitoring if I know my cycle?
It shows things that are not visible from the outside: whether ovulation takes place at all, whether the follicle grows large enough, how the uterine lining builds up and whether the second half of the cycle is stable. Many apparently normal cycles have a weak point exactly there – and it can often be treated easily.
Does it help to exercise more or lose weight?
A weight in the healthy range has a favourable effect on the cycle – this applies to marked overweight as well as underweight. Moderate exercise is beneficial, whereas excessive training can disrupt the cycle. What makes sense are small, lasting changes rather than radical programmes that create additional stress. You can read more on our page weight & fertility.
Does my partner also need to be examined if I want to get pregnant naturally?
Yes, and as early as possible. The causes of involuntary childlessness are distributed roughly equally between the woman, the man and both together. A semen analysis is quickly done and provides decisive information – without this result, any planning remains incomplete.
What if it does not work the natural way despite support?
Then we look together at what the observed cycles have shown and discuss the next stage: usually first an insemination, and with corresponding findings assisted fertilisation with IVF or ICSI. All findings collected so far remain valid – you do not start from scratch.
Let's take the first step together.
Arrange a personal initial consultation or get to know us at a free information evening.
Or call us: +43 1 877 77 75