You may know what to expect this time around, but that doesn’t mean you will feel the same. Every pregnancy is different, and second pregnancies differ from first ones in a number of ways.

But before dealing with any of the ups or downs of growing a baby, you’ll have to get pregnant. For some couples, conceiving baby number two happens just as quickly and easily as baby number one, but this may not be the case for all, which may take some couples by surprise.

What to do if you’re having trouble getting pregnant a second time
It’s easy to assume that getting pregnant a second time will be easy and often can be, but couples can experience secondary infertility, infertility that shows up after you’ve already had at least one baby.

Here are five key areas that can contribute to the struggles of conceiving the second time around:

1. Age Age is a really important factor. Many couples that are getting pregnant later in life want to try for a second baby quite quickly. Age and how long you’ve been trying are key to understanding your fertility status the second time around. A woman is born with her full quantity of eggs. While you cannot do anything about the amount of eggs remaining, you can support the development of those egg follicles as they mature. The environment that the egg is immersed in influences the health and quality of the egg. This too is similar for sperm quality. Like eggs, sperm quality responds best to dietary intervention and adopting positive lifestyle behaviours.

2. Nutrition and Diet Many parents are not getting the nutrition they need. They get home from work, they have a young child to get ready for bed, and they don’t give themselves the time to eat well. A healthy diet and the right nutrients in the 3 months prior to conception are the most effective way to influence egg and sperm quality giving you a higher chance of conception.

3. Prenatal Vitamins We know that improving nutrition and lifestyle can make a difference when trying for a baby. Prenatal vitamins like Proceive Women and Proceive Men help prepare your body for conception by providing the highest strength and most comprehensive formulations available to support the nutritional needs of both men and women trying for a baby.

4. Sex You will have to have more sex to get pregnant a second time, usually at least three times a week. Many couples aren’t having enough sex because they are exhausted and often trying to juggle looking after a toddler as well as working, and they fell like they don’t have the energy for sex. Using ovulation predictor kits can help with timing sex each month.

5. Exhaustion Usually by the time the weekend comes you are both exhausted, so catching up on your sleep and having a bit of time to yourself is vital. Couples trying for a second baby may have also have a young child who doesn’t sleep well. This too can be exhausting. In order to support the immune system and reduce stress, getting sufficient sleep should be a priority for couples trying to conceive. For women, lack of sleep or broken sleep can also affect hormone balance which can contribute to menstrual irregularity, which could result in taking longer to conceive.

Many couples who struggle the second time round do get pregnant naturally but for older couples, it’s about working within a timeframe, and setting yourself a limit to know when to ask for help and seek assistance.