The result, for many, is a months-long period of trying—one that may prove longer and more frustrating than it needed to be, simply for lack of clear information about how to optimize that trying. It only felt natural for Chelsea Hirschhorn, mom of four and CEO of baby and postpartum care brand Frida, to, well, conceive of a conception-support line that demystifies the process. The brand has earned its beloved reputation for taking the guesswork out of early parenthood and postpartum recovery. And now, with Frida Fertility, it’s extending its umbrella of care to prospective parents, too.
The idea for the line was born after Hirschhorn announced her fourth pregnancy and soon began to get questions from friends and the broader Frida network about how they could better their own chances of conception. It dawned on her then that, while she knew exactly how to avoid pregnancy (thanks to middle school sex-ed), she couldn’t clearly explain how she actually got pregnant each time that she had.
“Sometimes, it took me months; other times, it happened right away. Sometimes, I stopped drinking coffee and told my husband to avoid hot showers, and other times, I changed absolutely nothing. All the times, I kept my legs in the air after sex [but didn’t really know why],” she says. “No one had actually taught me that there are things that couples can do from the moment they think about starting a family to better their chances of conception.” It was this realization that inspired the company’s collaboration with fertility specialists to bring a conception product line to life.
The new Frida Fertility line streamlines and systematizes the process of getting pregnant into three stages—preparation, testing and tracking, and conception—and walks prospective parents through each one with simple tools designed to boost the chance of pregnancy from the jump: a set of supplements for enhancing egg and sperm quality, respectively ($50); an ovulation and pregnancy test and track set ($37); and an at-home insemination kit with a sperm collection cup and two applicators ($50).
How Frida Fertility helps streamline and normalize the process that is conception
Though plenty of people can conceive without any outside support, it’s not always the case. “I think a lot of people think it’s very normal to get pregnant in the first cycle or two, but the majority of people do not get pregnant that fast,” says reproductive endocrinologist Stephanie M. Thompson, MD, who’s partnering with Frida on the new launch. Indeed, your chances of pregnancy are about one in four during each cycle if you’re in your twenties, and one in five if you’re in your thirties; and only about 30 percent of people actually do get pregnant within the first cycle.
“I think a lot of people think it’s very normal to get pregnant in the first cycle or two, but the majority of people do not get pregnant that fast.” —Stephanie M. Thompson, MD, reproductive endocrinologist
It’s for this reason that you’re not considered to have clinical infertility until after a year of trying if you’re under 35, and six months if older. But during those first few months is precisely where the informational gap lies, according to Hirschhorn—when people are expected to just try without necessarily having had the sex education around how and when, and without being able to access an insurance-covered fertility consult, if that would even be within their means.
“In some ways, the pendulum has recently swung the opposite direction to where conversations are now heavily focused on infertility, but the reality is, there’s a whole journey you can go on well before that to prepare your body to conceive and to test and track your hormones that are optimal for conceiving, in order to better your chances of pregnancy,” says Hirschhorn.
The launch of a multistep product line dedicated to that journey highlights an under-discussed reality: The process of getting pregnant (even for those without a diagnosed fertility issue) can be just that…a process requiring some particular steps. And that’s totally normal.
Perhaps the biggest misconception surrounding that process is that “we have time, when it comes to age,” says Dr. Thompson. “I don’t think people realize how dramatic the decline in egg count and quality is, especially when you get into your mid-thirties.” That’s where the Frida Fertility supplements come into play. The egg-focused ones contain antioxidants like CoQ10 and selenium to help combat ovarian aging (and exclude ingredients common in prenatals that you don’t need until you’re actually pregnant, like iron); and the sperm-focused ones are made with folate and B12 for sperm health, as well as zinc and vitamin C for sperm structure.
“I don’t think people realize how dramatic the decline in egg count and quality is, especially when you get into your mid-thirties.” —Dr. Thompson
Given that time is of the essence for maintaining both egg and sperm quality, it’s also especially important for your pregnancy odds to have sex within your fertile window. “It’s another misconception that your chance of pregnancy every month is really high,” says Dr. Thompson. In reality, conception is only possible during the 12- to 48-hour window of ovulation and the few days before—aka about six days total per menstrual cycle, and not whenever you have unprotected sex. (Sorry, Coach Carr.) The longer your cycle (i.e. the fewer periods you have in a year), the fewer tries for pregnancy you get, says Dr. Thompson.
The Frida ovulation test set normalizes testing your pee for luteinizing hormone (a sign of impending ovulation) each morning, wherever you may be, with a collapsible pee cup that includes a handle—no more pee splattering on your hand—and a tracker card and case for storing and transporting the test strips. The ease of the kit is designed to remove any confusion around pinpointing your fertile window, so you can better time sex for max pregnancy potential.
And because carefully timed sex isn’t always sexy (or possible), the final component of the Frida fertility line normalizes at-home insemination for conception, too—so that it’s no longer just something you might be tempted to DIY with a turkey baster. (Yep, it’s a thing.) The at-home insemination kit comes with a semen collection cup and two applicators, so that a person with a penis can collect semen whenever the time feels right, and a person with a vagina can comfortably deliver it to their cervix whenever they’re ovulating.
“This is really beneficial for couples where there may be some male-factor anxiety,” says Dr. Thompson. “It’s hard to make [erection and ejaculation] happen on demand for months, so the at-home insemination kit can help eliminate the timing issue.” It’s also especially useful for same-sex couples who are working directly with a sperm donor bank and want or need to inseminate at home.
This ability to access conception support at an affordable price without having to make a doctor’s visit is at the heart of the entire line, says Hirschhorn. While similar products exist both on the market and in DIY versions, the fact that you can pick up this full line at Target, easily use each component to better understand and maximize your chances of pregnancy, and do so proactively (before insurance would cover a fertility consult) has the power to save you time. And in the world of conception, there are few things more precious than that.
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