Is Kim Kardashian Trying Too Hard to Get Pregnant?

Elise Solé
Updated
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Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are trying to conceive a second baby. Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Kim Kardashian is synonymous with TMI so it makes sense that the reality star has been providing us with a play-by-play of her efforts to become pregnant for the second time with husband Kanye West.

“It’s frustrating. I’m exhausted, and I think I’m just really making this all about the wrong things,” Kardashian, 34, told the camera during the season 10 premiere of Keeping Up with the Kardashians on Sunday. “I’m forcing it. We just need to relax and we just need to not stress over it, not plan so much and just go with the flow.” Kardashian also added that she’s considering using a surrogate to conceive a sibling for 19-month-old daughter, North West.

If Kardashian doesn’t get pregnant naturally, it won’t be from lack of trying. She claims to be bedding Kanye “500 times a day,” inviting him to crash photo shoots so the two can have quickies in the bathroom, hashing out a game plan with her OB, and purchasing “every kind of ovulation stick imaginable” to track her menstrual cycle.

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We already know that fertility wanes sharply after age 35. Specifically, a 30-year-old woman has a 20 percent chance of getting pregnant each month and a 40-year-old has less than a 5 percent chance, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

However, advanced age aside, it’s possible that Kardashian’s enthusiastic efforts may be unnecessary or even counter effective. Surprisingly, having too much sex, while not preventative, has no impact on the odds of conceiving. “There are really only five days per month during which a woman can get pregnant,” Eve Feinberg, M.D., medical director at Fertility Centers of Illinois’ Center for Fertility Preservation, tells Yahoo Parenting. “We call it the ‘fertile window’ and it occurs a few days before ovulation.” Daily sex could also result in boredom, which could stall the process altogether, and according to Feinberg, some men who feel pressured to conceive can even develop erectile dysfunction.

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What’s more, relying too much on ovulation kits can backfire. “Those tests aren’t a perfect science and if you’re only having sex according to the results, you could miss an opportunity to conceive,” says Feinberg. That’s because the test only detects the presence of luteinizing hormone (LT) in the body, not the moment it surges (which is the best time to conceive). “It’s not an exact science and some kits are plain wrong,” she adds.

And sometimes the mental exhaustion from goal-oriented sex can cause stress, which in rare cases, can delay pregnancy. “We can’t measure the impact of stress on fertility because stress presents itself differently in every person. But in general, if you’re ovulating every month, stress probably isn’t the reason you can’t get pregnant, but it is possible,” says Feinberg.

Kardashian’s best bet: “Have sex every other day starting on day ten of your menstrual cycle,” says Feinberg. And most importantly, don’t stress and have fun.

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