Preparing for Pregnancy at 30: Tips & Considerations

Question
First, I am 30 yr old and my last pd started on April 14th.
I have 2 questions:
1) Ok, my husband and I want to start trying and I really don't know anything about it.  What are somethings that I should be doing to prepare and are there any things that I can do to better my chance of conceiving?
2)  I have been on the antidepressant, Lexapro (10mg) for 10 months for panic attacks.  Should I get off of it?

Thank you very much
Joy

Answer
First you should try to determine which day of the month that you ovulate. If you have a normal 28 day cycle (from the first day of your period until the first day of your next period) ovulation occurs on cycle day #14. YOu can only become pregnant if you have unprotected sex on cycle day #13, 14, 15, or 16. Concentrate on having sex on those days, each month. YOu can pinpoint more exactly the day of ovulation by purchasing an ovulation predictor kit from the pharmacy. If you do become pregnant on one of those days, a pregnancy test will not show a positive result until 14-21 days later. The best time to take a pregnancy test is seven days after you miss your next period. I would not stop yoru medication yet. Once you miss your period and get a positive pregnancy test, then I would stop the Lexapro and discuss with your doctor the medicaitons that a safe for use during pregnancy.