Sure, you might not be ready to have a baby just now, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared, right? Researchers are discovering even more ways to influence your likelihood of conceiving, your chances of a successful pregnancy, the future health of your offspring; maybe even its gender. Read on...

Eat meat (just not too much)

Vegetarians could be more at risk of infertility, according to researchers from King's College London. Their studies found that a compound called genistein found in soya - a food popular with vegos - can "sabotage" sperm. But don't go too meat crazy: high protein diets could also compromise your fertility, say researchers from the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine, US. They found high-protein diets caused reduced fertility in mice, a result that could have implications for humans.

B smart

Folate isn't the only B vitamin you need to worry about. Mums with low levels of the B vitamins B12, folic acid and the amino acid methionine before they conceive tend to have fatter boys who are at greater risk of high blood pressure, according to research published in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. You can get your B vitamin boost from a balanced diet that includes red meat, chicken, fish eggs and dairy foods, says nutritionist Sharon Natoli.

Don't stress

Researchers from the University of Haifa, Israel, have revealed mothers who experienced stressful situations before conceiving have kids who are more prone to anxiety, hyper-activity and social problems. "The findings... show that adversity from a mother's past, even well before pregnancy, does affect her offsping," says Professor Micah Leshem, study author. And new research from the Uni of California, Berkley, US, says when we experience high stress, we create a hormone that suppresses reproduction. Well, that sucks.

Bix for boys

New research from the universities of Exeter and Oxford, UK, suggests a link between higher energy intake around conception and the birth of sons. As well as more kJs, mothers of sons were more likely to have eaten a higher quantity and range of nutrients. There was also a strong correlation between women eating breakfast cereals and having boys. So if you want a boy, eat your Weet Bix.

Find a brainy bloke

Men with higher intelligence produce better-quality sperm, according to a study published in Intelligence. Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry in the UK examined the intelligence test results and semen samples of 400 US soldiers and found that, independently of age and lifestyle, intelligence was associated with the highest levels of sperm quality.

Have wild sex

If you and your fella want to improve your fertility, you need to really get it on. Dr Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield,UK, claims having energetic and uninhibited sex will improve the fertility of both a man and a woman. A full-on sesh increases the number and quality of sperm a male ejaculates, while intense orgasm in a woman makes sperm more likely to fertilise the egg.

Strange babes

Got a face only a mother could love? This saying could be out the window, if new research from McLean Hospital, US, is anything to go by. They've found that women find it harder than men to look at unattractive babies or ones with birth defects. This could have an evolutionary basis - in the past mothers might have diverted their attention away from sick-looking babies and towards healthy ankle-biters who were more likely to survive.