What's your biggest challenge when it comes to family life? Send your questions and dilemmas to our experienced life coach Joanne Mallon at this link. Your name can be changed on request

Kirsty writes:

We recently had to end a pregnancy on 10th June - a little boy of 5 months - due to enlarged kidneys which weren't producing amniotic fluid.

We are desperate to try again. I'm already taking my folic acid tablets again and I don't want to wait. Do you have any advice on how to tell when I will be ovulating? Or any tips to help us?

Here's the life coach's reply:

Dear Kirsty

I am very sorry to hear about the loss of your son.

Most women (around 75% ) who lose a baby go on to have a healthy pregnancy, and hopefully this will happen for you. It's obvious that you want to get pregnant straight away, so I don't know if you will like what I want to tell you - because my advice is to wait, at least a little.

Losing a child is a huge experience in anyone's life. This only happened a few weeks ago, and you and your partner need time to deal with your feelings about this loss, and you need time to recover physically.

Has your doctor offered you any other support? Who can you talk to about this? If you don't want to go and see a counsellor, there's a supportive online forum for people whose babies have died during pregnancy here.

As far as the practicalities of ovulation go, you can find all the facts and how to track it here.

It may be better for your body to wait a little and give your hormone levels time to readjust. A study quoted here suggests that your risk of further miscarriage is actually higher if you don't have at least one normal period before you get pregnant again.

Once your periods get back to normal it will be much easier to predict when you're ovulating. Taking folic acid is a good idea, but it may be better to wait until your periods get back to normal before actively trying for another baby. Experts advise waiting for at least 3-6 months until you get pregnant again, but your GP will be able to give you specific advice based on your situation.

Good luck and best wishes to you and your partner. Take care of yourself.

Joanne

Send your questions in to our life coach at this address