The purpose of this article is to determine whether it’s safe, or even advisable, to use a fertility lubricant when trying to conceive. As it appears there is much confusion around this question, we’ll discuss the difference between commercially available sex lubricants and fertility lubricants, and whether experts recommend the use of a lubricant when trying to achieve a pregnancy.
What’s the Difference between a Sex Lubricant and a Fertility Lubricant?
Drugstores offer a variety of lubricant options, and any lubricant will do for everyday intercourse. Many couples try to enhance the comfort and pleasure of intercourse by using a personal lubricant, and the question is whether this practice should continue for couples trying to conceive. We now know that many commonly sold lubricants can harm sperm, meaning that the likelihood of sperm being able to travel through the cervix and fallopian tubes to fertilise an egg is decreased. Obviously, any couple choosing a lubricant when trying to conceive will not be looking for a product that harms sperm function. And so we have a specific class of lubricants known as Fertility Lubricants, and these are lubricants that create no harm to sperm, making them safe for fertility use.
Why Choose a Fertility-Friendly Lubricant?
As mentioned above, many couples already use a lubricant for pleasure and comfort during lovemaking. However, if using a lubricant is not common practice for you as a couple, and you have sufficient cervical mucus when making love, then you probably don’t require the use of the fertility lubricant. The difference between everyday sex lubricants and fertility friendly lubricants is that a fertility lubricant is sperm friendly and has been designed to be a sperm safe alternative to a normal everyday lubricant.
How Do Fertility Lubricants Help with Conception?
When couples are trying to conceive a baby many women experience vaginal dryness, and this problem only gets worse when you add in the pressure of trying to conceive. The result is that intercourse can become not only unenjoyable, but very painful, thus affecting your stress levels and sex life. This is where a fertility lubricant can be very helpful. A good fertility lubricant can relieve vaginal dryness, thus improving intimate sexual activity. The whole process becomes more enjoyable and maximises a couple’s chances of getting pregnant.
Because the fertility lubricant adds moisture to the vagina, the sperm has an easier journey to the cervix in its attempts to reach an egg. These lubricants mimic fertile cervical mucus, and because fertility lubricants improve the survival of sperm, the chances of achieving a pregnancy are maximised. When a woman is at her most fertile time there is a noticeable consistency in cervical mucus in that it becomes more slippery. This is simply a physiological response in a woman’s body to the change in hormones around ovulation. Lovemaking is enhanced by the fertile cervical mucus, making the sperm’s journey easier. Water-based fertility lubricants are simply mimicking this fertile mucus, and they have been designed to not only have a similar pH consistency, but also to be sperm friendly.
Should I Be Using a Fertility Lubricant?
There’s no hard and fast rule when it comes to this question; however, if you typically use a lubricant for foreplay and sexual intercourse, and you’re trying to conceive, then it is suggested that you avoid normal lubricants which can damage sperm, and consider using a fertility lubricant. You’ll find that, if dryness is an issue, the fertility lubricant will enhance your lovemaking in addition to allowing the sperm to move more freely.
How Do I Know Which Fertility Lubricant to Buy?
The following suggestions may help when choosing the right fertility lubricant for your situation –
- If a lubricant is only required to be used as an external application for yourself or your partner, then we suggest you purchase Conceive plus or Pre-Seed
- If the issue is vaginal dryness during intercourse, we suggest you purchase Conceive Plus or Pre-Seed, because both these products have vaginal applicators. With Conceive Plus the tubes are prefilled, whereas with Pre-Seed you fill the applicators yourself from a tube.
- The most versatile fertility lubricant is Pre-Seed lubricant because it can be applied either externally or using the vaginal applicators. It’s probably the most expensive of the three fertility lubricants, and it’s also the one that’s been around the longest.
- Conceive Plus comes in two convenient sizes. The 30ml Conceive Plus is a small, discrete product, especially useful if you’re going away; whereas you get better value with the 75ml tube. Keep in mind that Conceive Plus can also be purchased with vaginal applicators, just like Pre-Seed.
- Babystart Fertilsafe is a fertility lubricant offering great value for money. Pre-Seed lubricant is more expensive and has been around the longest of all fertility lubricants. Developed by a sperm physiologist, Pre-Seed lubricant has excellent reviews. Recently acquired by First Response, Pre-Seed lubricant is now available in Boots.
Still Unsure Which Fertility Lubricant to Use?
Why not try all three lubricants and see which one you prefer? All these fertility lubricants are safe to use while trying to conceive. For your convenience we now have a discounted pack for you to try which contains all three fertility lubricants.
Please don’t hesitate to email our customer service team should you have any questions at all regarding using fertility lubricants, or if you need help choosing the right one for you.
Photo Credit: “Love” (CC BY 2.0) by Vince_Ander
Zoom Baby is a leading supplier of Pregnancy Tests and Ovulation Test Kits
This post first appeared in November 2018 and has been regularly updated since
