A new study challenges conventional wisdom on male fertility and how often to make love to get pregnant fast. Here's what you need to know.
By Niels H. Lauersen, MD, PhD. Can making love too often help – or hurt – your chances of getting pregnant? That’s the question addressed by a brand new study on male fertility presented just last week at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology meeting this week in Amsterdam.
It was here that Australian fertility expert Dr. David Greening presented some compelling evidence showing that the more often a couple has sex within a given 7 day period, the healthier a man’s sperm is likely to be.
And while it seems to make common sense that the more times you make love, the greater your chances of “hitting the bulls eye” , it’s important to note that this new research goes against conventional fertility wisdom when it comes to male fertility, the frequency of intercourse and pregnancy success.
Indeed, for many years research seemed to indicate that more times a man ejaculated sperm, the fewer sperm he would have with each ejaculation . As such it seemed clear that the more times a couple made love – particularly just prior to a woman’s fertile time – the fewer sperm would be available for conception. And that would naturally reduce the rate of getting pregnant.
As such, I, and many fertility experts, routinely cautioned couples to refrain from making love in the days just prior to a woman’s most fertile time (5 days prior to ovulation and the day of ovulation) and then, to make love every other day during this fertile time. This, we believed, would not only help ensure the heartiest supply of sperm in each ejaculation – which in turn would increase the chance for pregnancy – but also give a man’s reproductive system adequate time to rebuild a strong sperm count for each subsequent ejaculation. All of which is excellent for male fertility. Now, however, Dr. Greening's study appears to show the opposite may be true. In his research on 118 couples , he found that the healthiest sperm may come only after days of regular ejaculation.
Does Too Much Sex Harm Male Fertility?
Indeed, according to Dr. Greening's research, the percentage of sperm containing damaged DNA dropped from 34% after the first ejaculation, to just 26% by the time the man reached day seven of daily ejaculations. Since sperm containing damaged DNA are not only less likely to fertilize an egg, but are also more likely to increase the risk of miscarriage, it seemed obvious that the lower percentage of defective sperm ( on day 7) should yield a better opportunity for a healthy pregnancy.
But why should this be the case? Well, Dr. Greening says he doesn’t know what is behind the surprising finding, but he hypothesizes that the sperm benefits may be derived from reduced exposure to potentially damaging forces within the testicular ducts – the place where sperm sits while waiting to be ejaculated. Indeed, the more ejaculations that take place, the less time sperm will spend sitting in that testicular “fertility waiting room” – and that, in turn, may reduce the rate of potential damage.
And, in fact, most fertility specialists, including myself, have always recommended that when you are trying to get pregnant you should wait no more than 48 hours between ejaculations during the fertile time, specifically to avoid “old” sperm, that does have an increased risk of becoming damaged.
That said, if Dr. Greening's findings can be duplicated in additional studies, it is my guess that the advice to have sex every day may only apply to men who have less than optimal sperm, and not to the vast majority of men with healthy sperm containing good DNA.
Indeed, for men with healthy sperm, and healthy testicular ducts, I continue to believe in the conventional wisdom which dictates sex is more “fruitful” in terms of pregnancy, when it occurs every other day and not every day during a woman’s most fertile time.
Too Much Sex To Get Pregnant – Or Too Little? How To Tell What’s Right For You!
So, how do you know which method or timing is right for you? Well one important way to tell is to have your partner speak to his doctor about a simple semen analysis. This painless, non-invasive test will check your partner’s sperm count and help determine if there is any risk of DNA defect.
Indeed, in much the same way that I have always advised my female patients to have a base line fertility exam before trying to get pregnant, I also advised that their partners have a baseline sperm analysis as well. So this is a good idea in any case.
It was here that Australian fertility expert Dr. David Greening presented some compelling evidence showing that the more often a couple has sex within a given 7 day period, the healthier a man’s sperm is likely to be.
And while it seems to make common sense that the more times you make love, the greater your chances of “hitting the bulls eye” , it’s important to note that this new research goes against conventional fertility wisdom when it comes to male fertility, the frequency of intercourse and pregnancy success.
Indeed, for many years research seemed to indicate that more times a man ejaculated sperm, the fewer sperm he would have with each ejaculation . As such it seemed clear that the more times a couple made love – particularly just prior to a woman’s fertile time – the fewer sperm would be available for conception. And that would naturally reduce the rate of getting pregnant.
As such, I, and many fertility experts, routinely cautioned couples to refrain from making love in the days just prior to a woman’s most fertile time (5 days prior to ovulation and the day of ovulation) and then, to make love every other day during this fertile time. This, we believed, would not only help ensure the heartiest supply of sperm in each ejaculation – which in turn would increase the chance for pregnancy – but also give a man’s reproductive system adequate time to rebuild a strong sperm count for each subsequent ejaculation. All of which is excellent for male fertility. Now, however, Dr. Greening's study appears to show the opposite may be true. In his research on 118 couples , he found that the healthiest sperm may come only after days of regular ejaculation.
Does Too Much Sex Harm Male Fertility?
Indeed, according to Dr. Greening's research, the percentage of sperm containing damaged DNA dropped from 34% after the first ejaculation, to just 26% by the time the man reached day seven of daily ejaculations. Since sperm containing damaged DNA are not only less likely to fertilize an egg, but are also more likely to increase the risk of miscarriage, it seemed obvious that the lower percentage of defective sperm ( on day 7) should yield a better opportunity for a healthy pregnancy.
But why should this be the case? Well, Dr. Greening says he doesn’t know what is behind the surprising finding, but he hypothesizes that the sperm benefits may be derived from reduced exposure to potentially damaging forces within the testicular ducts – the place where sperm sits while waiting to be ejaculated. Indeed, the more ejaculations that take place, the less time sperm will spend sitting in that testicular “fertility waiting room” – and that, in turn, may reduce the rate of potential damage.
And, in fact, most fertility specialists, including myself, have always recommended that when you are trying to get pregnant you should wait no more than 48 hours between ejaculations during the fertile time, specifically to avoid “old” sperm, that does have an increased risk of becoming damaged.
That said, if Dr. Greening's findings can be duplicated in additional studies, it is my guess that the advice to have sex every day may only apply to men who have less than optimal sperm, and not to the vast majority of men with healthy sperm containing good DNA.
Indeed, for men with healthy sperm, and healthy testicular ducts, I continue to believe in the conventional wisdom which dictates sex is more “fruitful” in terms of pregnancy, when it occurs every other day and not every day during a woman’s most fertile time.
Too Much Sex To Get Pregnant – Or Too Little? How To Tell What’s Right For You!
So, how do you know which method or timing is right for you? Well one important way to tell is to have your partner speak to his doctor about a simple semen analysis. This painless, non-invasive test will check your partner’s sperm count and help determine if there is any risk of DNA defect.
Indeed, in much the same way that I have always advised my female patients to have a base line fertility exam before trying to get pregnant, I also advised that their partners have a baseline sperm analysis as well. So this is a good idea in any case.
- If everything does check out okay – and his sperm appears healthy and strong - then I suggest you time your love making to occur every other day during your most fertile time. I believe this will be the fastest route to getting pregnant.
- If, on the other hand, there are some DNA sperm irregularities, it may be better to make love every day and to begin doing so two to three days before your most fertile time, and to continue every day through your ovulation.
In any event, every man can boost his sperm count and enhance his fertility by eating a healthy diet including lots of fish, tomatoes, onions and garlic – all good for male fertility – and taking a multi vitamin containing zinc and selenium - all of which I have written about in my new book The New Fertility Diet Guide.
For more information on getting pregnant visit GettingPregnantNow.org – the home site for the international best selling fertility guide “Getting Pregnant: What You Need To Know Now.
Copyright by IvyLeaguePress 2009 - All Rights Reserved. In addition to US Copyright, the text of this FERTILITY BLOG is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.
For more information on getting pregnant visit GettingPregnantNow.org – the home site for the international best selling fertility guide “Getting Pregnant: What You Need To Know Now.
Copyright by IvyLeaguePress 2009 - All Rights Reserved. In addition to US Copyright, the text of this FERTILITY BLOG is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. All Formatting and style elements of this page are not available under this license and Colette Bouchez retains all rights in those elements.
