Do lubricants interfere with conception?
Or are there special ones that help? We bust the myths with a gynecologist.
Do lubricants interfere with conception?
One Google search for "lubricants + conception" and you're down a rabbit hole of "right" and "wrong" lubricants that you either can, or absolutely must not, use while trying to get pregnant 🫠 We asked a gynecologist to share her expert opinion on the topic, and here's what we learned!
Myth 1: lubricants interfere with conception
Fact:
According to research¹, using lubricants is not in itself linked to reduced fertility.
When you're trying to get pregnant, you can and should have sex comfortably. Lube only helps with that!
But you need to pay attention to the ingredients: for example, a 2023 cohort study² showed that parabens may contribute to a couple's reduced fertility.
Myth 2: only fertility-boosting lubricants, the sperm-safe ones, are suitable for conception
Fact:
Claims that "fertility-boosting" lubricants are kinder to sperm have been scientifically disproven³.
Context
In the 2000s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began labeling some lubricants as "fertility-safe" or "sperm-safe."
They were positioned this way because of a "suitable pH level," similar to the pH of the mucus in the cervical canal and of semen itself. According to the manufacturers, this ensured "better sperm survival on the way to the egg."
Context
In 2022, these claims were scientifically disproven in the journal Fertility and Sterility⁴: researchers tested how different types of lubricants affect sperm motility in the lab.
One of the lubricants tested was marketed as "fertility-friendly," yet just an hour after contact it reduced sperm motility at moderate and high concentrations in the sample.
A water-based lubricant reduced motility only at the highest concentration and with prolonged exposure — up to 24 hours.
A silicone lubricant, by contrast, had no significant effect on sperm motility over the entire 24 hours of observation.
So "fertility-boosting" lubricants are more of a marketing gimmick. But what should you use when trying to conceive?
Which lubricants should you use when trying to get pregnant?
Choose water-based lubricants with hydroxyethylcellulose, or silicone lubricants. But always check the ingredients carefully!
They should not contain⁵:
- parabens
- glycerin
- petroleum jelly
- nonoxynol-9 (a spermicide)
- mineral oils
- local anesthetics (they can reduce sensitivity and lead to injury)
And of course, no household oils instead of lubricants!
Sources
1 – https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1471-0528.15218
2 – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36749105/
3 – https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijgo.14136
4 – https://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282%2822%2901342-5/fulltext
5 – https://analyticalsciencejournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jat.4582
