Olive oil is a bad idea
Did you know that olive oil is one of the worst lubricants to use when you’re trying to get pregnant?
I’m sure it does a good job “lubricating” but it’s pretty terrible if you’re trying to get your guys’ swimmers up the Fallopian tubes! That’s because olive oil negatively affects sperm motility. This means that sperm won’t be able to move around freely and get where they need to be going.
Another terrible lubricant is saliva! It has the same negative effect on sperm and should be avoided just as much as the typical drug store lubricants when you’re TTC.
Fertility Friendly TTC Lubricants
Traditional lubricants (like K-Y) jelly are a no good when it comes to trying to get pregnant, sperm has a terrible time trying to get to its destination and it will actively lower your odds of conception.
The difference between your traditional lubricants and fertility-friendly lubricants is that the traditional ones are water-based, while the fertility-friendly ones are “hydroxyethylcellulose”-based. It may sound scary, but brands like Pre-Seed are actually well-researched and considered safe (no this is not a sponsored post!).
Now keep in mind, there is no evidence that fertility-friendly lubes actually help you get pregnant faster, but studies have shown that they at least do not interfere with sperm motility. And that is very important!
Rather go with a natural lubricant? Canola oil and baby oil are good options. Both don’t seem to influence sperm concentration or motility either!
References:
Anderson, L., S. E. Lewis, and N. McClure. 1998. Human Reproduction 13 (12): 3351–56.
Kutteh, W. H., C. H. Chao, J. O. Ritter, and W. Byrd. 1996. International Journal of Fertility and Menopausal Studies 41 (4): 400–404.
Sandhu, Ranjit S., Timothy H. Wong, Crystal A. Kling, and Kazim R. Chohan. 2014. Fertility and Sterility 101 (4): 941–44.
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