Effect of Timing Sexual Intercourse; Going Beyond Ovulation

Almost everyone knows that a couple needs to have sex around the time of ovulation in order to conceive a baby, but exactly when is the right time? Does timing sexual intercourse affect any other factors, such as the health of the pregnancy or even the gender of the baby? A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine helps answer those questions.

The Study Details

This study originally took place in North Carolina between 1982 and 1985. The involved doctors selected 221 women who were trying to conceive at the time, and the goal was to determine the risk of miscarriage or early pregnancy loss among healthy women. As such, all of the subjects were healthy and 80 percent were between the ages of 26 and 35, considered by many to be the prime years for conception.

What They Looked For

The doctors utilized urine samples to measure changes in ovarian steroid hormones that occur with ovulation. They measured these steroids for eight consecutive cycles, and later in the study as women began to become pregnant, they measured levels of hCG, or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, which is a hormonal signature that indicates pregnancy. The increase of a compound known as pregnanediol 3-glucuronide in the latter part of the participants’ cycles was the indicator of ovulation.

The Findings

The couples in the study had sex an average of every three days, and in every single case where conception occurred, there was scientific evidence indicating that every single pregnancy came as the result of intercourse within a period of six days, including five days before ovulation as well as the day of ovulation itself. As a result, since the 1980s, many fertility experts recommend having sex for these six days every month.

Did Timing Affect Other Factors?

The doctors attempted to determine whether sperm more than three days old had an impact on the health of the pregnancy, or even whether the timing of intercourse in relation to ovulation made a difference in the sex of the baby. In both cases, the results were inconclusive. For practical reasons, the doctors ultimately determined that the age of the sperm does not affect the health of the pregnancy and that there is no practical relationship between the timing of intercourse and the sex of the baby. As you probably expected, having sex around the time of ovulation is a requirement for conception. However, although this study was quite small, these doctors showed that timing and ovulation have absolutely nothing to do with the sex of the baby or the overall health of the pregnancy.