Youtube is filled with videos claiming that
changing your sexual position will speed up the time it takes to become
pregnant or improve the odds of becoming pregnant overall.
Are these claims true? Does it really make a difference
what sexual position you use? I guarantee you are going to be very surprised!
Stay tuned.
Hi I'm fertility expert Dr Randy Morris. Unlike the other so-called fertility
experts, I'm actually a double board certified
physician in the United States. That's right! I am board certified in
obstetrics and gynecology and also sub-specialty certified in
reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
i point this out because many of the videos on this topic
are from fakes who would like you to think they are medical doctors
but they are not. I give honest science-based tips that have helped
people all over the world have their rainbow baby.
If you want to improve your odds for success hit that subscribe button
right now! It's like having a fertility specialist on your phone.
It is really important to understand sperm movement as we talk about
some of the different claims that are made about sexual positions.
Sperm move by whipping their tails around. This causes the sperm head to
swing back and forth and causes the sperm to actually rotate
like a corkscrew. The movement of sperm in the vagina
occurs randomly in all directions. You've probably seen animations like
this one in which all of the sperm are headed in a single direction.
The reality is that sperm move in all directions.
Even these images of actual sperm under a microscope during a semen analysis
don't really reflect sperm movement well because it is only showing
two dimensions. The first claim you might see is that
changing sexual position improves fertility
by changing the orientation of the cervix.
The cervix is the opening of the uterus. When you look
inside a woman's vagina, the opening of the cervix may point straight out,
it may point up or it may point down. Because the sperm swim in all directions
it is extremely unlikely that these differences would make
any difference in the sperm's ability to enter the uterus.
In fact, there has never been any evidence
that the direction of the cervix makes it easier or harder to get pregnant
or that changing your sexual position to alter that
will improve your fertility. A related claim
is that changing sexual position will somehow
open up the cervix. This is kind of ridiculous.
The cervix is made up of very strong firm tissue.
To get the cervix to open up, even a little,
requires strong medication or surgical instruments or
hours of painful uterine contractions. Ask any woman who has gone through labor
how easy it is to open up a cervix. Another claim that is made is that
changing sexual position will allow for deeper penetration and
that this will improve your fertility. This is another myth.
While deeper penetration may feel better, or worse, it doesn't change the odds that
sperm will reach the cervix. Now it is important that there is some
penetration. If a man ejaculates outside of the
vagina, the chances for pregnancy will not be as
good. But this actually proves my point because some pregnancies can occur
even when ejaculation occurs outside of the vagina.
Finally, many videos have claimed that some sexual positions
improve fertility by stimulating the G-spot
and increasing the chance for orgasm. It has been suggested by
some that a female orgasm creates suction which pulls the sperm into the
uterus. The evidence here is a little mixed but
at present, there is no conclusive evidence that
orgasm improves sperm transport. There is also no
evidence that orgasm increases the chances for pregnancy.
Women who report having frequent orgasms do not have more children than women who don't.
Our InfertilityTV bottom line is this:
changing your sexual position does not improve the chance for pregnancy
or shorten the time to get pregnant. If you are interested in learning more
about fertility scams and myths, check out this playlist. If you like this
video, remember to like this video! If you have an idea for a future episode
of InfertilityTV, leave it in the comments