Lubricant when trying to conceive – does it really do harm?

What happens in the laboratory

If you examine sperm under the microscope and add a lubricant, their progressive motility declines. This is well documented and applies largely regardless of the product.

A study from 2022 compared five products in 60 normozoospermic semen samples: Optilube, Pre-Seed, Yes Baby, olive oil and egg white. With the exception of egg white, all of them markedly reduced progressive motility – including the two products marketed as sperm-friendly. Pre-Seed performed better than the other commercial products, but still fell short of the untreated control.

A systematic review from 2024 covering twenty studies names the two decisive factors: osmolality and pH value. Many commercial products lie well above the reference value of around 380 mOsm/kg given in the WHO laboratory manual. Olive oil, often mentioned as a natural alternative, also performed poorly.

Important for context: these studies mix sperm and lubricant in a test tube and observe them over several hours. That does not reflect what happens during intercourse – there, only part of the ejaculate comes into contact with the lubricant, the proportions are entirely different, and the sperm that reach the cervical mucus do so very quickly.

What happens for couples in everyday life

The most informative study on this was published in 2018 in the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. It combines the data of two cohort studies – one Danish and one North American – and covers 6,467 women who were trying to conceive.

At the outset, 17.5 per cent reported using lubricants. What was compared was how quickly the women became pregnant (fecundability ratio relative to women not using lubricants):

• water-based, without pH adjustment: 1.02
• water-based, pH-adjusted ("sperm-friendly"): 1.01
• oil-based: 1.23
• silicone-based: 1.27

A value of 1.00 means: no difference. All four values lie so close to 1, or are so uncertain, that no reliable difference can be derived – the confidence intervals include 1 in every case.

What this means for sperm-friendly gels

Products marketed as sperm-friendly cost several times as much as ordinary lubricants. No measurable advantage could be shown in the cohort study: the value for the pH-adjusted products was 1.01 – practically identical to simple water-based gels and to using no lubricant at all.

If you already use such a product and get on well with it, there is no reason to switch. On the current evidence, it is not necessary.

One important limitation

The cohort study included women with no known fertility disorder who had been trying for at most six cycles. Whether the same applies when sperm quality is already impaired was not examined. Where motility is known to be reduced, we tend to advise sparing use or a product with low osmolality.

What matters in practice

Dryness during intercourse is a common and underestimated issue when trying to conceive. Anyone who forgoes a lubricant for that reason and instead accepts pain or avoidance is doing themselves no favours.

How often intercourse takes place demonstrably affects the chance of pregnancy. The choice of lubricant, on the current evidence, makes no difference.

• Use sparingly whatever feels comfortable to you
• A special product is not required
• Persistent dryness with no apparent cause should be investigated – it can have hormonal causes

Frequently asked questions

Can a lubricant prevent a pregnancy?

Commercially available lubricants are not contraceptives. Spermicidal gels are a separate product category and are explicitly labelled as such.

Is olive oil the more natural alternative?

Olive oil performed poorly in the laboratory studies. Oils also damage condoms and can disturb the vaginal environment.

We have been trying for a year without success. Could the lubricant be the reason?

Very unlikely. After twelve months without a pregnancy, an assessment of both partners is indicated – if the woman is over 35, after six months.

What about saliva?

Saliva impairs sperm motility and is not suitable as a lubricant when trying to conceive.

Sources

• McInerney KA et al. Lubricant use during intercourse and time to pregnancy: a prospective cohort study. BJOG 2018;125:1541–1548. doi:10.1111/1471-0528.15218
• Markram T et al. Sperm-friendly lubricant: fact or fiction. International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics 2022. doi:10.1002/ijgo.14136
• Dal Molin EA, Leite GAA, Lazzari VM. A systematic review focused on lubricant use and sperm quality. Journal of Applied Toxicology 2024;44(10):1470–1477. doi:10.1002/jat.4582
• WHO laboratory manual for the examination and processing of human semen, 6th edition, 2021.