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When it comes to starting a family, timing is everything

A new Cochrane review of methods to increase chances of successful conception suggests that timed intercourse using urine ovulation tests probably improves live birth and pregnancy rates in women under 40 who had been trying to conceive for under a year.

2023-09-15
(Press-News.org) The review, conducted jointly with researchers from Oxford University, the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, and the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton, included seven randomised controlled trials involving 2,464 women or couples who had been trying to conceive.

Each month there is a narrow window for successful conception due to the limited lifespan of the sperm and egg, which begins from around five days before ovulation (egg release) and lasts until several hours afterwards.

The period of a woman’s cycle can be identified by different methods, including urine ovulation tests (dipstick devices that can detect changes in hormones released into the urine, signifying when ovulation will occur), fertility awareness-based methods (FABM) (including calendar tracking, monitoring changes in cervix fluid and body temperature) or identifying when the egg is released on ultrasound. This review aimed to assess the benefits and risks of timed intercourse on pregnancy, live birth, negative effects and quality of life in couples trying to conceive.

The study found that timing intercourse around the fertile period using a urine ovulation test increased the chances of pregnancy and live birth to between 20% to 28%, compared to 18% without using urine ovulation tests. This was specifically in women under 40 trying to conceive for under 12 months.

Tatjana Gibbons, a DPhil researcher at Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health and lead author on the study, said: ‘‘Many couples find it difficult to achieve a pregnancy, which can lead to concerns about their fertility.'

‘The finding that a simple and easily available urine test can increase a couple’s chance of successful conception is quite exciting because it can empower couples with more control over their fertility journey and could potentially reduce the need for infertility investigations and treatments.’

Professor Christian M Becker of Nuffield Department of Women's & Reproductive Health said: ‘The high threshold of evidence required in a Cochrane review makes even this moderate quality evidence for the effectiveness of urine ovulation tests quite impressive, as well as surprising considering how long they have been available for.’

However, the researchers cautioned that because many of the studies were funded by the manufacturers of the urine ovulation test, the results should be interpreted with caution.

They also found that there was insufficient evidence to conclude the effect of the other methods in the study, including timed intercourse on clinical pregnancy (ultrasound-confirmed pregnancy), the use of FABM in timed intercourse compared to intercourse without ovulation prediction.

 

- END - 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

For further information or interviews with the article author, please contact:

Chris McIntyre

Media Relations Manager

University of Oxford 

tel (direct): 01865 270 046

tel (News Office): 01865 280528

Christopher.mcintyre@admin.ox.ac.uk

 

NOTES TO EDITOR 

The paper, ‘Timed intercourse for couples trying to conceive’ is published in Cochrane. [LINK]   DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD011345.pub3.

 

About the University of Oxford 

Oxford University has been placed number 1 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the seventh year running, and ​number 2 in the QS World Rankings 2022. At the heart of this success are the twin-pillars of our ground-breaking research and innovation and our distinctive educational offer. 

Oxford is world-famous for research and teaching excellence and home to some of the most talented people from across the globe. Our work helps the lives of millions, solving real-world problems through a huge network of partnerships and collaborations. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of our research alongside our personalised approach to teaching sparks imaginative and inventive insights and solutions. 

Through its research commercialisation arm, Oxford University Innovation, Oxford is the highest university patent filer in the UK and is ranked first in the UK for university spinouts, having created more than 200 new companies since 1988. Over a third of these companies have been created in the past three years. The university is a catalyst for prosperity in Oxfordshire and the United Kingdom, contributing £15.7 billion to the UK economy in 2018/19, and supports more than 28,000 full time jobs. 

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[Press-News.org] When it comes to starting a family, timing is everything
A new Cochrane review of methods to increase chances of successful conception suggests that timed intercourse using urine ovulation tests probably improves live birth and pregnancy rates in women under 40 who had been trying to conceive for under a year.