McInerney KA, Hahn KA, Hatch EE, Mikkelsen EM, Steiner AZ, Rothman KJ, Sorensen HT, Snerum TM, Wise LA. Lubricant use during intercourse and time-to-pregnancy: a prospective cohort study. BJOG. 2018 Nov;125(12):1541-8. doi: 10.1111/1471-0528.15218

OBJECTIVE: To assess the extent to which lubricant use during intercourse is associated with time-to-pregnancy (TTP).

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Denmark and North America.

POPULATION: 6,467 women aged 18-49 years who were not using contraception or fertility treatment.

METHODS: We pooled data from two ongoing prospective cohort studies of pregnancy planners in Denmark (2011-2017) and North America (2013-2017). Female participants completed bimonthly questionnaires for 12 months or until reported pregnancy. After restricting to women without a history of infertility who had been trying to conceive for ≤6 cycles at enrollment, 6,467 women were retained for analysis. Self-reported lubricant use was categorized as water-based/not pH balanced, water-based/pH balanced ("fertilty friendly"), silicone-based, oil-based, or a combination of these. We used proportional probabilities models to calculate fecundability ratios (FRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between lubricant use and fecundability after adjusting for cohort and socio-demographic and lifestyle factors.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Fecundability.

RESULTS: At baseline, 17.5% of participants reported use of lubricants, most commonly water-based/not pH balanced (11.4%). Compared with non-use of lubricants, FRs were 1.02 (95% CI: 0.93-1.11) for water-based/not pH balanced lubricant use, 1.01 (95% CI: 0.86-1.18) for water-based/pH balanced ("fertility friendly") lubricant use, 1.23 (95% CI: 0.94-1.61) for oil-based lubricant use, and 1.27 (95% CI: 0.93-1.73) for silicone-based lubricant use. Associations between oil-based lubricant use and fecundability were inconsistent across subgroups of study cohort, age, parity, and intercourse frequency.

CONCLUSIONS: Lubricant use was not associated with reduced fecundability in the preconception cohorts of pregnancy planners studied This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.