In the News

Longer. Wilder. More orgasmic.

No, it's not a pornographic tag line. It's the advice scientists are now giving couples trying to conceive.

Fertility experts say that the better sex you're having, the better chance you have of baby-making. According to an article in The Guardian, "having ‘gourmet sex' - where both partners take time to ensure the other has a satisfying experience - gives a couple the best chance of producing a baby."

For anyone struggling to conceive, bringing sexy back to sex is a tall order. After all that temperature taking, hormone injecting and calendar checking, the idea of untamed, prolonged sex sounds about as likely as John Hamm swooping in and impregnating you.

But hear the doctors out on this. Their logic - while a bit graphic - makes sense.

They say men having "gourmet sex" that's "wild" and "thrilling" will produce up to 50 percent more sperm than the average 250 million they produce during intercourse.

Dr. Allan Pacey, secretary of the British Fertility Society, says in the article that "an extra five minutes of sexual activity before ejaculation can produce an extra 25 million sperm."

Dr. Joanna Ellington, an expert in reproductive physiology, spells it out in more naked detail: "One of the things that men don't realize is that the more excited they are, the further back in the testicle they are going to draw on reserves [of sperm]. So if you have what I call 'gourmet sex,' where you really spend time and you make it fun for both partners, that is going to make the man more stimulated and he is going to ejaculate more and have healthier sperm."

So a little extra foreplay can earn you extra sperm that's extra special. Or, if you're feeling lazy, just show your baby-daddy some porn before ejaculation. Previous studies have shown that will also do the sperm count trick. (Any port in a storm!)

But don't worry, ladies. It's not just men who get an extended stay at the pleasure palace. Fertility experts say that women who orgasm during intercourse have a much higher chance of conceiving.

They think it has something to do with muscle contractions during orgasm. Or, as Dr. Pacey so tastefully puts it, "her body helps to pull or suck up the sperm into her cervix and from there into the uterus."

To prove this point, Dr. Pacey digresses into a discussion of Danish sows being simulated by human farmers to increase fertility rates. And that's pretty much where I slammed my laptop closed and took three showers to get the image out of my head.

But his main thesis still proves valuable. "Fast food intercourse" - having hurried, banal sex isn't likely to help in your quest for a baby. But spending time in the "gourmet sex" aisle just might.
And what a wonderful excuse to get it on - wilder, longer and more frequently than ever. Doctor's orders!

How has your sex life changed since you tried to have a baby? Do you think you'll take Dr. Pacey's advice and try for a wilder conception?