Just when you thought trying to conceive was tricky enough….
Yes, it’s true; most lubricants, including saliva, have been proved to be toxic to sperm – and it’s not due to lubricants having spermicides added to them. The vast majority of lubricants make conception a bit more difficult than if you didn’t use them.
Let’s look at the use of egg white (EW) as a natural way of achieving adequate lubrication while not changing the optimal conditions for conception to take place.
Comparing lubricants
In a private fertility clinic, researchers compared five different forms of coital lubricants: Optilube; Pre-Seed; Yes Baby; Olive Oil; and egg white (EW).
Sperm was mixed with each of these lubricants and the five samples were examined microscopically. Sperm motility was graded according to World Health Organization criteria.
It was found that, out of the five lubricants, all but one caused significant damage to sperm motility – enough to adversely affect fertility.
Compared with EW, the other lubricants caused a significant reduction in sperm forward progression. This 2022 study showed statistically significant differences in favor of egg white as a sperm friendly lubricant.
Until this study, the use of EW as a natural fertility booster was not very well recognized by the medical community, as it seemed quite an abstract objective. The scientific method takes everything into account, which takes quite a bit of time. Public health systems that might be willing to carry out these types of study have many variables to juggle: defined time points; untreated samples serving as controls; unbiased comparisons between groups; the untreated controls; and the general health of the men attending. There are so many things to consider, which means each study represents a great investment.
Fertility friendly: fertile quality cervical mucus
Luckily the study took place and showed that commercially available lubricants caused significant damage to sperm motility. They damaged the consistency of the natural cervical mucus around ovulation. Out of all the samples in the study, egg white was the only lubricant that didn’t reduce the sperm’s ability to reach the uterus quickly once inserted in the female reproductive tract. Also, the spermatozoa exposed had a great forward progression motility. In other words, sperm in egg white are fast and screaming, ‘Yes baby!’ when EW is used as cervical mucus replacement.
There is a reason why egg white cervical mucus is the cervical mucus that helps with conception.
Sperm friendly lubricants: egg white
So where does that leave couples needing to use a sperm-friendly lubricant while trying to conceive? Olive oil and Pre-Seed natural lubes are not helping conception. What can we use that doesn’t alter sperm motility?
Real egg white perhaps? The use of raw egg whites is widely debated and controversial. In her book, Taking Control of Your Fertility, Toni Weshcler recommends using real egg white as a lubricant, as do other American based websites.
We wanted to find out more, from an Australian perspective.
One of BellyBelly’s Senior Forum Moderators decided to investigate it for herself while trying to conceive. When searching for professional medical advice she asked a GP (also a friend of hers) for her medical opinion. She also asked her obstetrician. They both advised her ‘ There is no scientific proof, but as long as everything is scrupulously clean and you minimize the risk of infection, it can’t hurt to try’.
Why egg white as a lubricant?
Cervical mucus changes consistency throughout a woman’s menstrual cycle. During a woman’s most fertile days, when the estrogen levels rise, the type of cervical mucus present during her fertile window is commonly referred to as egg white cervical mucus. When this cervical mucus is present, a woman’s most fertile days are happening. Actually checking your cervical mucus, being aware of its consistency, and identifying when it becomes EW consistency is one of the first natural methods to start charting human reproductive infertility.
This type of EW cervical mucus helps with sperm motility. Producing enough egg white cervical mucus will boost your chances of conceiving. A lack of this fertile quality cervical mucus might explain why the idea of using real egg white as a sperm-friendly lubricant arose in the first place.
It is believed that real egg whites replicate the consistency of cervical mucus and have a neutral pH balance, which helps sperm get to the right place. Used in conjunction with charting and/or ovulation prediction kits (OPKs), in order to maximize your intercourse timing with ovulation and natural egg white cervical mucus, egg whites might help with conception.
The article Charting Your Cycle – 6 Ways It Helps You Conceive Faster will help you find out more about how charting your menstrual cycle works.
How to use egg white as sperm lubricant
If you’ve decided to use real egg white as a natural fertility lubricant instead of conventional lubricants, there are some guidelines (below) that summarise what you need to do. Always make sure that everything you use is very clean. Please note that these guidelines are to be used at your own risk. Neither BellyBelly nor Kelly Zantey will accept any responsibility for any misuse, damage, illness or infection caused should you wish to follow these guidelines.
The guidelines
- Take a fresh egg
- Leave it out to allow it to get to room temperature
- Crack it open and separate the yolk from the white
- With a clean fork, mix the egg white a little to ‘break it up’
- Use a pipette or a mini baster to collect about 15 ml of egg white
- Insert high up into the vagina – as close to the cervix as possible
- Sex should occur straight away
- Have some toilet paper at hand
- Wait 2 weeks and hope for a positive pregnancy test.
Women might get pregnant more easily with this lubricant, especially if the natural mucus that lubricates the cervix and vagina during ovulation is causing the infertility.
There are many reasons why a couple might have difficulties in conceiving. Sometimes these causes are present in the woman’s body, other times it’s related to the partner and sometimes it’s a combination of small factors that add up and affect the couple’s sexual health.
If EW apparently gives the sperm cells greater motility, replicates fertile quality cervical mucus and it’s 100% natural, why not give this method a chance?
Some new lubricants are slowly emerging on the market as ‘sperm-friendly’ lubricants, so we can hope to have a much easier option soon. In the meantime, EW is kind to your body and your vagina, doesn’t interfere with your cycle or affect ovulation, and doesn’t affect your partner’s health or sperm health. It might not make the headlines of world public health publications but it might help you get pregnant. And, if pregnancy isn’t achieved, you didn’t lose much. You just found a different use for eggs.
Other unconventional uses of egg white
Searching the web, I found other uses of egg white as natural remedies for common ailments. Although there’s no evidence to back up these uses of EW here are some of the remedies I found:
Egg white for thrush
Apparently EW can be used as a natural remedy to help treat vaginal thrush. More than a treatment, it also helps with the itchiness by adding moisture to the itchy area.
Egg white for nappy rash
When nappy rash has caused broken skin, EWacts as a natural skin barrier to protect the area. You clean your baby’s bottom, apply the EW and leave it to dry. Whether it’s the EW or the nappy free time that makes the rash better, mothers’ forums swear by this method to treat nappy rash naturally.
Egg white as sperm storage
Apparently some fertility clinics use EW to storage the sperm before using it in any posterior reproductive techniques.
Further reading to increase your fertility
These articles might help you:
Trying to increase your fertility
Luteal Phase – What It Is And How Long Does It Last?
How To Increase Your Chances Of Getting Pregnant – 10 Tips
Low Carb Diet Increases Your Chances Of Pregnancy, Studies Find.
Fertility after 40
