Can too much sex affect your chances of conceiving?

If you are one of those women who reads up about all the factors that can increase your chances of getting pregnant, as well as those that can stand in the way of conceiving a baby, I have no doubt that you have come across this theory. Some people say that having too much sex, in other words having intercourse too often, can affect your chances of conceiving. Supporters of this theory say that doing the deed too often results in the male partner's sperm count being lowered, and that this negatively impacts the odds of getting pregnant during ovulation. Is that true?

Having sex as often as you and your partner both want does not actually get in the way of getting pregnant quite the opposite! Couples who wait to get busy until their ovulation test came back positive, or who concluded the woman is ovulating because she is charting to conceive, could be setting themselves up for a failure. Evidence suggests that not having enough intercourse can be bad for male fertility. How does that work? A man continuously produces fresh sperm, which leaves the body every time he ejaculated. Failure to ejaculate results in "old semen" being stored up, as it were, and that means that the sperm's ability to swim to the appropriate location (your egg!) could be lessened.

The best advice we have for you is to have intercourse whenever you want. Being aware of your menstrual cycle, using ovulation calendars, knowing when you ovulate, and how long your luteal phase is, will definitely arm you with the information you need to conceive a baby. But going one step further, and timing your intercourse only around the time of your ovulation, probably will not do you any favors. Keep in mind that sperm can survive in the female body for around five days, and that it takes some time for sperm to reach the fallopian tubes. Having intercourse before your ovulation can mean that you timed your sex just right to get pregnant!