Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

Ask the Experts


By Toni Weschler, fertility educator Question: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

Answer: While there's not a lot of medical research to support this idea, anecdotal evidence suggests that it can help. But there are a few caveats, too. One ingredient in certain cough syrups — guaifenesin — can help you get pregnant by thinning your cervical fluid, which enables sperm to travel through your cervix and fertilize an egg. If you know from taking your temperature every morning that you're ovulating, but you don't seem to be producing much wet, slippery, cervical fluid, guaifenesin might be all the help you need to get pregnant. This is the paradox, though: You need to know when you're approaching ovulation to take advantage of this recommendation, and the only way to know that is by checking your cervical fluid. So guaifenesin works best on women who do produce at least some cervical fluid.

How does it work? Guaifenesin, a common ingredient in cough syrups, is an 'expectorant.' That is, it relieves congestion by helping liquefy mucus in your lungs, allowing you to cough it up. And because it works systemically on all mucous membranes in your body, it can make your cervical fluid wetter, too.

The trick is to find a cough syrup in which guaifenesin is the only active ingredient, so check labels carefully. Many cough and cold medicines contain antihistamines that also work systemically in your body but have the reverse effect: They dry up mucus and diminish wet cervical fluid. And while you're trying to get pregnant, there's no reason to expose yourself to any other drugs unnecessarily, so find a product that contains only guaifenesin and no other active ingredients, including dextromethorphan (a cough suppressant) and alcohol. Humibid LA — the pill form of guaifenesin, available by prescription — is a safe choice. Ask your healthcare provider to prescribe it for you.

If you're taking the liquid form of guaifenesin, take 2 teaspoons three times a day around the time of month you're expecting to ovulate. If you're taking the pill form (Humibid LA), take it as prescribed for a cold. Either way, I would encourage you to take it from the first day you notice any type of wetness through the day of your temperature shift. That may be about a week. (Editor's note: If you're not yet charting your basal body temperature, click here for more information on how to do it.)

Guaifenesin may even work for women who've had abnormal cervical cells frozen off or who've had a cone biopsy — the removal of a cone-shaped wedge of the cervix to treat lesions that may be precancerous. This procedure destroys some of the cervical crypts that produce fluid. If this is what's behind your low production of cervical fluid, taking guaifenesin might help you produce enough wet, slippery fluid through the remaining cervical crypts to help you get pregnant.

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

Thanks for the tips.

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

I tried this - and it works!!!

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

I'm running home and taking that stuff tonight!!!!!!!

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

This is VERRRRY interesting. I may have to try that when we TTC.

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

Someone told me to do this but had no idea when or how much.

Thanks Shamma!!!

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

Wow, this was really interesting, Im not TTC untill after the wedding but I ahve had 2 losses and a cone biospy like you mentioned so when the time comes..IM TRYING THIS

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

What would we do without you Shamma? You are a book of knowledge!! YOu need to start charging for your knowlege! Thanks for the tips! I need to start a binder with your tips. Thanks again!

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

My best friend who had been trying to conceive for about 13 months tried this, and got pregnant that month.

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

Lurking here, but just wanted to let you know that I drank lots of grapefruit juice (has to be yellow for some reason) to make me more fertile! I don't know if it worked, but I did get preggo that month! It supposedly increases the egg-white fertile quality cervical mucous that you see during the middle of your cycle.

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

Wow...very interesting. Wonder if it will work for me!!!

Re: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

Weird things huh? I told FH that I had to buy cough medicine to take when we go on our honeymoon..