SOMEONE SENT ME THIS ARTICLE-COUGH SYRUP & CONCEPTION

I DO NOT PLAN ON DRINKING ANY COUGH SYRUP ANYTIME SOON

Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?

Expert: Toni Weschler, fertility educator [See Biography]

Question: Can taking cough syrup help me conceive?
Answer: Yes, there is some truth to this but there are very serious caveats, too. Cough syrup can help you get pregnant by thinning the cervical fluid, which enables sperm to travel through the cervix and fertilize the 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, cough syrup might be all the help you need to get pregnant.

But if you do take cough syrup, it has to be the right type. Make sure guaifenesin is listed as the active ingredient and dextromethorphan is NOT. Animal studies have linked dextromethorphan to birth defects and miscarriage. It's important to read the label carefully because most guaifenesin products also contain dextromethorphan — including some Robitussin cough medicines. Humibid LA — the pill form of guaifenesin, available by prescription — is a safe choice.

Guaifenesin liquefies a dry cough and works systemically on other mucus membranes, so it makes cervical fluid wetter. Other cough and cold medicines as well as antihistamines also work systemically but have the reverse effect: they dry up mucus and diminish wet cervical fluid. Be sure to avoid products containing dextromethorphan.

This is the paradox: the only way women know that they're approaching ovulation is through their cervical fluid. So guaifenesin works best on women who do produce at least some cervical fluid.

You might want to consider using guaifenesin if you've had abnormal cervical cells frozen off or if you've had a cone biopsy — the removal of a cone-shaped wedge of the cervix to treat lesions that may be pre-cancerous. This procedure destroys some of the cervical crypts that produce fluid. Taking guaifenesin might help you produce enough wet, slippery fluid through the remaining cervical crypts to get pregnant.

If you're a good candidate for guaifenesin, you should take 2 teaspoons three times a day around the time you're expecting to ovulate. 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.

Re: SOMEONE SENT ME THIS ARTICLE-COUGH SYRUP & CONCEPTION

hmmm who sent ya this?

Re: SOMEONE SENT ME THIS ARTICLE-COUGH SYRUP & CONCEPTION

I'm not telling, b/c they might be home drinking cough syrup

Re: SOMEONE SENT ME THIS ARTICLE-COUGH SYRUP & CONCEPTION

I find all Toni Weschler's information helpful. Her book is always by my bed now and the website is one of my favorite places to surf.

Re: SOMEONE SENT ME THIS ARTICLE-COUGH SYRUP & CONCEPTION

Follow-up Question - does anyone know of any cough syrups that contain Guaifenesin and not Dextromethorphan?

Re: SOMEONE SENT ME THIS ARTICLE-COUGH SYRUP & CONCEPTION

I do not know of any but I am sure a dr could tell you which ones contain it.

Re: SOMEONE SENT ME THIS ARTICLE-COUGH SYRUP & CONCEPTION

robitussin i think

Re: SOMEONE SENT ME THIS ARTICLE-COUGH SYRUP & CONCEPTION

Plain old Robitussion (not DM or any other letter combo after) just has the guanfesin stuff in it. I used robitussin, 2 teaspoons a day, along with drinking 2 mugs of green tea a day the month we got pregnant. I read about it in Taking Charge of Your Fertility and also on line. If I remember correctly, both are supposed to make your cervical mucus more hospitable to visitors, if you know what I mean. I figured it couldn't hurt- and after 5months of trying without luck maybe that was the secret charm!!

Re: SOMEONE SENT ME THIS ARTICLE-COUGH SYRUP & CONCEPTION

I did it this past month--nothing yet--although I did get sick right while I was taking it and blamed it on the Robitussin --cause I thought it was a post nasal drip but ends up I think my nephew got me sick!! Although I did enjoy blaming the Robitussin
Laura