Most commercial lubricants (KY, Astroglide and similar) harm sperm: they affect motility and DNA in in-vitro studies. Petroleum jelly, cooking oil and saliva are also problematic. If you need a lubricant while trying, use a fertility-specific product (Pre-Seed, ConceivePlus, Yes Baby) or a small amount of canola or sunflower oil.
The book flags lubricants with a critical warning: the wrong one works against sperm at the very moment you are trying.
| Option | What the book says |
|---|---|
| Commercial lubricants (KY, Astroglide and similar) | Harm sperm: affect motility and DNA in in-vitro studies |
| Petroleum jelly | Problematic |
| Cooking oil | Problematic |
| Saliva | Problematic |
| Fertility-specific lubricants (Pre-Seed, ConceivePlus, Yes Baby) | Suitable if you need a lubricant |
| Canola or sunflower oil | Suitable in a small amount |
Notice the detail: "cooking oil" in general is on the problem list, while a small amount of canola or sunflower oil is on the safe one. Motility matters because it is the sperm's ability to reach the egg, one of the six parameters a semen analysis measures. And the habits he changes to improve sperm quality take about 90 days to show an effect, so it makes sense not to work against them in bed.
Don't confuse a fertility-specific lubricant with products that promise to boost fertility. Vaginal creams, special oils and "fertility" scrubs sold to raise your chances have no evidence behind them, and some can even disrupt your natural vaginal pH.
After a few months of trying, sex can stop being sex and become a task. One of the consequences the book lists is lack of female lubrication from anxiety, alongside situational erectile difficulties for him.
When the dryness comes from anxiety, the book's answer goes beyond the product. Its strategies for sexual pressure (not announcing "the day", having sex outside the window too, winning back the eroticism) have their own page.
Arousal lubrication can be mistaken for fertile mucus, and so can residual semen. To tell them apart, check your mucus in the morning, before any sexual activity.
No lubricants during collection. It's one of the rules for doing the test correctly, together with 3 to 5 days of abstinence.
In the book's 90-day plan, "an appropriate lubricant if needed" appears in the third month, the execution month, next to the every-other-day strategy and keeping your sleep, exercise and nutrition routine.
The lubricant warning is in Chapter 26 of Map to the Positive, "Sex at the right time", in Station III (Optimization). The same chapter covers the optimal intercourse strategy, frequency outside the window, positions and sexual pressure. Station III closes with a chapter on what doesn't work, with 12 products and practices that have no evidence, so you stop spending on products without evidence.
Take 30 days. If it does not give you more clarity than everything you have read for free so far, ask for a refund and you get every cent back. We cannot promise you a pregnancy. We can promise you will not be guessing.
References: Sandhu RS et al. The impact of fertility-promoting lubricants on sperm function. Fertility and Sterility, 2014.