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Having regular sex before conception can help you have a healthy baby
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Australian scientists from the University of Adelaide, led by Dr. Sarah Robertson, conducted research and found that regular sex increases the chances of having a healthy baby.
Experts say that couples who are planning to become parents should have regular sex before conception in order to strengthen the immune system of the expectant mother, for whose body pregnancy is a serious test.
According to experts, a woman's immunity is strengthened by a man's seminal fluid.
"We found that for a healthy pregnancy, couples need to have sex for about three to six months beforehand," says Professor Robertson. "During this period, the woman's immune system will be stronger and will respond appropriately to the process of pregnancy."
Some couples need a year to conceive a baby. At the same time, an accidental pregnancy caused by a short-term relationship increases the risk of miscarriage and the risk of complications during pregnancy, such as preeclampsia, as well as rejection of the fetus by the mother's body.
Scientists conducted an experiment on mice and found that the more often the mother came into contact with seminal fluid, the higher the number of immune T-cells that protect the fetus from rejection by the female body. The fetus is foreign tissue for the body, and in order for the body to accept it, immune tolerance is needed. This is similar to the situation with organ transplantation.
When a woman has regular contact with the father's sperm - a unique immunological sign of a man - the body can prepare itself and "not protest" against the fetus.
“This is not so much important for conception as for the healthy course of pregnancy,” say scientists.
In the UK, one in six couples have difficulty conceiving a child. And if they fail to have a baby after two years of trying, they are likely to be given the devastating diagnosis of infertility.
Miscarriages are much more common than many people think. About one in eight miscarriages occur before a woman knows she is pregnant, and many more miscarriages occur before she even knows she is pregnant.
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