Baking soda a fertility aid?

[October]

First and foremost let me start off by saying I hope this is in the right category and if it isn't I'm seriously sorry and feel free to move it.

 

As a woman who's planning a family sometime in the future, I've been a member of a forum designed around women who are trying to get pregnant, pregnant, and those who have lost a pregnancy. Sadly I fall into the latter category. Another member who's now striking out on the road to getting pregnant made a post yesterday that had me scratching my head. The claim was that if a woman was to use baking soda in her vagina that it would balance out the natural ph and make it a much more hospitable environment for sperm to survive and carry out their role in reproduction. Now I'm not talking about a massive amount of baking soda. The idea is to wet your finger, stick it in a box of baking soda, and then insert the finger until the baking soda is absorbed.

 

Not something I'd consider doing. But a lot of women are down right desperate and want to try everything and anything to make their chances of conception greater then the standard 25% success rate on any given cycle.

 

Is there any science behind this that proves or disproves this theory and if there's science to disprove it... Could this method have an adverse effect?

 

I'd like to take better information back to the nest so to speak if only to help other poor souls out there.

 

Thank you!

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

The same acidity is responsible for the prevention of infection; acidity makes the area less hospitable to any potentially harmful bacteria. (See here, under Mutualism.)

 

Baking soda would neutralize some of that lactic acid and make an infection more likely. On the other hand, semen is a natural protector of the sperm, by providing a less acidic environment for the sperm to live in. In a sense, then, nature has already provided a safe delivery vessel.

 

Now, there are conditions (PDF) that can mess with the natural acidity and make it even worse, causing problems which can be solved with baking soda. But I'd not mess with it unless you know you have such a condition.

 

For further reference, here's an applicable WomensHealth.gov article, which suggests that women would try the same method to prevent pregnancy, and recommends against trying it for fear of causing bacterial vaginosis (which would put a damper on any attempts at conception):

 

http://www.womenshea...aq/douching.cfm

[October]

Absolutely what I was thinking by way of the baking soda making a woman more prone to infection! Thank you very very much for the references and the answer!

[ewmon]

I specifically remember a Scientific American article from the 1970s on how to influence the gender of the baby, and the acidity/alkalinity of the vagina was one of the variables. A fellow scientist already had three girls and was hoping for a boy. I gave him the SA article, which he sincerely followed, and he had a boy. Sadly, I received no recognition for my part. Perhaps I should have monitored the experiment more closely and published the results?

 

There's plenty of info about how to try for a boy or girl, and I think an alkaline environment favors a boy outcome, however, male fetuses are much more prone to miscarry. Thus, using an alkaline douche would seem to skew the probabilities toward having a boy, which is then more likely to miscarry.

 

Plus, if a woman has already conceived a baby boy and lost it, her body may have become sensitive to male-specific minor histocompatibility antigens. Basically, she may have become allergic to male fetuses, which makes bringing a boy to full term all the more difficult.

 

So, to up your odds of having a baby at all, I'd say try to have a girl — and use a reputable source of information as to how to do it.

[Guest mabil]

My mother used baking soda to conceive me and I've used it twice, successfully. This most recent one was astounding. I was leaving town and suspected I was going to be gone on my O date. I was testing with my CBEFM each day and got High readings but no peak. The night before I left town, I suspected my Peak was coming the next day, so just before BDing I douched with baking soda. I tested the day of departure and still got a High reading. Scrapping this month of TTC in my head, I left on my trip without DH.

I just got a BFP today! If I didn't O for another 48 hours at least, that stuff kept his little guys alive a heck of a lot longer than I ever imagined they'd survive!

[LIZZIE]

First and foremost let me start off by saying I hope this is in the right category and if it isn't I'm seriously sorry and feel free to move it.

 

As a woman who's planning a family sometime in the future, I've been a member of a forum designed around women who are trying to get pregnant, pregnant, and those who have lost a pregnancy. Sadly I fall into the latter category. Another member who's now striking out on the road to getting pregnant made a post yesterday that had me scratching my head. The claim was that if a woman was to use baking soda in her vagina that it would balance out the natural ph and make it a much more hospitable environment for sperm to survive and carry out their role in reproduction. Now I'm not talking about a massive amount of baking soda. The idea is to wet your finger, stick it in a box of baking soda, and then insert the finger until the baking soda is absorbed.

 

Not something I'd consider doing. But a lot of women are down right desperate and want to try everything and anything to make their chances of conception greater then the standard 25% success rate on any given cycle.

 

Is there any science behind this that proves or disproves this theory and if there's science to disprove it... Could this method have an adverse effect?

 

I'd like to take better information back to the nest so to speak if only to help other poor souls out there.

 

Thank you!

 

 

Absolutely - I am living proof! After nine unsuccessful IVF procedures and countless artificial inseminations, I had all but given up hope. A friend dragged me to another fertility specialist in New Orleans for further testing. All tests were done that day in his office and all were normal. He said I had not ever truly been a candidate for IVF or artificial insemination as there was nothing going on with myself or my husband to prevent pregnancy....except for one thing. He believed the acidity in my system must be killing off my husband's sperm before it could fertilize an egg! We needed to balance my Ph levels.

 

I was smack dab in the middle of my cycle and ready to ovulate.... The doctor sent me home with a recipe for a baking soda douche and said....do this- TONIGHT! 1 Qt. of distilled water to 1 Tbs. baking soda. Mix water and soda, fill douche bag (now that's one thing I never thought I'd be buying!)....and 15 to 45 minutes prior to intercourse, get in your bath tub and douche gently with the baking soda solution. So Simple!!!!! We only had to do this once. Two weeks later I missed a period...and guess what? I was pregnant. On October 1, 1995, I delivered a healthy, precious baby boy. I was 40 years old. He just started high school yesterday. We are so blessed and we owe it all to a simple

recipe and a physician at The New Orleans Fertility Clinic.