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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 16, 2026

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility

Published on: May 30, 2025

Timed intercourse for couples trying to conceive.

Marlies Manders¹, Luke McLindon, Brittany Schulze

¹Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews

|March 18, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Timed intercourse may increase pregnancy rates, but evidence for live birth and clinical pregnancy is insufficient. More research is needed to confirm the effectiveness and safety of timed intercourse for couples trying to conceive.

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Area of Science:

Reproductive Medicine
Evidence-Based Medicine
Clinical Trials

Background:

Subfertility affects 10-15% of couples, with intercourse timing being a critical factor for conception.
Timed intercourse involves predicting ovulation to maximize conception chances during the fertile window.
Various ovulation prediction methods exist, including hormone measurement and temperature tracking.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the benefits and risks of ovulation prediction methods for timing intercourse in couples attempting conception.
Evaluate the impact of timed intercourse on conception rates and adverse events.

Main Methods:

Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing timed intercourse with non-timed intercourse or different prediction methods.
Searched multiple databases (Cochrane, MEDLINE, PubMed, etc.) without language or publication status restrictions.
Extracted data on live birth, clinical pregnancy, self-reported pregnancy, and adverse events; performed meta-analysis where possible.

Main Results:

Four RCTs (1387 participants) were included in the meta-analysis; evidence quality was low to very low.
Timed intercourse showed a potential increase in pregnancy rates (RR 1.35, 95% CI 1.06-1.71) but not clinical pregnancy or live birth.
No significant difference in stress levels was found; data on other adverse events were limited.

Conclusions:

Insufficient evidence exists to conclude on the effectiveness of timed intercourse for live birth, clinical pregnancy, or adverse events.
Timed intercourse may improve overall pregnancy rates, but findings must be interpreted cautiously due to low-quality evidence and publication bias.
Further high-quality research is necessary to establish the safety and efficacy of timed intercourse.