Life

How Sex Positions Influence Conception, According To Science

by Mishal Ali Zafar

There are tons of myths and old wives' tales when it comes to fertility and conception. I had two girls and would constantly hear from the older aunties in my community how different sexual positions could get me pregnant with a boy. I knew it was pretty much nonsense, plus I was happy with my two beautiful girls. But there are still many theories circulating about how to get it on if you want to have a multiple pregnancy. So do certain sex positions help you conceive twins?

It's important to first look at how a twin or multiple pregnancy happens in the first place. Fraternal twins, according to Very Well, are conceived when multiple eggs are released or if you ovulate more than once, and identical twins are conceived when one egg splits into two, and in both cases, both eggs get fertilized. Very Well further explained that identical and fraternal twins can be conceived with or without fertility drugs, which induce ovulation and sometimes produce a multiple pregnancy.

So your ovaries need to disperse either two eggs, or one egg that splits in two, and then both of those eggs need to get fertilized by the sperm, which can take a few days. According to Planned Parenthood, sperm can take time to travel to your uterus and fallopian tube, and can hang around for up to six days after sex to fertilize your egg. That means there can be almost a week between sex and fertilization, so positioning at the time of sex will only help with the trajectory of the sperm.

Even if you have two eggs waiting to be fertilized, your sexual positions may not affect chances of conception. Sheryl A. Kingsberg, Ph.D., professor and chief of the Division of Behavioral Medicine at University Hospitals Case Medical Center told Parents that sexual positions are not known or proven to enhance fertility in any way.

If you don't have two eggs waiting for the sperm to fertilize, you can not conceive twins, no matter what the sexual position. What to Expect explained that the only factors that will increase your chances of having twins are your family's history of twins, your age (the older, the better the chances), if you've been pregnant before with or without multiples, your height and weight, and whether or not you are undergoing fertility treatments.

It's better not to fret about which position will help you conceive twins, because without two eggs there, it won't happen. Just relax and hope for the best pregnancy and baby you could be blessed with.