Conception Cups

[HennyPenny27]

Hiya, has anyone had any success with Conception Cups? I’m 38 and just started TTC (cycle 2). I wondered if this could be good to use after BD’ing, in particular, to catch additional sperm.
keen to hear thoughts and experiences :) Thanks!

Apparently they’re great (never used one - but squeamish about it tbh) but I don’t really understand how they work as biologically the sperm in the vagina/not through the cervix after sex won’t make it anyway

Oh @FlyHighSky72does the vagina shut most out after a few enter?

@HennyPenny27no it’s just that they can only swim so far- so only those up by the Cervix have any chance

@FlyHighSky72ah I see what you’re saying. I may try to use the cap immediately after sex, before I’ve gotten up, to keep sperm around the cervix. I this is what I’m reading on one of the brands websites.

It’s the same as how putting you legs in the air after sex doesn’t improve rates of pregnancy - the sperm either go though the cervix within milliseconds or not at all

@HennyPenny27obv it’s fine to try but that’s what I’m saying - if there’s no motility issues any good swimmers will be through the cervix at ejaculation

https://www.reddit.com/r/TryingForABaby/comments/mlb02y/the_effectiveness_of_fertilily_conception_cup/ there you go - this article links to their data

@FlyHighSky72Thanks for sharing that subreddit.

I think it’s worth a try - but would love to hear from anyone that’s experienced using it, not to validate ideas that this is a sure fire thing for pregnancy or not, but to understand the experience.

So we had sperm motility issues and managed to get pregnant twice using one of these cups (plus lots of other things). I think it made a difference for us.

The sperm doesn’t go through the cervix as a process of ejaculation. It gets deposited in the vagina, and close to the cervix is better, but it has to swim through the cervix by itself, aided by cervical mucus. Ejaculation doesn’t propel the sperm through. The theory behind the conception cup is to scoop the semen and hold it close to the cervix, so more has a chance to swim through. Not sure how effective they are but I would think they can’t hurt much if used correctly.

@TheBirdintheCavethank you for sharing and it’s brill that you managed to get pregnant twice using the cup amongst other things. Could I ask how long you’d been TTC before trying the cup?

Thanks and yes this is what I understood as well as I know from past boyfriends that not all ejaculate is propelled at force.
I track the position of my cervix through my cycle and I think DH may not be able to control the angle that he finishes at! And I’m not so agile that I could request finishing in standing wheelbarrow!
Just bought a cup today so will give it a go!

I think a year by that point. We were considering IVF (as we knew we had problems by that point) but thought we’d give it a go first. Unfortunately I lost that baby so we then went for IVF which resulted in another miscarriage. We tried again with the cup the next month, got pregnant and that baby is now one year old :)

Thank you for sharing @TheBirdintheCaveI’m sorry for the experiences of loss you’ve had, prior to your baby. It sounds like it could have been a very tough time for you both. Glad that you did have a successful pregnancy x

@HennyPenny27Yeah it was three losses in a row in total as we’d had one earlier on too. But my little girl is worth all of it 🥰

I’ve not used one yet but ordered to try this cycle 🤞🏻

That is a lot of losses in a row, you must be so strong and you’re so lucky to have your little girl x

@Muddysocks1wishing you a successful cycle. I picked one up yesterday - have boiled it as per instructions and will give it a practice run this week!

I used one the month I got pregnant. Got a cheaper copy off eBay.

good luck.

Good luck!! 🤞🏻

@HennyPenny27Best of luck! I hope it works for you too :D

I’ve tried the fertilily one for 2 cycles. It didnt work and was very messy. I think I ended up losing more than I managed to ‘cup’ in the faff 😬

Thanks @TheBirdintheCavex

@lucya66Wonderful that you had success - may I ask how long you’d been trying to before using the cup? Hehe I also managed to get a cheaper one - one was reduced in my local boots as the cardboard packaging was damaged

@PurplePastaBake well I know what you mean about the messy part - had a go yesterday and in trying to position it upwards into a cup shape, after pushing it upwards, I pulled too hard on the end and propelled DH deposit back towards DH! We both had a good laugh - with DH asking what contraption I’d brought into the bedroom now.
Today’s application of the cup went a lot better - held onto the cup end as I pulled the tail to make the cup shape.

I used one. I got just the cheap one off amazon and it worked that first time trying. I’d been trying to get pregnant for 6 months prior and the cup was a last resort clutching at straws hope thing. It looks like a little rubber umbrella with a rubber string at the bottom hanging down like a tampon string, you just push the cup inside and then pull the string and then it basically pings the cup into an inside out umbrella shape. I left it in for an hour or so then removed it. I did also use a fertility lube but I think I only just it once