Researchers at The Brazilian Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Associations Committee on Endocrine Gynecology looked into the following theories for boosting chances of pregnancy:
1. Women are more fertile as they get older - MYTH
Although a woman may feel healthy in her 40s, her fertility will not be in the same condition it was in her 30s, the Brazilian researchers said.
They said the evidence of age hampering fertility is not unanimous. But data shows that aged between 25 and 27 attempting to get pregnant across 12 cycles have a success rate of around 80 per cent.
In contrast, the figure is closer to the 50 per cent mark for those aged between 40 and 45.
This is according two studies, one in 2017 led by Boston University School of Public Health, published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and another led by Princeton University in 1986, published in Science.
2. Men are less fertile as they age - TRUE
The affect of a man's age on reproduction is less clear, the researchers said - scientists are trying to get to the bottom of the topic.
However, the Brazilian team said there are 'clear indications' that older fathers have sperm of a lower quality. That's on the back of two 2018 studies, one of which was led by the University of Campinas, published in Fertility and Sterility.
Studies have indicated men under the age of 25 are most fertile and, among these men, 95 per cent of their sperm has no DNA damage – a figure which falls to 80 per cent by the age of 35.
This was highlighted in a comprehensive review by the Center for Reproductive Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, published in the journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology in 2015.
3. Women have a 'fertile window' - TRUE
The authors said, although not impossible, chances of conception are very low outside the 'fertility window'.
They said the best chance of pregnancy is six days before ovulation day, according to a 2002 study by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Ovulation day falls two weeks before a bleed.
The team said having sex in the hope of getting pregnant even a day beyond that day is futile.
4. Lubricants kill sperm - TRUE
Lubricants may boost the bedroom antics - but they do nothing for sperms ability to swim, the researchers said.
'Multiple lubricants have been shown in multiple studies to adversely affect sperm motility at a variety of concentrations,' the authors said.
