Recently, a TikTok user by the name of @juliasendojourney went viral after revealing Mucinex could possibly improve your chances of getting pregnant.
But was she right?
Let’s back up a bit. The user first revealed in this video (that has received over 8 million views) how she was taking Mucinex to get relief from her symptoms as she has endometriosis and PCOS and regularly tracks her fertility.
But once she began taking the cough medicine, she noticed her fertile signs skyrocketed. So, she asked her doctor, who told her that Mucinex can be given to women to help increase their fertility.
So back to our first question….was she right? A top comment was from a nurse who confirmed this. But for good measure, Dr. Natalie Crawford, a double board-certified in obstetrics/gynecology, reproductive endocrinology, and infertility, cross-referenced this.
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“Mucinex is the brand name of Guaifenesin, which is an expectorant medication sold over the counter. It is usually taken to assist in clearing phlegm from the upper respiratory tract by thinning out the mucous. For many years, Guaifenesin has been discussed as a way to potentially improve male and female fertility by changing the viscosity of the ejaculate and cervical mucus, thus making it easier for sperm to swim through,” Dr. Crawford explained to BuzzFeed News.
That being said, she believes Mucinex may and may not work. “Mucinex works by bringing water into secretions and making them more permeable to sperm. It does appear that, in certain people, this may help in their attempts at conception.”
Dr. Crawford went on to explain how Mucinex is usually recommended to male patients whose semen has a high viscosity, which is the seminal fluid’s resistance to flow, and high viscosity can affect things like sperm motility.
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“Because a woman’s cervical mucus should appropriately thin out at the time of ovulation due to elevated estrogen levels, it is less common for it to be suggested to females. Mucinex is often tried in natural attempts at pregnancy once other causes have been appropriately ruled out,” she added.
That being said, thick cervical mucus is not a top cause of infertility in women. Dr. Crawford said, “If you have been trying to conceive and are not getting pregnant with regular ovulatory cycles, please see your OBGYN or a fertility doctor for an appropriate evaluation.”
This particular combination to get pregnant is actually a practice that’s been around for years. “Studies have been published looking at this and it has been written about in fertility books since the ’70s. There is no conclusive help — or fertility doctors would be recommending it for everyone. That being said, it has a hypothetical mechanism of action that makes sense with very few risks — and it is inexpensive! There are probably a small subset of people who may have improved natural fertility rates by taking an expectorant, like Mucinex,” she said.
Watch the TikTok below!