Haste makes waste when it comes to conceiving; excessive intercourse during ovulation can be counterproductive.

**Article 13**

**Haste makes waste when it comes to nurturing life.**

**Case Study**

**Name: Liu Fang (pseudonym), 35 years old**

**Region: Guangzhou**

**Occupation: Media Professional**

Immediately after graduating from university, Liu Fang married her college classmate. They both worked in the same city, in high-paying and relatively stable public institutions, much to the envy of their classmates, who thought they were a perfect match. In the past two years, they bought a house and a car, and now it seemed like they should have a child, but unfortunately, that didn't happen. The couple went to the hospital for checkups, undergoing all the necessary tests. The results showed that the man's semen quality was basically normal, and the woman's reproductive system examination also showed no abnormalities.

The test results were normal, and both sets of parents were pressuring them, so Liu Fang decided to try to increase the frequency of intercourse. He downloaded a chart of female ovulation periods online, and during these times, he would increase the frequency of sexual activity, having intercourse every night or every morning upon waking, sometimes even four or five times a night. Liu Fang said that each time he had intercourse during ovulation, it felt very rushed, like completing a task, and his libido and sexual pleasure were not very strong. Sometimes he experienced low ejaculation volume or no ejaculation, and even erectile dysfunction. Now, his wife still shows no signs of pregnancy, and they are considering in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Huang Yanping, Department of Andrology, First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University: Although most patients who come to the hospital for infertility have physiological problems, there are also cases where both partners have normal examination results but are still infertile. In recent years, with the promotion of late marriage and late childbirth and the increase in social and life pressures, more and more couples have postponed their pregnancy. However, once they have the desire to have children, they often appear too impatient and eager to succeed.

Liu Fang's approach is quite common: women calculate their ovulation period themselves, and once ovulation occurs, they insist on having sex. At other times, wives usually ask their husbands to abstain from sex to "conserve their energy." Although increasing the frequency of sex during ovulation can help improve the chances of conception, this method can sometimes backfire.

Sexual intercourse is a harmonious and natural behavior, necessary for human reproduction. Sexual intercourse deliberately scheduled during ovulation is purposeful and rushed, lacking sufficient sexual stimulation, arousal, and even foreplay. This can lead to abnormalities in the female reproductive tract environment and endocrine system, affecting fertility. Meanwhile, men may experience erectile dysfunction or difficulty maintaining an erection due to the psychological pressure of bearing the burden, ultimately preventing orgasm and ejaculation.

While assisted reproductive technologies increase the chances of fertilization, they are not the optimal choice. Although there is currently no large-scale follow-up data to compare the differences between natural and assisted reproductive offspring, it is certain that natural selection is superior to artificial selection. This is similar to a marathon race, where the strongest runner is often the one who perseveres to the end, rather than the one who leads for the first 1000 meters and is automatically declared the champion.

If a couple who have been living together for a year without using contraception and still cannot conceive, both of them can go to the hospital for examination. If the woman is normal and the man's semen quality is normal or slightly poor, they can try to improve their unhealthy lifestyle habits, regulate their mental stress, and use adjuvant drug treatment to observe the effect. However, it is not advisable to be impatient for quick results, especially to place all hope on assisted reproduction.