Preseed - Chat with Dr. Joanna Ellington

Fertility Boosters & More >> Preseed - Chat with Dr. Joanna Ellington

Why is Pre~Seed the only vaginal dryness relief product that can be used while trying-to-conceive?

We chatted with Dr. Joanna Ellington, (‘Dr. E’) CEO of INGfertility and inventor of Pre~Seed to find out!

Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com: Hi, Dr. E. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. We receive quite a few questions regarding Pre~Seed, and we thought this would be a nice way to address them - straight from the expert!

Dr. Ellington: Thanks for asking me! I have worked with your community for a long time, and am glad to help people understand why choice of product for dryness issues is so critically important.

Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com: So… in a nutshell, how is Pre~ Seed different than other lubricants?

Dr. Ellington: Over the past THREE decades over 15 medical papers have been published showing how standard lubricants, such as KY, Astroglide and Replens, harm sperm. In fact, they kill them equivalently to contraceptive gels! Therefore, physicians who were well informed (and unfortunately, there are many who are not), knew to tell their patients not to use ANY lubricants when trying to conceive. Unfortunately, that isn’t a good solution because 75% of trying-to-conceive (TTC) couples have increased vaginal dryness due to the stress of timed intercourse at ovulation and fertility medications.

I had federal funding (NIH) for years to study infertility, and working with these couples, I found a serious need for a vaginal dryness relief product that would not harm sperm. So I spent 10 years inventing Pre~Seed and testing it.

What makes our formula unique is that the ion concentration is the same as your body fluids, it is “isotonic”. Other lubricants have too high or too low of an ion concentration and this damages sperm, irreversibly on contact. Pre~Seed also has a plant antioxidant “arabinogalactan” to support cell function, including sperm cells.

Click Here to Purchase Pre~Seed!

Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com: We occasionally hear from customers that their doctor has recommended any “water-based” lubricant while trying to conceive. What’s your take on that?

Dr. Ellington: I am so disappointed when I hear this!!! Even if a physician doesn’t know about Pre~Seed to recommend it, they should know the large body of published studies that show that “water-based” lubricants like KY, Astroglide and Replens, as well as the others, damage sperm function even at low concentrations (such as 6%). All these studies state that it is contraindicated for TTC couples to use lubricants, meaning it is bad medicine! The only study that has recommended any vaginal dryness product for TTC couples, is the one done by the Cleveland Clinic, which showed Pre~Seed alone did not harm sperm.

Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com: Why does Pre~Seed come in an applicator instead of in a tube or bottle like other lubricants?

Dr. Ellington: As an Intimate Moisturizer, Pre~Seed was designed to coat the entire vagina and external cervix with moisture that is at the optimal pH and ion concentration for sperm. Pre~Seed’s pH is matched to that of fertile cervical mucus. So that is where you want it – inside! If you prefer to use an external lubricant you can use our Pre’ Lubricant. But if I was TTC, I would use the Pre~Seed inside. But then I like using Pre~Seed applied this way, even now and I am 48 with 5 boys! It is discrete and subtle.

Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com: What are your thoughts on using less than a whole applicator for a single use? We sometimes hear that using a full applicator could provide “too much” lubrication?

Dr. Ellington: Applicators should NEVER be reused! We have the very mildest preservative available to keep bacteria from growing in the product, and yet also to not harm sperm. Once the applicator has been opened it really isn’t safe to re-use it, no matter what anyone says on-line. I have very specific instructions for dealing with the “too slipperies” at the Pre~Seed home page FAQs. In short, make sure you apply the product a little longer before hand if it is too slippery (up to 60 min), and I apply it while sitting on the toilet, so that I can wipe off externally and go about my business. Most people who have too much, are applying it while laying in bed, and this is not how it is recommended to be applied.

Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com: Is it safe to use Pre~Seed throughout pregnancy? We often hear from folks who’d like to use it “recreationally” even after they’ve successfully conceived.

Dr. Ellington: Of course! Almost 20% of our users are not TTC, like myself, they like the way Pre~Seed feels and want to use it as their everyday dryness relief product. This is actually why we invented Pre’, because so many people wanted a similar external product for the rest of their lives!

Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com: In your opinion, who should use Pre~Seed? Is it appropriate for all trying-to-conceive couples?

Dr. Ellington: Many women have low grade dryness issues and don’t even realize it. Couples write us every week to tell us how Pre~Seed helped them on their journey. And it isn’t uncommon for them to tell us that Pre~Seed , helped make their intimacy much more enjoyable even though they had never used lubricants much in the past. In fact, a newspaper article last year, cited an adult boutique owner saying that Pre~Seed was getting more young couples “into lubricant use”, because once they tried it, they liked it!

Early-Pregnancy-Tests.com: Any other tips for trying to conceive couples?

Dr. Ellington: Again, I have some information that is helpful at my Pre-Seed blog on this. But in general , 80% of the time couples don’t conceive because of the big four: sperm abnormalities; female hormone issues, including not ovulating correctly; not having intercourse at the right time; and having blocked Fallopian tubes. So I suggest that couples take fertility vitamins, such as FertilAid and that they use ovulation timing devices such as those found at this site . I also strongly suggest that they read Toni Weschler’s book “Taking Charge of Your Fertility” to understand their bodies better. Finally, if you haven’t conceived after 9 months (34 and under) or 6 months (35 and up), get scheduled for evaluations:, including having Fallopian Tubes checked; a sperm analysis done (by an Andrologist, not an RE or ObGyn); and hormone/ovulation assessments.

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