Baby-Making Secrets You Should Know

To maximize the time sperm have to reach the egg, Weschler advises women to "place a small pillow under your hips following intercourse so that your cervix 'rests' in the pool of semen for a short time (perhaps 20 minutes or so)." Sex expert Ruth Westheimer agrees. In her book Dr. Ruth's Pregnancy Guide for Couples, she states, "After ejaculation, the woman should continue to lie on her back with her pelvis slightly tilted upward for some time, maybe 20 to 30 minutes." The pillow propping theory is so popular that couples can actually purchase a device called the Conception Curve Fertility Pillow designed to properly tilt the pelvis into the correct position.

Dr. Eisenberg's opinion? "Not necessary," she says. But Amos Grunebaum, MD, director of clinical maternal-fetal medicine at the New York Hospital-Cornell Weill Medical College recommends both the missionary or rear-entry positions and lying with your feet up for half an hour. There is, it seems, no definitive answer.