TikTok Claims This Cold Medicine Can Help You Get Pregnant. Is That True?

When you are trying to conceive, all you want is those two lines on a positive pregnancy test. It can be a long journey there, after many cycles and research and hoping and waiting. But, in classic TikTok fashion, some claim there’s a hack for that ― in the form of Mucinex, an over-the-counter cough and cold medication.

One pregnant mom posted about her success conceiving after taking Mucinex in 2023 following a two-year journey of trying; the video has gotten more than 415,000 views. Another TikTokkerbusted out a whiteboard calendar, explaining to viewers the art of timing up Mucinex with your optimal fertility window. “Love Is Blind” star Alexa Lemieux also recently said she got pregnant while taking the medicine after struggling to conceive.

But, of course, just because people on the internet swear by it doesn’t mean it’s a guarantee. Here’s what experts want you to know:

Where Does The Mucinex Trend Come From?

In the fertility world, research is key, but it’s also hard to conduct — after all, did those trying to conceive in studies do so because it just happened to work that month? Or because an intervention, like Mucinex, was the reason?

The Mucinex trend dates back to a single study conducted over 40 years ago, in 1982, and published in the peer-reviewed journal Fertility and Sterility under the title “Improvement of Cervical Factor With Guaifenesin.” Researchers studied the active drug ingredient in Mucinex, which, in addition to affecting the mucus from a cold, is thought to also affect cervical mucus.

“ It is felt that women who may have hostile (thick) cervical mucus can use Mucinex, which will allow the cervical mucus to become thinner,” Dr. Rachel McConnell, an associate professor of obstetrics and