Our old friends at the PR agency 72 point, who carry out all those “surveys” so beloved of newspapers, have hit the button again with the claim that the average couple has sex 104 times before conceiving.
 
The survey was carried out for First Response, a family planning brand, and is covered today by the Daily Mail, the Daily Record, the Daily Mirror and the Star.
 
On 72 point’s website, the press release is somewhat oddly headed DUFF INFORMATION. Their words, not mine (below).
 
   
 
Has a hacker accessed the website and changed the headline? More likely, somebody at 72 point put a joke headline on the press release and then forgot to change it. Many a true word is spoken in jest. 
 
On this occasion, the result is less obviously duff than in many of 72 point’s surveys. The figure of 104 is based on six month’s average time to pregnancy, while engaging in intercourse four times a week.
 
ONS research in 1996 as part of the National Household Survey found that between 1991 and 1993, 51 per cent of couples achieved a first pregnancy within two months, 66 per cent within three months, and 80 per cent within 4-6 months – implying an average bonk-to-pregnancy ratio a good deal lower less than 72 point’s. But less newsworthy, maybe.