Women’s sexual health - Contraception

Pregnant Virgin

News flash to those who are playing it safe while courting with fire: it’s called pseudo-virginity, but you’re not safe from unwanted pregnancy. You could still get pregnant even if your hymen is intact because you haven’t had full intercourse or penetration. Remember that it is not the penetration of the phallus that gets you pregnant, it’s when the sperm cell meets the egg cell. And trust me on this, do not ever underestimate those little heads and wiggly tails – the sperm only has one goal in its brief existence which is, to make it to your egg. I assure you, with nothing else to think off, the sperm can do this goal well. Their sole mission is to head to your fallopian tubes so that anytime a sperm might get near the vagina orafice, it can still complete its mission without the need for penetration. In fact, a sperm on the fingers, the tip of a condom or any object that eventually comes in contact with the vagina will still lead the sperm to the egg.

The Sperm’s Story

A fertile young man can make around 1000 sperm per second in its testes. Each of this sperm carries half the genes that can make a baby. Once the sperm is released from the penis, they usually survive for 48 hours, depending also on the environment.

While having intercourse or just playing around, there are two kinds of fluids released by the penis. The first of this is the pre-ejaculate or pre-cum, which is a lubricant made by a gland in the penis. The second fluid is released during ejaculation and is semen. This fluid is made in the testicles and carries sperms along with any sexually transmittable infections.

Experiences from lovers told us that you can get pregnant from the pre-ejaculation. When you might be playing around with your guy, and he becomes very aroused his pre-cum on the tip of the penis may contain sperm. While he might be rubbing his penis on your vagina, even without penetration and unknown to you, his resilient sperm might already be making their headway to your egg. The pre-cum has enough of the swimmers to arrive at your uterus and the fallopian tubes. What’s worse is that the sperm can live for 3-5 days in a very favorable environment, like inside your wet womb. So even if you’re infertile, once the sperm touches the mucous in your vulva, which aids it in going inside your reproductive system, the sperm can thrive there. This makes conception eventually possible even if you had sex or were playing around several days before ovulation.

However, there were debates on just how the pre-ejaculate contains spermatozoa. Several small studies proved that the pre-ejaculate fluid can actually pick up sperm from a previous ejaculation. So for such reason, it will be better if you’re male partner will urinate in between ejaculations so as to clear the urethra of sperm.

Oral Sex and Masturbation

However, it’s not just the pre-cum that you have to watch out for, there’s also oral sex or masturbation. Let me remind you again of how resilient the sperms are, they thrive on wet environment and they can be easily transported to you vaginal orifice through direct contact and even through the pores of your clothes. Once they are introduced to the wet environment in your vagina, they can get really down and dirty and head straight to making you pregnant. The sperm is alive and active as long as they are kept wet. So be wary if your partners' hands are damp from jacking off, don’t let him touch you immediately.

However, motility for sperm fades once ejaculated so the sperm counts are down as some of the sperm die off. Hours after masturbation, once semen has dried, the sperm will then be incapable to impregnate. Apart form that, showering off after masturbation can cleanse the sperm off the body. Washing your hands will also get rid of active sperm. If you are going engaged in digital stimulation or fingering it is wise to hand-wash as this will also prevent the spread of bacteria. How long do sperm live after ejaculation?