Can You Get Pregnant Without Having Sex?

-by Abhrajita Mondal

–Reading Time – 7 min Approx

–Edited by – Srishti Bhattacharyya

All college students and teens have asked this question, ‘Can you get pregnant without having sex?’ If you are one of them, you are at the right place. This seems to be the concern for most teens and young adults. However, the answer is a simple yes. You can get pregnant without having penetrative sex. Wait! There is a bit of good news here. The chances are very less. Pregnancy happens when a sperm fertilizes the egg. So it can happen even if you do not have penetrative sex. During sex the male partner ejaculates semen. It is the same fluid that contains millions of sperms. However, there is a fluid that the males release other than semen when they are aroused, called precum. It also contains sperms.

Ovaries release the ovum or egg 12-16 days before the menstrual cycle starts. The sperm enters the female body through the vagina and travels to the uterus. Similarly, the egg is released by the ovary and it travels to the mouth of the fallopian tubes. This is where the sperm fertilizes the egg. Today, you will get the complete answer to the question ‘Can you get pregnant without having sex?’

Can you Get Pregnant Without Having Sex?

When you first started studying biology, you must have thought that only penetrative sex can get you pregnant. However, you were wrong. After how many years did you realize that? More than 200 women in the USA have said that they got pregnant without any penetrative sex. If a partner ejaculates and the woman touches it and inserts her finger in the vagina, it can cause fertilization. In another case, if the partner ejaculates on the hand, and uses that hand for fingering, it can also lead to the fertilization of the egg. If the sperms from the semen or the pre-ejaculate enter the vagina you can get pregnant.

Moreover, there is a third scenario as well. If a partner ejaculates in the anus, the semen can make its way to the vagina and result in pregnancy. It is due to the fact, that the area between the anus and the vagina is too small. There are several questions that arise like, ‘Can a girl get pregnant without losing her virginity?’ It is the same question asked over and over again. It is all about penetration and ejaculation. Do you think that a girl loses her virginity when the hymen breaks? Well, this is a myth today. It is just not true.

You can ask this in another manner – Is it possible to get pregnant without breaking the hymen? Some young girls in their teens ask this question time and again. Moreover, they are interested in knowing if they can get pregnant without the ‘cherry popping’ bit. For this, you have to go back to your biology classes. Furthermore, not everybody is the same. Each one of our bodies is differently built. The hymen is the thin, fleshy skin that stretches across the vaginal opening. Now, everyone’s hymen is different. Some of you might cause it to break while cycling or during combat sports.

Masturbation can also lead to a ruptured hymen, even before you have sex. Moreover, you can also disrupt it while inserting a tampon. Hence, an intact hymen does not have any relation to getting pregnant.

Chances of Getting Pregnant Without Protection:

If you have sex regularly, without protection, there are high chances of you getting pregnant. Let us divide it into percentages for you. There are 20% chances of you getting pregnant without protection. Sex with a condom lessens the probability to 15%. Sex while on birth control pills brings it down to 9%. You will see teenagers getting into bed with their partners in the heat of the moment. So, they entirely forget about protection. Moreover, if you are not using any protection, you can also contract an infectious disease. Furthermore, whenever there is contact between male and female genitals, pregnancy can occur.

Another fact is that a man does not have to get an orgasm to impregnate a female. Pre-ejaculate can also cause pregnancy. The precum may contain thousands of sperms. Moreover, if the sexual contact is for a short time, the chances of getting pregnant do not decrease. This is the general information that can help you. However, if you are suffering from some medical issues, things are different.

Even after wearing condoms, chances of getting pregnant are there; the reason being that condoms can break. They might slip off or develop a perforation. Even a small microscopic opening can cause sperm to leak out. If you are ovulating at that time, you can get pregnant.

If you are breastfeeding, you cannot get pregnant. A few hormones are at play here. Therefore, if you have just delivered a baby, then you cannot get pregnant. The hormone estrogen is suppressed while you are lactating. Estrogen is responsible for periods. Additionally, another hormone that facilitates lactation is called prolactin. It also prohibits ovulation. Prolactin inhibits the FSH hormone. So, without periods, you cannot ovulate. So, you are less likely to get pregnant.

If you are over forty-four years of age, you may not have the risk. Thanks to the biological clock. A woman’s childbearing ability decreases after thirty, but chances become almost nil after forty-five. A woman is born with 1-2 million eggs. By the time, their first period starts, they have about 300,000. And, after the thirties, there are 25,000 left. Fertility decreases to as much as 95 percent after forty.

Guide to When Can A Woman Not Get Pregnant:

You may never get pregnant even after having sex. Yes, it is true. The chances of getting pregnant differ based on the circumstances. It can be your menstrual cycle at play or birth control measures. Well, conception is not that easy. There is a short period during a woman’s menstrual cycle that is ideal for getting pregnant. And, it is for only 48 hours.

A healthy 30-year-old has only a 20% chance of getting pregnant every month. Isn’t that surprising? Of course, everybody is not the same. You might just get pregnant by having unprotected sex. There are a few occasions that will make it impossible for you to get pregnant. Let us read about when can a woman not get pregnant.

Multiple Ways to Not Get Pregnant:

• One of the most obvious reasons is if you are on birth control. It does not matter, what kind of protection you are using. There are women using pills, patches, rings, and IUDs. These decrease your chances to conceive. Take the example of IUDs which block the sperm from reaching the egg. Whereas, pills, rings, and patches stop the release of the egg. Missing doses of oral contraceptives can make you vulnerable. Moreover, these contraceptive pills also contain a few sugar pills. The period is called ‘escape ovulation’. If you are regularly taking your pills, your chances of getting pregnant are just 1 percent.
• Are you having your periods? So, if you plan to have unprotected sex during this time, chances are slim that you will conceive. Let us understand the science behind this. The egg that was released from the ovary was not fertilized. Thus, the uterus lining sheds it and plans to grow new follicles. The egg has been flushed out of your system. That makes it clear as water. Well, you need to be careful at the end of your cycle. Sperm stays alive inside the uterus for up to five days. If you have sex at the end of the period, you can get pregnant.
• Use a condom. That is what they are for. You cannot get pregnant if you use a good-quality condom. The male partner roles the condom onto the penis. This restricts the sperms from entering the vagina as they are discarded when the male takes off the condom. So, you are out of danger of getting pregnant.
• Now, this is a risky one, but you can also not get pregnant if you use the pull-out method. It is not a myth, though some of you think so. It is also popular as withdrawal. This is when the male partner pulls out the penis before ejaculating. However, precum may contain sperms as well. Sometimes, the male partner is not able to detect when precum is released. So, this method might seem a bit perilous.

So, now you are aware of the ways you can get pregnant. To conclude, you can get pregnant if you have unprotected sex, when a condom breaks, or if you miss out on a birth control pill. The withdrawal method is the most unreliable one and can easily cause pregnancy. The chances of getting pregnant are less before a period as the uterus lining may have already broken down with the unfertilized egg. However, you can get pregnant immediately after your period ends. Different women have different bodies and cycles. Therefore, a lot depends on that. To summarize, you cannot get pregnant from anal or oral sex.

-by Abhrajita Mondal

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