Pregnancy happens when a male’s sperm finds it’s way into a female egg (fertilisation). The sperm is just 1 in 1,000,000′s that are contained in a man’s semen (the liquid produced when a man climaxes). The egg is released from one of the woman’s ovaries (ovulation) between twelve to fifteen days before her next period.
A huge amount of of sperm are also found in the liquid produced by the penis as soon as it is erect (hard). As a result, it means that a man doesn’t have to climax for pregnancy to occur.
Sperm enter your body through the vagina, before moving through the cervix and womb to the fallopian tubes where the egg is fertilised.
It is possible for a woman to get pregnant without having sexual intercourse (penetration), if there is a chance of any sperm getting into the vagina. Such as, for instance, a woman can get pregnant if there is sperm on her fingers and she puts these in her vagina.
However, the chances of you ending up pregnant in this way are minute because sperm can only survive for a tiny amount of time when outside of the human body (as little as a few minutes if left to dry out, rising to a few hours if wet).
You may also end become pregnant if the man climaxes close to the entrance of the vagina, or if his erect penis comes into contact with his partner’s body near the vagina.
Again, the chances of you getting pregnant in this way are far smaller than if you were to have normal, unprotected sex. Regardless, it’s important to be aware that, in some cases, getting pregnant in this way could happen.
If you are concerned that sperm could come in contact with the vagina in any way, the best way to avoid pregnancy is to use contraception. Only condoms can provide protection against both pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
If you use a condom it should be put over the penis as soon as it is erect to prevent any sperm from coming into contact with the vagina.
Mindful Mum have a range of tools and guides to help mums, including birth plans and a due date calculator for pregnancy