Can I get pregnant if…? Reality and false myths about how to avoid pregnancy
Is it true that you cannot get pregnant with the first sexual intercourse? What if the woman is above and the man below? There are many “hoaxes” on how to avoid pregnancy: in this article we tackle them one by one and explain why they don’t work.
Every day, messages arrive on our site from girls and boys, but also from women and men, who are afraid of an unwanted pregnancy .
Most of the time it happens because no contraceptive method was used during the relationship, often due to misinformation, wrong beliefs or fear of contradicting the partner.
In this article, we have therefore collected all the main false myths about how not to get pregnant , trying to give simple and clear explanations, in collaboration with our experts.
1. Can I get pregnant the first time?
Yes, a woman can get pregnant even with her first sexual intercourse. In fact, the chances of pregnancy of a virgin girl are exactly the same as those of a sexually active one.
Whether you and your partner are newbies or not, it’s always important to use effective contraception with every intercourse .
2. Can I get pregnant if I’m on or standing?
Yes, the position you assume during intercourse does not affect the possibility of pregnancy.
If the woman is on top of her partner or standing, it is normal to see semen leaking from the vagina . However, sperm present on the vulva or remaining inside the vaginal canal are perfectly capable of returning to the uterus against the force of gravity .
3. Can I get pregnant if I have my period?
Yes, having intercourse on the days of your period does not protect you from becoming pregnant.
Even if the odds are low, there is still a risk of early ovulation . Also, it is important to remember that sperm cells can live inside the female genitalia for up to 5 days .
4. Can I get pregnant if I have unprotected intercourse away from the fertile period?
Even in the case of regular cycles, it is always possible to ovulate earlier or later than usual. According to Mayo Clinic , approximately 24 percent of women using this contraceptive approach have an unwanted pregnancy within the first year of unprotected intercourse .
For this reason, even if you are a “Swiss watch”, avoid using apps or tools for calculating the fertile period such as birth control methods .
5. Can I get pregnant if I don’t orgasm?
Yes, female orgasm is not necessary for conception. The pleasure that one experiences (or does not experience) during intercourse has no relation to a woman’s ability to get pregnant.
6. Can I get pregnant with coitus interruptus?
We speak of coitus interruptus when the partner interrupts sexual intercourse before having orgasm and ejaculates outside the vagina .
This practice is absolutely not an effective contraceptive method (besides not protecting against sexually transmitted diseases, as is often believed).
With sexual arousal, in fact, man produces a “lubricating” liquid called pre-ejaculatory liquid , which may contain vital sperm . Furthermore, there is always the risk that the partner cannot control himself and therefore does not remove the penis from the vagina in time.
7. Can I get pregnant without penetration?
Theoretically not. However, if the ejaculation takes place close to the vagina it is possible that the sperms will be able to penetrate inside.
Similarly, touching the vagina with fingers moistened with semen can lead to the risk of an unwanted pregnancy.
To learn more about sperm viability outside the vaginal canal, you can read this article .
8. Can I get pregnant in water?
The answer is yes if penetration has occurred .
Otherwise , we can say that it is very unlikely that the sperm present in the water of a bathtub can reach the vagina. The probability then resets to zero in the presence of bubble bath, soap or chlorine .
9. Can I get pregnant if I urinate after intercourse?
Yes, peeing after intercourse is not an effective method of contraception. In fact, urine is not able to “wash away” or “kill” the spermatozoa present inside the vagina, which can therefore continue their ascent towards the uterus undisturbed.
10. Can I get pregnant if I wash myself immediately after intercourse?
Washing after intimate intercourse is undoubtedly an excellent hygienic habit, but it does not reduce the chances of pregnancy . This is because a bath, a shower or a simple external washing of the genitals is not able to remove the sperms that have already penetrated the vaginal canal.
11. Can I get pregnant if I do a vaginal lavage?
Even washing after intercourse does not guarantee any protection against pregnancy .
In fact, once ejaculation has taken place, the fastest sperm quickly reach the uterus and vaginal irrigation will have no effect on them.
Furthermore, when not prescribed by the gynecologist, the repeated use of intimate douches can alter the bacterial flora and increase the risk of irritations, infections and sexually transmitted diseases .
12. Can I get pregnant if I’m breastfeeding?
Yes , even if breastfeeding tends to delay the resumption of ovulation it is not possible to establish with certainty when the woman will become fertile again . In fact, it is possible for her to get pregnant three weeks after giving birth .
For this reason, before resuming sexual activity after the birth of the baby, it is important to discuss with the gynecologist which contraceptive methods to adopt while breastfeeding .
13. Can I get pregnant if I haven’t had my period yet after giving birth?
Again the answer is yes . When a woman has her first period after giving birth (the so-called foreman ) it means that she ovulated about two weeks before. And since this ovulation cannot be predicted in advance, it is possible that intercourse before the foreman takes place during the fertile period and could lead to a pregnancy .
We talked about it here .
14. Can I get pregnant if I’ve just started taking the pill?
When starting birth control pills , your gynecologist may advise you to wait 7 days before having unprotected intercourse . This period is needed to ensure that the hormones in the circulation reach a level sufficient to obtain the contraceptive effect.
15. Can I get pregnant with the “morning after pill”?
The pill of the day is not 100% effective. Statistics say it can prevent 7 out of 8 pregnancies when taken correctly .
If a person takes the morning-after pill within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, it is quite effective at preventing pregnancy , but the longer they wait, the more likely it is that they will conceive.
Also, if you’ve recently ovulated when you have intercourse, the morning-after pill may not work .
The importance of an effective contraceptive method
According to the World Health Organization, 26.5 million unwanted pregnancies occur worldwide every year due to inappropriate use of contraceptive methods.
Despite medical advances and the fact that birth control methods are increasingly accessible, unplanned pregnancies are still quite common.
Understanding how to safely prevent pregnancy is important to the health of all involved. Nowadays, there are tons of tools that allow you to have a healthy and peaceful sex life and at the same time avoid unwanted pregnancies.
There are barrier methods such as the condom and diaphragm , and hormonal methods such as the pill , birth control ring , patch , injection , subcutaneous implant , and the IUD (copper wire coil or progesterone medicated intrauterine device) .
In this regard, we would like to underline that currently the only contraceptive method which allows to avoid the majority of sexually transmitted diseases is the condom .
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.