Suresh asks: Can precum cause pregnancy?
Dr. Hsieh: Yes, it is possible that precum can get you pregnant.
But what are precum pregnancy odds?

Suresh, a college soccer player, is worried that his teen girlfriend may be accusing him falsely that she got pregnant by him. He suspects foul play.
There Are Your Actual Possibilities of Getting a precum pregnancy.

The uncertainty

Does precum have sperm cells? Can precum cause pregnancy? How likely is it to get pregnant from precum? These are the opinions of two reproductive health consultants.

Precum, short for pre-ejaculate, could be an elusive and complicated term to resean out. However for ladies trying to keep away from getting pregnant, or men trying to know whether their pull-out technique is the best, it is essential to know the details.

Whereas the odds are a lot lower as a result of sperm count present, it’s nonetheless veritably possible to get precum pregnancy.

Precom pregnancy odds

“It is estimated that about 20 % of ladies can get pregnant from withdrawal or pull-out technique during intercourse, so it is possible these ladies bought pregnant from pre-ejaculate,” says Mike Hsieh, M.D., urologist and director of Men’s Health Center at UC San Diego Wellbeing. In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the possibility of conceiving from precum is definitely instead like 22 % in case you’re utilizing the pull-out or withdrawal technique.

Whether or not withdrawal is your primary contraception technique or it is a technique you sometimes depend on, here is what you want to find out about sperm, precum, and semen in terms of your possibilities of getting precum pregnancy.

See also: Are you really ready to become pregnant?

What Is Precum, Precisely?

Pre-ejaculate fluid (precum) is a normal part of physiology for lubrication produced by glands of the penis to facilitate sexual activity, says Dr. Hsieh. The penile glands producing the pre-ejaculate fluids (or precum) don’t produce sperm (sperm is made out of the testicles), and it’s believed that sperm discovered within the pre-ejaculate fluids are residual sperm contained in the urethra from prior ejaculations.

This fluid is usually made up of mucus, proteins, and enzymes meant to stabilize its pH, and make a person’s urethra much less acidic as to offer sperm cells a greater likelihood of surviving within the tremendous acidic vagina.

And in line with Mitchell Creinin, M.D., gynecologist and director of family planning at UC Davis Wellbeing, precum involuntarily comes out earlier than a person bodily feels an orgasm and ejaculates. “Precum is actually only the start of the ejaculate—there isn’t a ‘pre’,” says Dr. Creinin.

Does precum have sperm cells?

The precum fluid itself doesn’t comprise sperm, however, sperm can leak into it as it travels down the urethra, the place residuals could also be lingering from earlier ejaculations, and could be released with precum before the semen. (FYI, semen comprises sperm and is the ejaculate that’s released during orgasm.) ” Normal semen fluid from ejaculation incorporates higher than 40 million motile or healthy sperms cells in comparison with pre-ejaculate fluid, which has anywhere from zero sperm cells to lower than 5 million swimmers,” says Dr. Hsieh.

One 2013 examination carried out on sperm counts of precum in 27 males discovered that 41 % of the men had sperm in their precum, 37 % which was motile sperm, whereas an identical 2016 research on sperm count in precum discovered healthy sperm in about 17 % of males.

Can You lower precom pregnancy odds of the Withdrawal Technique?

Principally, the withdrawal technique isn’t iron-clad. The recommendation I attempt to give {couples} is that in case you’re seriously utilizing the withdrawal technique, it’s important to be comfortable as a pair with the idea of totally ending intercourse (since precum does comprise sperm), says Dr. Creinin.

If you’ll enter the vagina unprotected, it’s best to withdraw long before finishing and being actually stimulated. Pulling out just at the brink of an orgasm doesn’t shield you from precum pregnancy. The precum can get you pregnant.

This means that you ought to be wearing a condom on as soon as the penis is erect, before skin-to-skin contact.

Is There Any Technique to Stop or Keep away from Pre-Ejaculate?

Sadly, there isn’t any method to stop precum, and the quantity is decided by many elements. The quantity of pre-ejaculate fluid can fluctuate depending on a person’s arousal stage, hormonal status, hydration degree, and medications, says Dr. Hsieh. The one method to prevent [precum] is through the use of a barrier like condom. People thought if a person urinates before intercourse, it could actually wash out the sperm from the urethra, however that is unproven.

Nevertheless, in case you select to make use of the pull-out technique, using one other contraception technique—like spermicidal lube—may also help cut back the chance of precum pregnancy, but it surely depends on correct use. Anything is more effective than pull-out technique alone, says Dr. Creinin. In case you’re putting contraceptive (spermicidal) gel within the vagina coupled with withdrawal, you will need to comply with the instructions. Based on the CDC, spermicide is barely 28 % efficient.

The conclusion

“Pre-ejaculate is still ejaculate—there’s sperm in there,” says Dr. Creinin. “The word ‘pre’ has got to go away.” Precum can get you pregnant.
In case you’re searching for methods to decrease your odds of precum pregnancy, in line with Dr. Hsieh, “Condoms are nonetheless essentially the most dependable approach.”