Sexual Health Network - credentialed experts providing sexuality education from pleasure and orgasm to sexually transmitted diseases, sexual dysfunction, and sex and disability




The Sexual Health Network is dedicated to providing easy access to sexuality information, education, support, and other resources.

	contact us \| privacy policy \| Sun Oct 12 2008

print this page

Question:
In your archived responses, you have mentioned a possibility that pre-ejaculate fluid contains sperm. However, you have also decidedly stated that pre-ejaculate does not contain sperm unless there was a recent ejaculation with no urination since. If this is the case, what accounts for the 4% annual pregnancy rate supposedly resulting from "perfect" use of the withdrawal method? If a man always withdrew long before he even started to ejaculate, and always urinated before intercourse, would a pregnancy ever result? So many people, including some of your expert colleagues at SexualHealth.com, say that there is sperm in pre-ejaculate, and women claim to have become pregnant from it. Are the men simply failing to urinate between ejaculations or withdraw before some semen escapes, or is there more to the story?

Finally, I wondered if you might point me in the direction of any research that is available on this topic other than your reference to "Contraceptive Technology" by Robert Hatcher et al. Thanks you so much!

Answer:
by Konstance McCaffree: (05/27/2004)
Your question is an excellent one. Given that there is no such thing as a "perfect" use of withdrawal, there are many possibilities for how pregnancy occurs when withdrawal is used. The research is identified in Hatcher, et al. Contraceptive Technologies and you can find it there, as well in the newest edition (18th) which will be out soon.

There is always new research on the composition of pre-ejaculate as well as ejaculte. As you well know, dealing with human behavior and biology is not EVER an exact science. Withdrawal is actually a better method of pregnancy prevention than is sometimes stated. The problem is that it is not perfect and it is not at all a good method of preventing sexually transmitted infections.

In withdrawal, the penis must come completely away from the opening of the vagina. It also must occur before any ejaculation has occured. This makes it difficult to determine. Was there an ejaculation? Since ejaculation and orgasm are two different functions, it is very possible that ejaculation, or at least a partial ejaculation occurs before a man realizes it and is able to withdraw. When withdrawal happens, there is often seepage of semen at the opening to the vagina as well.

I certainly know that it is a common belief that pre-ejaculate has sperm in it, but examination of it in recent years has found that it has little to none. For years we were all taught that pregnancy could occur from any contact of the penis to the opening of the vagina, and we all live with that information today; even my colleagues on sexualhealth.com. I am going by the present research as recent as the early 2000's.

That is the best we can all do.

Reviewed by Sexual Health Editorial Team

This question appears in the following topics: