Can You Still Get Pregnant If The Sperm Comes Out?

When you're trying to conceive, you're bound to have a lot of questions about your sex life. After all, you are trying to make a human being from your freaky activities between the sheets. So, it's totally not weird to wonder if you can still get pregnant if the sperm comes out.

But first, a quick review about how pregnancy occurs. According to Mayo Clinic, once ejaculated into the vagina, the sperm makes its way up to the cervix, and then into the uterus. The journey doesn't stop there, as those little swimmers travel to the fallopian tube where an egg is waiting to be inseminated. According to Men's Health, each load of ejaculate contains 3.7 ml of sperm — roughly three-quarters of a teaspoon. But how many swimmers are in each load? Everyday Health noted that the average man ejaculates anywhere between 180 million to 400 million sperm. A man's age and overall health will determine the exact number, but remember, it only takes one of those suckers to fertilize an egg. According to the same article in Everyday Health, sperm can live up to five days within a woman's body. So, by that logic, it's totally possible for you to conceive if you haven't released your egg yet and have had unprotected sex, according to the American Pregnancy Association.

But what about the so-called "flow-back" effect, which is when ejaculate drips out after you have sex? Can you still get pregnant if the semen flows out? According to fertility expert and midwife Zita West, absolutely. She told The Huffington Post UK, that even though there's millions of sperm in each load of ejaculate, the majority of liquid in ejaculate doesn't contain sperm, but other man juice, and some of your lady juices as well.

And, according to The Bump, most doctors don't put stock in lifting your legs post-coitus in order to make sure the sperm gets where it needs to go. The consensus here is lie around in bed for about 20 minutes if it will make you feel better, but chances are the sperm has already shot out into your cervix before your guy pulls out, so don't stress over spilt, er, sperm.