Understanding Pregnancy: Can Pregnancy Occur Without Intercourse?

Question
hello, i have a huge problem. i was naive and thought u couldn't get pregnant unless a man ejaculated inside u. but i recently read that that's not the case. well, the day my last period ended was the fifteenth of the month. then i went to visit my boyfriend across the states for six days starting from the 23rd to the 29th of the same month. the thing is, we had sex literally twice a day, sometimes three the whole time i was there. he never ejaculated inside me, but we had sex THAT much and i have no idea about my ovulation or the days i'm most likely to get pregnant and i was wondering if u could help. could all that sex in those six days make me pregnant? is it the right time for me to get pregnant? i dont want to be pregnant. please help!

Answer
Hi Adena,

Do you mean this month? I will explain why this is so below, but first, if you mean Sept you still have time to take Plan B, the emergency contraception. Plan B can be taken up to 5 days after unprotected sex. If you are 18 or over you can get it from your local pharmacist. If you are under 18, you need to contact your doctor for a prescription. You can also call Planned Parenthood for an appt/Plan B.

Do you have a regular cycle? Do you know how many days your cycle usually is? Women usually ovulate about 14 days before the start of their period. this is usually somewhere between day 11 and day 21 of their cycle. So for example, if your cycle is 28 days, you most likely ovulated on day 14. Using my cycle as an example, which is 31 days, I most likely ovulate at day 17. Also, since sperm can live for up to 5 days inside a woman's body, if you have sex then ovulate a few days late, you can still become pregnant.

Using withdrawal as a birth control method is about 73% effective with typical use. One of the reasons why its effectiveness rate is low is because it may be possible for pre-ejaculate to have sperm that will cause pregnancy. Here is a good link to describe this method:

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/health-topics/birth-control/withdrawal-pull-out...

This does not mean you are pregnant, just that there may be a chance.

I hope this helps. If you have further questions let me know.

-Mia