QuestionHello Dr. Rappaport. I am a 34 year old woman with a son who is going to be 3 shortly. My LMP was Aug 26/2005. My husband and I have been trying to conceive again since December.
The past month I had an unconfirmed chemical pregnancy (a positive test followed by a negative blood test and a period) and an HSG. During my fertile time this month we attempted to have intercourse each day, however his recent prescription of Paxil has made it impossible for him to finish the task, even with exhaustive attempts.
I have been trying to find a definitive source of information regarding pre-ejaculatory fluids and sperm counts. Would there have been sperm present in these fluids during intercourse, and is it true that a man may release these fluids more than once during the course of sex? Is there any significant possbility that I could be pregnant?
Thank you!
AnswerIf your last period started on August 26, and you have a normal 28 day cycle, you would have ovulated around September 8 and could ONLY have conceived if you had sex on September 7,8,9, or 10. There are around 300,000 sperm at the tip of the penis PRIOR TO ejaculation. If his penis is in the vagina and he withdraws prior to ejaculation, these sperm can be "milked" into the vagina and a pregnancy can occur if it is at the correct time of the month. If there is a question of the volume of smemen of your husband, he should have a semen analysis to assess motility, mobility, volume, and shapes of the sperm. Paxil should not interfere with the semen. I cannot give you a definitive source of information on pre-ejaculatiory fluids and sperm counts. If his semenanalysis is within normal limits, there is no reason to suspect that a preblem exists. There is, however, a refractory period after ejaculation during which a man cannot have another ejaculation. Sperm replenish every day.
