Is it true it's not as easy to get pregnant as people think?

You do not automatically get pregnant, but you do not automatically not-get-pregnant either. It’s basically random. And how many times you or your partner have had sex previously is irrelevant.

Pre-ejaculate does contain semon, so it’s possible. “I can pull out in time” is the worst possible means of preventing pregnancy (well, maybe second only to praying).

I know a good handful of fathers who became that way after “pulling out”. I’d say it’s easier for pregnancy to happen than people want to believe. There’s a little joke about guys who want to “just put the tip in”.

Depends on the timing. You can only get pregnant when you’re ovulating, which means an egg is mature and hanging out waiting to be fertilized. This is only true for about 36 hours a month.

This isn’t a very good way to make babies, so women also have cervical fluid designed to help keep spermies alive longer. If a man ejaculates in a woman a few days before she ovulates, the sperm are usually able to hang out and survive until the egg rolls in.

So there are probably all told about 5 days a month you can feasibly get pregnant, with about 2 of them being MUCH more likely than the other 3 or so. If you get super sperm that are virtually immortal, they might be able to exist up to 7 days, but that’s pretty unlikely.

@MrItty: Pre-ejaculate itself doesn’t contain live sperm. If a man has ejaculated recently, it can pick up some leftover sperm that were hanging out in the urethra. Spermicides are actually the worst way to prevent pregnancy with typical use. With perfect use, withdrawal is better than the sponge, the female condom, and some kinds of the rhythm method.

Ditto as @nikipedia. Got these details from my OB-Gyne. Been trying to conceive for more than 5 years now. NOT. THAT. EASY.

There are soooooo many variables to this issue. There’s no one pat answer.

If you’re trying to get pregnant, it can be difficult.

If you’re not trying to get pregnant, it’s likely to be a lot easier than you think or hope.

@cwilbur LOL, that pretty much sums it up. It depends on what you want…or DON’T want.

Look, if you and he are both healthy and under 32 it should be easy. If you are regular you most likely ovulate 14 days BEFORE your next period. So if you are a 26 day cycle you ovulate on day 12. You can use those ovulation kits also. If you pay attention to your cycle you may notice a slight pain on your side every month at ovulation, the side will most like alternate left one month, right the other, and your discharge will be a little heavier like the white of an egg during ovulation.

Now, the sperm can live for a few days, so you can have sex a day or two before you ovulate and still get pregnant. Once you ovulate you only have about a day to get pregnant (although this time might actually be a little longer, I would not wait if you want to get pregnant).
If your goal is to avoid getting pregnant, and it is very important not to get pregnant, USE BIRTH CONTROL.

Should have said “attempted withdrawl”. The number of guys who can successfully pull out in time is absurdly small, I’d wager.

As everyone else said. It’s hard until you get pregnant when you don’t mean to—then it’s not hard enough.

And as @nikipedia said, there was a recent study published that said that the “pulling out” method is actually effective—not as much as the pill, condoms, or BCP, but not nearly as inneffective as everyone has said.

Of course, one must have superior self-control—so probably not the best thing to advocate to teenagers.

@nikipedia Call me old fashioned but i think a condom (or the pill) are the way to go if you DON’T want to get pregnant.

There is a reason it’s known as a miracle! If you’re trying, it helps to know when the woman is ovulating. It’s more likely to happen during your peak ovulation days (usually two days a month). Of course, it can happen on the surrounding days, too. There are other challenges to overcome, too. Eggs must be healthy, sperm count must be adequate, sperm must make it past the vaginal acidic lining, if egg is fertilized it must implant in the uterus, then it must grow without mutations, etc. It’s quite an ordeal.

It’s not as easy as people think. And staying pregnant can be tricky as well, since many pregnancies end in miscarriage, but the woman doesn’t even know it because they happen around the time the period is due.
It is always a miracle. But, it does seem to be that the people who don’t expect/want it, have it happen easier.

Actually, for those girls between 14–20’s it is easier to get pregnant than for older women. I think that is an important point for this particular questioner because the question itself indicates extreme youth. For the average, healthy 20 yo sexually active unprotected woman there is a 25% chance of pregnancy in the 1st month, 60% in 6 months, 75% in 9 months and 90% in 18 months.

http://www.amazingpregnancy.com/pregnancy-articles/467.html

Since that ‘average’ includes women in their 30–40’s, that explains the number of 16 yos who ‘only did it once’.

@missiena For your own sake, talk to your parent, the school nurse, Planned Parenthood or get a basic sex ed book. Don’t depend on getting important information from your friends or cyber-strangers.

For some couples, getting pregnant is very easy. For others, not so easy. If you do not want to get pregnant, you should assume that it will be very easy to get pregnant, and you should take all possible precautions (ie, use dependable birth control). The saddest thing is to get pregnant (a wonderful thing if you want to have a baby) when you do not want a child or are not ready in some way. A terrible bunch of choices and complications for you follow—and it is so easy to prevent. Just use protection EVERY TIME—assume you are the most fertile person on earth.

Not when you’re a teenager.

Chances are high you will get pregnant, especially if you don’t want to be.

It’s one of those Murphy’s Law things, whatever can go wrong – will. If you don’t want to be pregnant, you’ll get caught the very first time. If you do want to be pregnant, you could try for months or years and miss out.

It’s worse than Russian Roulette, don’t take chances. See a doctor for the best advice pertinent to your own body.

@YARNLADY You’re saying you’d rather kill yourself than get pregnant? Damn.

But to answer missJena’s question, Absolutely not! It does not automatically mean pregnancy. It’s all about where you’re inside of someone. I can ejaculate thousands of times into someone’s ear and they will not get pregnant. I know this.

@Thammuz: I got pregnant while taking the pill, and another time when the condom broke (we were married and very experienced with condoms, since the birth of our child from when the pill failed).

There is no 100% safe sex for diseases or 100% guaranteed contraception.

@TabernakAttack HAHA No, but at least with RR you know that there are 5 chances to miss, with sex, you have no such guarantee. Except kinky

I avoided sex during ovulation for two years never got preganant, and then the month I decided to get pregnant I got pregnant. Figure out what part of the month you are in and if you think it is likely take a morning after pill or something before it is too late so you can stop worrying.

@YARNLADY – and there are, on the average, 280 million bullets in that gun.

Removed by myself… I decided to mind my own business.

@Bri_L I think you are taking my comment a little too technically

@YARNLADY – As you know, I am sleep deprived and not that bright sometimes. ;-)