Dear Cuntsultant,
Can you get pregnant from pre-cum?
Sincerely,
Pulling & Praying
Dear Pulling & Praying,
The short answer is that yes, it is possible to get pregnant from pre-cum or pre-ejaculate. This is why proper condom usage requires putting the condom on the penis before it ever goes in a vagina (this is also key when it comes to STI prevention). But pre-cum and semen are actually different things and perform different roles - and sperm do not come from the same place as pre-cum. So let me give you a long answer to a short question.
Pre-cum or pre-ejaculatory fluid (if you want to be all clinical) is produced in the Cowper's Glands and the Glands of Littre and it's role is to
1) alkalize the urethra
2) provide a bit of lubrication
Sperm need an alkaline environment to live and be happy, but the urethra is normally acidic so pre-cum is responsible for alkalizing the path for them in advance. The glands that produce pre-cum do not produce sperm so in theory there should be no sperm in pre-cum. However, there does seem to be sperm in pre-cum sometimes and "contact pregnancies" (where ejaculation did not happen in the vagina but pregnancy did still occur) are known to happen.
The thought is that sperm might be left behind in the urethra from a previous ejaculation and that they then get washed out with pre-cum. This is one of the reasons it's recommended to pee after ejaculation and wash the area, especially if you plan to have unbarriered/no condom sex again that day.
But a study from 2010 found that some men/people with sperm will always have sperm in their pre-cum and some will not. This seems to be true even after urinating. So perhaps sperm are "leaked" into pre-cum in some people but not in others. The study didn't look at potential risk of pregnancy with this amount of sperm in pre-cum but essentially there is a risk greater than zero of pregnancy from pre-cum. The study had only 40 participants so the data is very limited and unfortunately there aren't a lot of other good studies on this question.
It’s important to also remember that sperm can only make it into the cervix and the uterine tubes when cervical mucus is present (aka a fertile day) and so using withdrawal or "pulling and praying" or pulling out on a fertile day does carry a real risk of pregnancy (as well as STI exposure of course). Withdrawal can be used effectively as a contraceptive method but how effective it is depends on the skill and ability of the person with the penis and whether or not they have sperm in their pre-cum. According to Planned Parenthood, pulling out is about 96% effective when used perfectly but 78% effective with typical use. I don’t believe that these statistics are taking into account whether or not actual ejaculate (cum) got in the vagina versus just pre-cum.
If you want to find out more precisely if you or your partner has sperm in their pre-cum, there is one way you could try assessing it yourself: get a microscope, put a little pre-cum on a slide, and take a peek! (This excellent date night idea brought to you by Samantha Zipporah!)
TL;DR pre-cum might contain sperm and therefore could potentially result in a pregnancy, but how much of a chance of pregnancy is still unknown.
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