What is pre-ejaculation? Is it sperm or not? Can you start from it? Are the stakes high? Is there anything else besides the pregnancy? Let's talk about everything in order.
What is pre-ejaculation?
Pre-ejaculate, he is pre-seminal fluid, he is also pre-semen, he is also Cooper's fluid - this is a transparent secret that is released from the penis in a state of sexual excitement. Cooper's glands and Littre's glands, located near the urethra, the same tube through which sperm and urine leave a man's body, are thought to produce pre-semen.
Amin Gerati, MD, a urologist at Johns Hopkins University, explains that pre-cum prepares the urethra for the passage of semen. The fact is that urine creates an acidic environment, which is very hostile to sperm. Pre-seminal fluid is needed to neutralize residual acidity and make the path safe for the seed. In general, consider precum as an artist opening for the show's main headliner.
Wait, so is there any sperm in the pre-semen?
No, they don't live there. But these little sources of trouble can remain in the urethra if your partner ejaculates before sex - especially if he doesn't urinate afterwards. And if all the stars align, Cooper's fluid could very well transport live sperm into your vagina.
"Usually, that's not enough, " says Dr. Geraghty. "The chance of pregnancy from pre-semen is very low, but it's never zero. "
There is not as much research on this topic as we would like. In 2013, the journal Human Fertility published the results of one of them: scientists tested 40 pre-ejaculatory samples provided by 27 men. Live sperm were found in the pre-semen of 41% of the participants. True, you cannot call them first class: only 37% were mobile enough to make the trip to the womb.
The study authors noted that all but one of the "samples" contained up to 23 million sperm. It sounds ominous, but it's actually not a number to be feared. In 2010, WHO examined the semen of 1, 953 men who had women pregnant during the previous year, and only 2. 5% of these men had less than 23 million sperm in their semen.
And why are we still talking about pre-ejaculation?
The issue of pre-sperm is usually raised in relation to the interruption method (also known as coitus interruptus - like the name of a dinosaur, isn't it? ), which couples often use for contraception. It consists of the fact that the man removes the penis from the vagina just before ejaculation to minimize the risk of pregnancy.
As you probably guessed, this is not the most effective protection method: its reliability is only 78% with "normal" (not ideal) performance. And it certainly doesn't protect against STDs. But pre-semen is hardly to blame for the dubiousness of the "do-it-yourself" method: there are no studies that could answer the question of when pregnancy occurred due to pre-semen, and when - because of sperm, the fall of which still ended in the vagina due to carelessness of the man.
So the problem is not that pre-semen contains a lot of sperm that can get pregnant. The issue is that it is very difficult to use the interrupt method perfectly. If you are concerned about two lines, choose condoms that have a 2% failure rate. Also, make sure your partner puts on the condom before his penis is in your vagina.
If you are going to resort to interruption, remember: this requires trust in the lover. Are you sure he's in control of himself and will always follow the rules you've established together? Discuss emergency contraception: don't forget that it is more expensive than condoms, and if you choose to stop on the economy, you may have problems.
And, of course, there are STDs. If you've both been tested and you don't have unprotected sex with other people, then you've done everything you can to avoid these diseases. But if these two points are not met, then this should be taken into account: without barrier contraception, it is very easy to catch something unpleasant.
And the infection occurs independently of ejaculation. For example, gonorrhea and chlamydia often have discharge from the genital tract that can transmit infection, and for some STDs, skin-to-skin contact is sufficient. Condoms do not protect against the latter, but they help to reduce the number of contacts.
Well, let's summarize. Precum is a very interesting thing that serves a specific purpose. Science still cannot reliably answer the question of how great the risk of getting pregnant from him is, but it doesn't matter. The bottom line is that if you rely on the termination method and don't use condoms, you risk getting pregnant and getting STDs. If this thought scares you, talk to your doctor: he will help you choose the means of protection that best suits your lifestyle.