What are the chances of getting pregnant from precum?

Even with the best intentions, it can be easy to get swept up in the moment during sex and not use a condom from start to finish. Try not to beat yourself up about it. These things happen. 

But if you don’t want to get pregnant right now, you might be feeling worried. Maybe you’re confident your partner didn’t ejaculate, but what about precum (also known as pre-ejaculate)? Let’s find out what it is and whether it can lead to pregnancy.

Key takeaways

• It is possible for pre-ejaculate to contain sperm from previous ejaculations, so there is a small chance you could get pregnant from precum. 
• The pullout method (when someone takes their penis out of your vagina before they ejaculate) is not foolproof. Almost a quarter of couples who use it will get pregnant after one year.
• For peace of mind, you can take emergency contraception after using the pullout method, but the best way to avoid pregnancy is to start using a regular form of birth control.

What is pre-ejaculate (precum)?

“Pre-ejaculate is a clear fluid that presents at the tip of the penis before ejaculation when a man is sexually aroused,” says Dr. Charlsie Celestine, obstetrician and gynecologist, New Jersey, US. Ejaculation, on the other hand, is when semen (a sticky substance containing sperm) comes out of a penis during orgasm.  

The fluid in pre-ejaculate (which usually only amounts to a few drops at a time) may seem insignificant, but it actually has a pretty big role to play in the path to baby making. Acting as a natural lube, pre-ejaculate is produced in glands along the urethra (the tube where urine exits the body from the bladder) to help sperm pass through safely when ejaculation happens.

Urine can make the environment in the urethra too acidic for sperm to survive, so the alkaline pre-ejaculate helps to neutralize this. And that’s key to how it’s sometimes possible to get pregnant from pre-cum. 

While pre-ejaculate and semen are not the same thing, pre-ejaculate can contain live sperm, so there is still a chance you could get pregnant from precum. Some researchers believe that this is because pre-ejaculate can get mixed up with sperm from previous ejaculations as it passes through the urethra. It’s also possible that some people may just regularly leak sperm into their pre-ejaculate.

What are the chances of getting pregnant from precum? 

As pre-ejaculate doesn’t necessarily always contain sperm, it’s hard to say what the exact chance of getting pregnant from precum would be. “But it’s not zero,” says Dr. Celestine. “If penetration happens, and there’s pre-ejaculate, then there is a chance of pregnancy.”

She adds, “The majority of the time, there is no sperm in pre-ejaculate fluid. A small study in 2016 found that 16.7% of men had active sperm in their pre-ejaculate fluid. Another small study in 2011 found active sperm in 37% of its participants.” 

So the risk is there, even if it’s small. If knowing this is making you anxious, try not to panic. There are still ways to prevent pregnancy after having unprotected sex, including taking emergency contraception (sometimes known as the morning-after pill).

Is precum likely to cause pregnancy even without penetration?

Getting pregnant from non-penetrative sex is highly unlikely and one of the common pregnancy misconceptions. Having said that, it’s not 100% impossible. 

Try not to worry, though. Given that the chances of pregnancy from precum are already low, Dr. Celestine says that you’re not likely to get pregnant from pre-ejaculation without penetration.

What if you use the pullout method?

Some people choose to use the pullout method (also known as withdrawal) to avoid pregnancy. It involves your partner taking their penis out of your vagina before they ejaculate. But this isn’t the most reliable method of birth control, as your partner will produce pre-ejaculate (which could contain sperm) sometime before they ejaculate. 

Unlike an actual ejaculation, most people can’t feel it when they pre-ejaculate. “You can see pre-ejaculation at the top of the penis,” adds Dr. Celestine, “but most people don’t pay attention to it and would miss it.”

Plus, there’s a lot of room for error with the pullout method, so it’s unrealistic to expect to use this method perfectly every time. It can be hard for your partner to know for sure when they’re going to ejaculate. Even if they’re very sexually experienced, things like alcohol or stress can easily lead to mistakes. 

For these reasons, the pullout method isn’t recommended for birth control. In fact, the typical-use failure rate of withdrawal is 22%, meaning 22 out of 100 couples would get pregnant after a year of using the method. “The pullout method is unreliable in general,” says Dr. Celestine. “It’s the worst way to try to prevent pregnancy.”

What if you’re using contraception?

If you had unprotected sex without a condom but are using another kind of contraception correctly, then you will still be protected from pregnancy. The birth control pill, for example, has a perfect-use failure rate of only 0.3% and a typical-use failure rate of 7%. However, it’s important to know that you won’t be protected from sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as condoms are the only type of birth control that can prevent the spread. 

If you’re worried you might have caught an STI, get yourself tested as soon as you can. Most STIs are easily diagnosed and treated, so a positive result is not the end of the world. STIs are also incredibly common, impacting millions of people in the United States every year, and they’re nothing to be ashamed of.

When are you most likely to get pregnant?

In case it’s been a while since your last sex education class, let’s recap. You’re most likely to get pregnant by having unprotected sex during your fertile window. This takes place around ovulation, which is when your body releases an egg so it can get fertilized by a sperm. Your fertile window lasts for six days and includes the five days before ovulation, plus one day after. 

Now, ovulation happens midway through your menstrual cycle. In an average 28-day cycle, this will be around day 14. But not many of us fit this 28-day average. In fact, one study found that only 12.4% of women have regular cycles of this length. This means that for most of us, figuring out our fertile window requires a little math and ovulation-tracking methods. Logging your periods and symptoms in a cycle-tracking app like Flo is one way to get to know your unique cycle better. 

However, it’s super important to know that avoiding unprotected sex during your fertile window is not a reliable way to avoid pregnancy. This is because the timing of when you ovulate each month can vary. 

Sometimes called the rhythm method, avoiding sex during your fertile window has a typical-use failure rate of 12% to 24%. In other words, in the first year of typical use, up to a quarter of women who rely on it will become pregnant anyway. 

Those are not great odds when you consider the fact that some forms of birth control — like intrauterine devices (IUDs) or the implant — have a typical-use failure rate of less than 1%. The bottom line is that if you don’t want to have a baby right now, starting birth control is the best way forward.

What to do if you’re worried about pregnancy via precum

If you’re feeling anxious about whether you could have gotten pregnant from pre-ejaculate, remember that the risk of pregnancy is likely to be low. But as there is still a chance that your partner’s pre-ejaculate contains sperm, you may want to take emergency contraception. 

Should you take emergency contraception for precum?

“Yes, you can technically, as pregnancy is possible from pre-ejaculate,” says Dr. Celestine. “But emergency contraception should not be used as a form of contraception. If you aren’t using condoms from start to finish — or are just using the pullout method — without the desire to become pregnant, then you should start a birth control method.”

There are two different types of emergency contraception: the copper IUD and emergency contraceptive pills (ECPs). The sooner you can take one of these methods, the better, but depending on which type you choose, it’ll need to be within three to five days after having unprotected sex to be effective. 

Depending on where you live, you might be able to get an ECP over the counter. If not, your health care provider can prescribe one for you. Meanwhile, if you want a copper IUD — a small T-shaped device that sits in your uterus — it’ll need to be inserted by a doctor. 

This might feel like more of a hassle to begin with, but a copper IUD can protect you from pregnancy for up to 10 years once it has been inserted and can be removed at any time. So to avoid further pregnancy panics in the future, this can be a great option.

Should you take a pregnancy test?

“Yes, always take a pregnancy test if there is a chance of pregnancy, meaning that you have missed your period and have been having unprotected intercourse,” says Dr. Celestine. You may be tempted to take a pregnancy test right away, but the tests are most accurate after the first day of a missed period (which can be one of the very early signs of pregnancy). Our period calculator can help you figure out when your next period is due. 

Waiting to see if you get a late period when you’re worried about pregnancy can be really tough. If you’ve taken emergency contraception within the correct time frame, know that it’s highly effective at stopping you from getting pregnant. But either way, be extra kind to yourself during the wait and know that many (if not most) of us will likely have been through similar things before.

Note: Ovulation predictions should never be used for birth control