vaginapagina | Started new HBC pack late

Hey lovely VPers! I have a question and I just can't seem to find the right combination of words in order to find an answer via google. I'm usually very strict about always using two forms of contraception, so I've never really had a pregnancy scare. And I think I might just be paranoid.

So the situation: I've been on TriNessa for forever. I had PIV sex on the 6th day of my placebo pack (last Thursday), which was also the third day of my 4-day withdrawal bleeding. My boyfriend was only in me for like 30 seconds max and then pulled out. (My nerves can't handle pulling out, I'm definitely an HBC + condoms girl.) But he came fairly quickly after, so now I'm freaking out thinking he might've gotten some inside me before he pulled out.

Now the kicker is, in my infinite stupidity, I forgot that I didn't have any refills for my HBC and because my doctors office was closed for the next 4 days (it was Thanksgiving weekend), I didn't get my prescription refilled until the following Wednesday. 5 days late! Gah!

I know that sperm can live in the system for a few days. So I suppose my question is what's the likelihood I got pregnant if I had sex during my withdrawal bleeding/my HBC placebo week and he pulled out, but I didn't start my next pack on time?

Actually I guess the real questions are how long does sperm really live inside of a person? Does a person start ovulating as soon as they are finished their pack or does it vary from person to person? What's the likelihood of getting pregnant during withdrawal bleeding? And is there a Birth Control for Dummies-type site?!

I'm more curious than worried, I've been oddly fascinated by birth control recently! Thanks in advance. :)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Apologies on my lack of information but I am under the impression that the pill (brand notwithstanding) is all about preventing ovulation in the first place and that your 5 days of placebo are not about the eggs so much as your fluxes. IOW, you don't produce mature eggs so while you still get a period, it's just flushing you out for your next cycle.

So, my guess is that there is a very low liklihood of you being anywhere near pregnant if up until the placebo section, you'd been taking it regularly.

Ask.com had this to say:
The two hormones in the combined oral contraceptive pill, oestrogen and progestogen work on several levels to prevent pregnancy. Primarily, the Pill works by stopping ovulation (the release of an egg from the ovary). If an egg is not released then of course conception cannot take place. As a back-up, the Pill also makes the mucus released by the cervix thicker so the sperm cannot get through and thins the lining of the uterus so a fertilised egg has difficulty implanting. (FROM http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Do_you_ovulate_while_you%27re_on_birth_control_pills)

Ah, that's what I thought! My only worry was that I somehow have frisky ovaries which woke up quickly and my boyfriend had very hardy sperm. I really have no evidence that either is true though! Thank you for the reply. :)

My pleasure.

P.S. Love your tagline.

Edited 2011-12-03 04:31 (UTC)

Basically, sperm lives anywhere from a few hours to up to 10 days in the lab (with that researcher believing similar lifespans are possible in the wild). Mostly it seems to live somewhere between 3-7 days, with the longer lifespans in good conditions. (And it's true that your system is not "good conditions" while you're on HBC.)

Meanwhile, some enthusiastic ovaries ovulate very quickly and some take months. There's no telling which yours are, unfortunately.

So it's not a zero chance, but it sounds like the withdrawal was reasonably successful, and of course there's no guarantee that you have those perky ovaries.

I'd say, for reassurance, take a pregnancy test 19 days after the sex in question. If you're in the US, Dollar Tree Store tests are well-liked by peeonastick.com. The result is pretty darn likely to be reassuring.

Ah, I have some pregnancy tests on hand & I will certainly test as soon as I can. Thank you! :)

But he came fairly quickly after, so now I'm freaking out thinking he might've gotten some inside me before he pulled out.

Please be aware that Cowper's fluid ("pre-cum") can contain sperm, so a 'successful' withdraw even well before orgasm in no way ensures that active sperm have not been deposited.

In this instance, pregnancy sounds unlikely due to the other factors. HBC + condoms are a great combo - if you stick with them, you'll probably never have another scare. Planned Parenthood's site I'm sure has a nice overview of BC info. Good luck!

Oh, I know! That's the reason I don't know how people can stand using withdrawal as their primary contraceptive method. :/ I just need to learn to keep my condom stash well-stocked from now on!

If you visit the Vulvapedia you'll find links to studies which concluded that pre-cum does not contain sperm. http://www.vaginapagina.com/index.php?title=Non-Hormonal_Birth_Control#The_Withdrawal_.28Pull-Out.29_Method

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/klu/jarg/2003/00000020/00000004/00461193
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12286905?dopt=Abstract

Since the information we share with one another in this particular comm can bear on important and high-consequence matters, it would probably be helpful in this milieu to choose your language more wisely - it has assuredly not been "concluded that pre-cum does not contain sperm" as you say. Two studies - one with a pool of less than twenty subjects, and one which actually showed sperm (albeit possibly non motile) to be PRESENT in Cowper's fluid - does not a scientific consensus make. You might note the specific terms of the 1993 sampling:

"Thus, only a couple of sperm, assuming motility, would reach the fallopian tubes in the case of the pre ejaculate samples with some sperm, which tended to be immobile (sperm levels only in the 1000s). Thus, the probability of pregnancy is very low if pre-ejaculate fluid enters the vagina."

Low does not equal zero. If you're that one woman in ten thousand facing an unwanted pregnancy b/c of awol sperm in Cowper's, the semantic difference between 'unlikely' and 'impossible' will be felt very keenly.

The bottom line is that even if most men's pre-ejaculate is clear of sperm most of the times they're engaged in coitus, there *are* times when it is present in it, and that is a fact that women and men should use in their decision making process regarding using withdrawal as a form of b.c. Even the page you cite to make your claim contradicts your stance: "the possibility remains that, in real life encounters, small amounts of sperm may be present in a male's pre-ejaculatory fluid."

All of this is not to nitpick, but to clarify what I felt could be a misleading and potentially dangerous statement.

They did, in fact "conclude" that...I merely copied the language they used. Certainly said nothing of a scientific consensus--just said there were a couple of studies.

I appreciate your thoroughness and I'm glad you looked at the studies, but I would also remind you that every method of birth control has a failure rate. I never used the words impossible or zero. I think your initial comment was alarmist, especially presented as it was to a person using withdrawal as backup. You seem to indicate that even use as backup is unacceptable, suggesting that HBC with condoms will prevent another scare, but the significance of switching withdrawal for condoms as a backup to HBC is pretty small once you do the math.

Birth control pills do not prevent ovulation 100% of the time, but you did not see the need to remind the OP of that. I think it's important to be realistic about the failure rates of all methods--for withdrawal that's 27% with typical use and 4% with perfect use. For the pill it's 8% and 0.3%. For condoms it's 15% and 2%.

Started new HBC pack late

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