Sperm life span (not graphic!)

CEG · May 25, 2005

I am just a student but I have a friend who got pregnant without having intercourse. There was obviously "heavy petting" involved but never penetration. I guess their parents are very religious and were upset and the two wanted to say "But we didn't have sex!!" all throughout. It turned out well as they are happily married with two kids ?

As far as killing sperm, I wouldn't think soap and water would kill/wash them off as douching isn't an effective birth control method. I'm sure it would get rid of more than a few, but they seem like determined little guys ?

KiwiAngel_18 said:
Question to all the OB nuts ? ....
Does washing hands with soap and water kill sperm (or wash it off) immediately? I've searched for an answer for this, and no one seems to know for sure. I'm just wondering if any of you have stories of people in labour that did not have actual intercourse, just "cross-contamination" by touching.

alansmith52 · May 25, 2005

this isn't my genra but I have always thought Heat was reliable enough. hot water on the hands should kill or maim I would think.

CEG said:
I am just a student but I have a friend who got pregnant without having intercourse. There was obviously "heavy petting" involved but never penetration. I guess their parents are very religious and were upset and the two wanted to say "But we didn't have sex!!" all throughout. It turned out well as they are happily married with two kids ?
As far as killing sperm, I wouldn't think soap and water would kill/wash them off as douching isn't an effective birth control method. I'm sure it would get rid of more than a few, but they seem like determined little guys ?

ryanfocker · May 25, 2005

sperm CAN NOT live outside the body for very long at all.

hand washing with soap is extremely effective at removing them from skin.

sperm are NOT determined whatsoever, they swim rather randomly and often bumb into each other. the reason there is so much sperm in a normal ejacualtion(tens of millions) is that they are highly ineffective at finding the egg. with out an extremely high number, implantation would be extremely rare.

those people who say they "didn't have sex" are probably lying or uninformed as to what sex is.

use your common sense? what is more likely? a person lying about a sensitive subject, or nearly all rules of science are suddenly broken for their "miracle baby"?

NurseyBaby'05, BSN, RN · May 25, 2005

ryanfocker said:
use your common sense? what is more likely? a person lying about a sensitive subject, or nearly all rules of science are suddenly broken for their "miracle baby"?

Whoa! Easy there, Trigger! Your post could be easily misconstrued as an attack on the OP. No need to be condescending.

Nurse Ratched, RN · May 25, 2005

I didn't read the post as a personal attack. Let's remember the constraints of the medium - we can't see posters' non-verbal cues.

Back to the original question. :) I think the likelihood is _extremely_ miniscule that someone could become impregnated under the circumstances described, even more so if hands were washed between touching.

CEG · May 25, 2005

I wasn't there but I have reason to believe that two educated 30 year olds who have been married for five years and have two kids know what sex is. There is also no reason for them to lie about it.

There was no handwashing involved in their scenario, I'm not even sure to what degree hands were involved in their case. I really didn't see the need to ask for clarification if you know what I mean ? The OP asked if there was a possibilty of getting pg without intercourse.

I don't think that would be all of the breaking all of the rules of science. Sperm can live outside the body for a few hours so it's certainly not impossible.

ryanfocker said:
sperm CAN NOT live outside the body for very long at all.
hand washing with soap is extremely effective at removing them from skin.
sperm are NOT determined whatsoever, they swim rather randomly and often bumb into each other. the reason there is so much sperm in a normal ejacualtion(tens of millions) is that they are highly ineffective at finding the egg. with out an extremely high number, implantation would be extremely rare.
those people who say they "didn't have sex" are probably lying or uninformed as to what sex is.
use your common sense? what is more likely? a person lying about a sensitive subject, or nearly all rules of science are suddenly broken for their "miracle baby"?

ryanfocker · May 26, 2005

first off, thank you nurse ratched for coming to my defense, i was not meaning to be condescending, i meant it to be matter or fact and to the point. i'm from nj/philly, we often sound mean when we don't try to, sorry for the confusion.

again, the post by ceg would break laws of science. they said their was "heavy petting' involved but no penetration". ok, if semen never "penetrated" the lady parts, then how exactly did a sperm find its way into the lady parts, past the cervix and into the uterine tubes and finally implant itselt in the egg. how do you get to the egg if the lady parts was "never penetrated"? clearly a member, finger or something else penetrated the lady parts, i think we can all agree on that. i suppose it is possible to ejaculate on a hand and quickly ..........i think you get where i'm going. surely this has never been properly studied because of ethical dilemma's; i hope that answers the original question.

as far as lying about sex and knowing the definition of sex. A. people always lie about sex, even married people (bill clinton) B. many people don't know the definition of sex (bill clinton). also many religious people don't properly teach their children about sex, in fact, the leaders of our country don't want to teach kids about sex, only abstinance and the judeo-christian version of intercourse.

i find it very likely that there are people who don't know what sex is and how babies are made, and what condoms are for. i recently had to explain to an acquantance the anatomy of a woman, what condoms are for, and how and when pregnancy occurs. and he is a masters student in an ivy league school getting all A's, and he's 26, and lives in a major city. moreover, i don't believe he is an acception.

i realize this may all sound harsh, but i feel its very realistic. people lie to nurses, doctors, their parents, and to themselves. at times, nurses will need to use their hearts and their heads to figure out fact from fiction.