There has been a staggering amount of people asking if whichever type of sexual activity they had can lead to pregnancy on this sub, and a lot of people end up impulsively taking the Yuzpe Method, Plan B, or even start worrying about having to terminate a pregnancy when they don’t have to. Read along and learn more about your bodies, this is all important information that can prevent scares and actual pregnancy.

How does this all actually work?

The majority of readers on this sub are surely old enough to know the basic birds and bees, but a lot of people are unaware of the specifics. A woman's menstrual cycle begins with the first day of her monthly period, and that menstruation period is caused by the body shedding uterine lining when the egg remains unfertilized by sperm. There is a select amount of days before the body begins to prepare for ovulation, which is the process of releasing a matured egg from the ovary. On average it occurs 10 to 14 days before the next period, but changes in a cycle can alter how soon or how late ovulation can occur, thus affecting when the next period will come.

The egg moves down to the fallopian tube, in which it stays for 12 to 24 hours. Women have a fertile window, which is what is typically shown on period tracker apps or fertility awareness charts (calendar method). This does not mean you are automatically going to get pregnant during this time, but it does mean that you've got a high chance of pregnancy because it's the general time frame of when you'd be ovulating. (Apps cannot accurately say when this time frame will occur in the month because of possible cycle shifts.)

Sperm cells have a life span of 5 to 7 days, with the sixth and seventh days affecting their strength and motility. When you consider a) the unpredictability of the ovulation period and b) the sperm's survival overlapping with a more "fertile" period, there is a chance of pregnancy. It is worth mentioning that there are women with hormonal disorders such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis, which make it more difficult to get pregnant. There are also men who struggle with sperm production and have reproductive issues. Although it's difficult, it is not impossible for them to conceive.

Risk Level — NONE

• Blowjobs: Swallowing semen will not get you pregnant. There is no way for this act to result in pregnancy, there isn't even any way for fluids to reach the uterus. The biggest risk here would be the risk of getting a sexually transmitted infection (STI) if you are engaging in unprotected oral sex.
• Anal sex: When ejaculation occurs in an anus, it has nowhere to go but back out. There is no connection to the uterus. Despite not being a risk of pregnancy on its own, engaging in unprotected anal sex can place you at high risk of getting an STI.
• Grinding over clothes or underwear: Also known as "dry humping." Contrary to popular belief, sperm cannot swim through clothing.
• Vaginal sex with a condom that stayed intact: You took the necessary steps to protect yourself and your contraceptive of choice did its job. You had successfully protected sex.
• Vaginal sex with an undamaged condom additional protection: With correct use, your condom alone protects you effectively. Adding "bonus steps" increases your protection further, may it be the use of spermicide, pairing with withdrawal, utilizing fertility awareness method (FAM), or using condoms alongside long-acting reversible contraceptives like the pill, the shot, arm implant, or the IUD.
• Vaginal sex while on the pill, the shot (Depo Provera), implant, or the IUD: You are protected with proper and diligent use. If you still feel anxious about having barrier-free sex, this is perfectly normal and you get used to it eventually. If it will ease your anxiety, you can pair it with condoms or withdrawal.
• Vaginal sex on long-acting reversible contraceptives: Whether your birth control of choice is the oral contraceptive pill, the injectable shot, the arm implant, or the IUD, if your preferred contraceptive has taken full effect and you have been using or maintaining it as you're meant to, you are having protected barrier-free (condomless) sex.
• Vaginal sex during the pill-free break or placebo week: As long as you have completed your active pills prior, you are protected. Just ensure your next pack is started on time, otherwise, sex you have during the break or placebo becomes high-risk.
• Barrier-free sex after one delayed pill: If you took it as soon as you remembered, even if you had to take two in one day, your protection is remedied. Refer to your specific pill's instruction pamphlet for information on how to move forward with your pack.

Should I take emergency contraception for No Risk? – NO. If you are considering taking it anyway "just in case," please read this post. Do not unnecessarily subject yourself to large dose of hormones or an invasive procedure without a true need for it.

Risk Level — LOW

• Semen dripped down from the anus: If semen only made contact with the vulva, which is the outer part of the female genitals, this is not a risk of pregnancy. It only increases in risk if semen enters the vaginal opening.
• Semen or pre-cum wiped onto vulva: Unless an undeniably large, heaping amount of semen was directly placed at the vaginal opening, sperm cannot and will not make it up to the uterus through this act. Sperm would die as the fluids dry on your skin before it could do anything else, like get close enough to where it needs to be to get someone pregnant.
• Ejaculating onto or near the vulva: Similarly to the previous scenarios, it's only a big risk if it makes its way into the vaginal opening because from there any fluid from the vagina can aid sperm to swim.
• Ejaculating onto the vulva: Similarly to the previous scenarios, it only becomes a risk of pregnancy if semen makes its way into the vaginal opening.
• Genital rubbing: The act of genital rubbing alone is not a risk of pregnancy, but the level of risk is elevated if full ejaculation directly onto the vagina takes place. As is, the most prominent risk would be getting an STI from engaging in unprotected genital rubbing.
• Fingering after touching pre-cum or semen: Unless a large amount of semen is on the fingers, it’s highly unlikely to get pregnant this way. Similar to the other scenarios, once the fluids dry on your skin, the sperm dies.
• Fingering after touching pre-cum or semen: Unless one was able to hold an undeniably large, heaping amount of fresh fluids on just their fingers, it's highly unlikely (if not fully impossible) to get pregnant this way. Similarly to previous scenarios, once fluids dry on your skin, sperm dies with it.
• Condom was put on the wrong way: It technically still did its job of acting as a barrier between pre-cum/semen and the vagina. However, if it broke because of incorrect wear then the chances of pregnancy rise especially if there was ejaculation.
• Condom broke during insertion or first few minutes of sex: If you acted fast and withdrew immediately, there is very little risk. Again, there is only a higher risk if there was ejaculation prior (residual semen in the condom) or a heavy amount of pre-cum already there from prior sexual activity.

Should I take emergency contraception for Low Risk? – NO. Unless any added risk elevated your situation to a Medium Risk, do not take unnecessary emergency contraception. See the link above.

Risk Level — MEDIUM / MEDIUM HIGH

• Withdrawal Method: With factors such as the amount of sperm carried over to pre-cum, slowly releasing semen without the male partner's awareness, or just inability to pull out in time, this is not a reliable method and can easily become a high-risk situation.
• Period sex with withdrawal: It's more unlikely to get pregnant at the start of the period, but much more likely towards the end. This is because if sperm survives long enough to reach the ovulation period (which again, can occur earlier in the cycle unexpectedly), then it can fertilize the egg.
• ”Just The Tip”: The act of inserting the penis head without protection alone is low risk. However, factors such as ejaculating prior to insertion or staying inserted long enough to produce enough pre-cum heighten it to medium risk.
• Insertion "just to feel what it's like": Similar to the previous point, the risk is in the introduction of sperm that is either likely still on the penis or carried over by pre-cum into an environment where the sperm can swim. It only takes one little sperm cell to cause a pregnancy. Even worse if there's already semen on the penis.
• Sex after one missed pill: If you had missed one active pill and failed to make up for it, either by taking it as soon as possible or doubling up the next day, your protection would be compromised. If you're still within the window in which you can remedy the missed pill, refer to your specific pill's instruction pamphlet on how to proceed.
• Sex after two or more missed pills: Missing two active pills in a row compromises your protection. Having barrier-free sex around this time would be fully unprotected. If you're still within the window in which you can remedy the missed pills, refer to your specific pill's instruction pamphlet on how to proceed.

Should I take emergency contraception for Medium Risk? – YES. There is enough risk in these scenarios to cause a pregnancy. If you want to learn about emergency contraception, proceed to this post.

Risk Level — HIGH

• Sex with ejaculation: The riskiest thing you can do. About 84 out of 100 couples will get pregnant within a year if they have regular sex and don't use any type of contraception. If you do any of the following with ejaculation, they are automatically high risk.
• Period sex: Yes, people have gotten pregnant from period sex. Factors such as your period duration and cycle length can turn into trouble when you consider sperm's lifespan. Also, there have been cases of women mistaking other kinds of bleeding (like ovulation and post-period spotting) as their periods and end up having sex when their body was already ovulating.
• Sex after your period: You are not immediately at risk if your period just ended, however, similarly to period sex an unexpected shift in your cycle can make you ovulate much earlier.
• Condom broke during or after ejaculation: A condom ripping from the base or getting a tear along its body while it holds semen can result in a pregnancy.
• Sex after starting a new pill pack late: Protection from the previous pill pack only lasts as long as the number of active pills and placebo pills or pill-free days. You are not protected after.
• Sex before finishing the waiting period of the pill: If you are taking combo pills and you had sex within the first seven days of the first month, you are not protected. If you are taking progestin-only pills and you had sex within the first 48 hours of the first month, you are not protected. These pills only protect you immediately if you take them at the start of your period.
• Sex after ending birth control pills or the Depo shot: If you have sex towards the end of these birth control methods (especially during the placebo week for pills) and do not get the next pill pack or shot on time, your protection is compromised.
• Sex after missing two pills or more: If you didn't take the missing two pills or missed more than two pills, any sex you had the last five days or seven days after could result in a pregnancy.
• Sex before finishing the waiting period of the implant or the Depo shot: If you do not get either during the start of your period, you have to wait seven days before having barrier-free sex. If you don't, you can get pregnant.

Should I take emergency contraception for High Risk? – YES. Act fast and get it as soon as possible. The sooner you take or get it, the more effective it will be in preventing pregnancy. Proceed to this post.

Before you panic:

• High risk does not mean automatic pregnancy. These scenarios are all dependent on your ovulation window and sperm survival. The reason why there is a risk to all of these is because of their unpredictability. There are also a lot of women who have PCOS and endometriosis but are undiagnosed. If you have very irregular periods or symptoms that suggest you have them, it will lessen your chances of pregnancy. Similarly, there are men who have no idea they have reproductive issues.
• Your app or calendar's prediction of ongoing ovulation is never fully accurate. While this can lead to accidents, it can also be your saving grace.
  • If you happened to not have ovulated yet, emergency contraceptives such as the morning-after pill or the Yuzpe method will still work if taken within 3 days after unprotected sex.
  • If you have ovulated, you can get a copper IUD within 5 days after unprotected sex.
• Take a pregnancy test first. As mentioned earlier, high risk does not mean instant pregnancy. There is always a chance of your body not being in the stage you'd expect it to be, you could still end up not pregnant even with a high-risk encounter.
  • If you wish to take a test as early as possible, 14 days after unprotected sex is the earliest a test can detect. Using your first pee of the day will ensure your urine sample will have a concentrated enough amount of hCG, which is the pregnancy hormone.
  • If you wish to take a test and get the surest result possible, 21 days after unprotected sex and onwards is the most accurate. You can test at any time of the day at this point. Please see the first link for more information on tests.
  • Do not think and worry about anything else until you actually get your results. Save yourself the anxiety and distract yourself until the day you can take a test.
• What if your test turns out positive? Take a deep breath first, and don't do anything impulsive.
  • Do not attempt at-home or do-it-yourself methods of "abortion." You are more likely to harm yourself than your pregnancy. Physically harming yourself, ingesting "pampalaglag" concoctions, or attempting to take your own life will not improve your situation. Please do not do anything rash.
  • Avoid peddlers of MA (medical abortion) pills. A lot of people will take advantage of panicking young women and offer to sell pills that either has a) nothing in them or b) something potentially toxic in them. People who post their "abortion experience" stories that end with the reveal of now being a reseller are untrustworthy.
  • If you need any resources, read this CNN article, which details your options. Organizations such as Women Help Women and Safe2Choose assist women regarding this process and provide vital information you need to know. You can reach out to a women's health group (you can message me for that if you haven't guessed it) for resources, especially for post-abortion care.
  • A lot of women in the Philippines get scared seeing evaporation lines, indent lines, and dye runs in their tests. Feel free to message me if you have questions or doubts about getting a "positive" test. 90% of those who've asked this sub or messaged me directly about abortion didn't even end up truly pregnant in the first place.

I hope this was helpful. I tried my best to compile and explain all the "Am I pregnant from...?" questions I've seen and even personally answered on this sub. Pregnancy scares are not fun, so for your own peace of mind, take precautions and prepare for next time. It's much easier to prevent beforehand than attempt to prevent afterward. Again, give this post a read if you 100% do not want a kid yet. If you have any questions, feel free to reply or send me a message.