Body Vibes Q&A

Birth Control 101

There are always risks associated with any type of sexual behavior. You always run the risk of coming in contact and contracting a sexually transmitted disease. Some diseases are easily treated with one quick trip to the Doctor. However, some STD's are not curable, and one disease - AIDS - can be fatal. Given the potential consequences for risky sexual behavior it is wise to protect your body. Before you and your partner engage in sexual activity - whether it's petting or actual intercourse it might be a good idea for both of you to be tested for STD's. The tests are relatively inexpensive and can be performed by most Doctors or your local Planned Parenthood office. If both of you test negative for STD's you're probably safe - although AIDS can lay dormant for quite some time before it will show up on an AIDS test. For that reason many Doctors and health professionals recommend using a latex condom for at least six months after the initial test. If both you and your partner are exclusive you can get re-tested after six months.

The risk of pregnancy depends on many factors. The health and fertility of both individuals involved, for example, can play a substantial role in whether or not a woman becomes pregnant. All other factors aside, pregnancy can only occur if semen comes in contact with the egg. The most efficient way to make this happen is to have unprotected sexual intercourse. Sperm have one function in their short lives - to reach the female egg. They are powerful swimmers, and they don't stop until they either reach the egg, or they die. The result is that you don't have to deposit sperm right at the opening to the cervix. Once semen is ejaculated each sperm cell begins it's life mission - to find the egg. They do have the ability to travel from near or even outside the opening to the vagina all the way through the cervix opening to the waiting egg. The farther the sperm have to travel though, the more unlikely pregnancy becomes, and the farther away from an ideal environment (warm and moist) the sperm are deposited the more likely it is that they will not reach their destination.

So the short answer is yes, it is possible to become pregnant without ever having had sexual intercourse. The realistic answer is that it is unlikely. But even the possibility of pregnancy from sexual relations (even if intercourse is not involved) is enough to make it wise to protect yourself.