Aunt Vadge: he slipped it in without a condom – can I be pregnant?

Hi Aunt Vadge,

Me and my boyfriend got pretty horny and he slipped it in without a condom. I’m only a week away from my period. I’m so stressed.

Is there any way I’m pregnant? We didn’t go for long and he didn’t cum.

Yours,
Stressed
Age: 15
Country: USA

________

Hi Stressed,

You are right to be worried about this slip-up resulting in an unwanted pregnancy, though the chances are relatively low. Here’s how it works.

Some guys have pre-cum that is fertile, while others do not. According to research, a guy will either have fertile pre-cum his whole life, or he will not. The problem is, without getting his pre-cum tested, it’s impossible to know if your boyfriend has fertile pre-cum or not.

If he does, and you were in your fertile window around ovulation, then it’s possible that you could have become pregnant. If he doesn’t have fertile pre-cum, then you’re probably not pregnant.

Because you were a week out from your period, it’s possible that you may have still been in the fertile stage of your cycle. As you can see, this was a risky move by you both!

Keep in mind that people do this all the time and don’t end up pregnant. In fact, many of us spent our teenage years and 20s doing exactly this (and far worse) without getting pregnant, but we freaked out literally every month. It’s exhausting searching endlessly online for the most minor of early pregnancy symptoms and micromanaging your body for any sign. If you use a condom, you don’t have to worry, and that’s really nice, but can take a while to learn.

But, some people are unlucky in this regard and pre-cum, no matter how short the exposure, results in a pregnancy, so hopefully, this is not you!

You probably aren’t pregnant, but it is possible. While I know it’s going to be hard, try not to freak out in the interim until your period arrives. I mean this. You are going to be really scared that you are pregnant, which is normal. Hopefully, your period comes soon so you can relax.

What you should both take away from this is that you need to always always always use a condom and don’t let a penis near your vagina without one. While it is fun and feels delicious, bareback sex without birth control, will at some point = pregnancy. You are playing Russian Roulette with your fertility.

Protect yourself and your body and make it a rule that you both stick to religiously. Also, learn when you are in the fertile stage of your cycle so you can better determine whether any risks you take could result in a pregnancy or not.

Learning when you ovulate is an important task for every woman in her life, so do some reading and start tracking your symptoms throughout your cycle.

You can learn how to tell when you are ovulating here, but use a period tracker app or calendar to figure out when your fertile phase is likely to be. Don’t use this religiously – you could ovulate at a different time than you think, so if there is any doubt whatsoever, use a condom. It’s not worth the stress!

Let me know when your period comes!

Best,
Aunt Vadge