Can you get pregnant from precum?

What is precum?

Precum – pre-seminal fluid or pre-ejaculate – is the fluid that comes out of a penis during sexual arousal but before ejaculation. A gland in the penis produces the clear, sticky liquid, which neutralizes the acidity in the urethra and vagina, creating a more favorable environment for sperm to travel.

Semen contains sperm, and there's some speculation that some men have a small amount of sperm in their precum, too. But the glands that produce precum don't produce semen, and there's no good evidence showing how sperm would get there. Some researchers suggest that perhaps the semen from a previous ejaculation leaks into the precum, but we have no proof of this.

"Presence of sperm in pre-ejaculate is controversial and when found, very few sperm are found," says Sasha Hakman, M.D.Opens a new window, M.S., an ob-gyn and reproductive endocrinologist in Los Angeles and member of the BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board.

Very little research has been done on the topic. One small study published in the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and GeneticsOpens a new window concluded that precum doesn't contain sperm. This study looked at the sperm of just five men, however.

In another study published in Human FertilityOpens a new window, researchers who looked at 40 samples of precum from 27 men found that 11 of the men produced precum containing sperm. And in 10 of the cases, there were motile sperm (active sperm capable of traveling and fertilizing an egg). The men either always had sperm in their precum, which was collected more than once, or they never did.

Another small study published in the Journal of the Medical Association of ThailandOpens a new window found actively mobile sperm in the precum of 16.7 percent of the 42 healthy Thai men they studied.

Can precum get you pregnant?

It's unlikely – but it is possible get pregnant from precum. Very little precum is likely to contain sperm. However, if it did contain sperm and you had sex at a time when you're fertile, you could get pregnant. Short of having it tested in a lab, there's no way to tell for sure if precum has sperm in it or not. So you'll want to play it safe and use birth control if you don't want to get pregnant.

Distinguishing precum from cum (ejaculate) while you're being intimate is tricky. The man doesn't feel the release of precum and can't control it.

Also, the man may not be able to withdraw in time to prevent cum from entering the vagina. The failure rate for the withdrawal method (or "pulling out," in which the man removes his penis from the woman's vagina before ejaculating) is about 1 in 5.

The Centers for Disease Control and PreventionOpens a new window (CDC) cautions that while the withdrawal method may work for some couples "who are highly motivated and able to use this method effectively," it's more likely to fail than other birth control methods.

How can you avoid getting pregnant from precum?

You'll need to use a reliable birth control method to avoid getting pregnant from precum.

According to Planned ParenthoodOpens a new window, "If you want to prevent pregnancy, put on a condom before your penis and vagina touch. Even better, use both condoms and another kind of birth control together."

You have plenty of options, such as an intrauterine device (IUD), diaphragm, birth control implant, birth control ring, birth control shot, and birth control pills.

Read our contraception articles for information about these and other birth control methods.

If you've had unprotected sex and think you might become pregnant, emergency contraception – an IUD or EC pills – is also an option. Emergency contraception is considered safe and effective and can be used within five days of unprotected sex (though some methods are more effective the sooner you use them).

Learn more:

• Can you get pregnant on birth control?
• Ovulation symptoms
• Pregnancy tests