Help! Could I be Pregnant?
At SexInfo, we answer a lot of questions about whether or not a woman could be pregnant due to a variety of different situations. For examples, check out our Pregnancy FAQs or our Pregnancy Q&As. The frequency of these questions has demonstrated to us that we need to clearly spell out what has to happen for a woman to become pregnant. This article summarizes the key points, and then provides more information about those points. Much of the information in this article will overlap with our FAQs and Q&As, but we have put all of the relevant information into one article in an effort to provide a clear outline of how a woman can become pregnant. This article does not contain information about in vitro fertilization or surrogate mothers; it is directed towards those who wish to avoid pregnancy.
There are four things that need to happen for a woman to become pregnant. If all of these things happen, through any means, then the woman is pregnant:
- Sperm enter the vagina,
- where they swim through the cervix and uterus into the fallopian tubes,
- where one sperm meets an egg and fertilizes it (this is called conception),
- then the fertilized egg travels to the uterus and implants itself into the uterine wall.
Step 1: Sperm enter the vagina
**Note: please see the Anatomy section for more information about the different parts of the male and female body.**
- If sperm enter the vagina, then they are in a position to complete the other three steps.
- If they only reach the vulva (the outer genital area), they can still swim up to the vagina and continue on. However, this is much more difficult, so the chance of pregnancy is much smaller.
- Cowper