Patient's question:
I have been having sexual intercourse with my boyfriend for a long time, and we have never gotten pregnant before. Last night, we had sexual intercourse again. After that, I didn't take emergency contraception in time. But today is my ovulation period. I don't know how long sperm can survive in my body, and I don't know if I might get pregnant. What kind of help do I need: How long can sperm survive in the body?Doctor's answer:
Sperm will not cause pregnancy unless it meets an egg. Generally speaking, sperm survive in the vagina for no more than 6 hours, and some are filtered out as they pass through the cervix. When they reach the uterine cavity, some sperm may be stored around the uterine glands, while others are phagocytosed by white blood cells. The isthmus of the fallopian tube also restricts sperm from entering the tube. Ultimately, only 15 to 50 sperm reach the site of fertilization, with the arrival time occurring approximately 30 to 90 minutes after intercourse.Once sperm enter the uterus, they leave the semen and face suboptimal survival conditions compared to when they are in semen, significantly shortening their lifespan. Although active sperm can still be found in cervical mucus within five days after intercourse, the fertilizing capacity of sperm diminishes before their motility. Therefore, it is believed that sperm retain their fertilizing capacity in the female reproductive tract for about 48 hours.