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How Likely is It to Get Pregnant from Your First Time?

Author :- TickleLife Editorial Team Sept. 1, 2021, 5:29 p.m.
How Likely is It to Get Pregnant from Your First Time?

As you decide to get intimate with your opposite-sex partner and take things a step further, a question that you might have will be, "how likely is it to get pregnant from your first time?" 

Well, the simple answer to the question is there is a chance of getting pregnant, whether it be your first time or the hundredth time having sex. However, it would depend on different factors, which come into play while having first-time sex. We will be discussing them in detail in a few seconds. 

What are the Chances of Getting Pregnancy During Your First Time?

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Photo by Deon Black on Unsplash

When you consider the chances of getting pregnant during your first time, it is around 30%. However, it can fluctuate depending on different factors. Your age, intercourse timing during your natural cycle, and subfertility duration are some components. 

As per a study, if you are between 35 and 39 years, your chances of conceiving during your first time becomes half while considering it with 19 to 26 years. Other than that, the conception rate would also decrease by 5% every year. Even then, these factors can depend upon your health, age, and other components.

The timing of intercourse during your menstrual cycle can also have a crucial role to play when it comes to conception. If you have unprotected sex during your ovulation window, your chances of getting pregnant are higher. However, it doesn't mean that you cannot get pregnant if you have sex during other times. It is because it is not always possible for you to be sure of when you are ovulating.

Even though there are methods for calculating ovulation based on your periods, they may not be accurate all the time. But, you can always use an ovulation test. By using it, you can figure out your time of ovulation based on the hormones. Regardless, to reduce the chances of getting pregnant, you have to take the necessary precautions.

There are six days in total in your ovulation window, where the last day is the day of ovulation. Your body would release one dominant egg per month. Sometimes it can be more than one. Here, there would be a 24 hours window, which is suitable for conception. 

During this time, your uterine lining would get thicker, and the cervix would become thinner. This thinning of the cervix acts as a facilitator for the sperms to swim and move towards the egg. At this time, if you have sex, where the pre-ejaculate or ejaculate reaches the vagina or vulva, it would increase the chances of pregnancy. Even though you might adopt the pull-out method, it won't be a viable shield when you have intercourse with an opposite-sex partner. 

As per a recent study, the chances of conception would rise six days before ovulation. However, there is a considerable increase in getting pregnant if you have intercourse two days before ovulation. After that, there will be a decrease in the chances of conceiving. 

Another important factor to consider is sperms can live up to five days. It means that even if you decide to have unprotected sex merely based on the calculated dates, the chances of getting pregnant will still be present. 

Apart from pregnancy, unprotected sex can pave the way for contracting Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STIs). In the US, the average age of losing virginity among women is 17.4 years. However, most of them don't have protected sex due to various reasons, which increases the chances of teen pregnancy and STIs. 

Besides that, as per this study, the chances of contracting STIs are higher among younger people. Hence, it shows that there is a need for using measures to improve protected sex among youngsters.

How can You Reduce the Chances of Getting Pregnant?

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Photo by Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition on Unsplash

There are different ways by which you can reduce the chances of having an unintended pregnancy. They include:

  • Discussing with Your Partner

Before you have your first-time sex with your opposite-sex partner, engage in an open discussion. You can discuss the need for using contraception and evaluate the different choices you have. It is best to cross-check the efficiency of using different contraceptive methods. For instance, most male condoms offer 98% efficiency, which is higher than most other contraception available in the market. 

Even though oral contraception can reduce the chances of pregnancy, they are not beneficial for protecting you from unprotected sex. Along with that, it is helpful to find out the correct way to use contraceptive measures, especially condoms. If used wrongly, it might not be beneficial for you in protecting from STIs or unwanted pregnancies during your first-time sex.

  • Using Contraceptives

As we discussed, there are different contraceptive options available. However, it is all about choosing a method that works well for you and your partner. Male condoms seem to have a higher efficiency, which is, as we mentioned earlier, 98%. However, it might alter depending on the type of condoms you use. For contraceptive pills, the efficiency is 75%. You can consider pills as an option to avoid pregnancy. 

However, as per the report for 2015 to 2017 by the National Survey of Family Growth, one of the common contraceptive measures used is female sterilization. Condoms are the least preferred option, which was 8.7%. This research survey was conducted among 72.2 million women in the US between the age group of 15 to 49.

  • Providing Better Sex Education

According to a study conducted among community college students in the US, one-third of the graduates showed a higher risk of unintended pregnancy. However, they had a strong desire to avoid pregnancy and considered themselves at low risk. But, in reality, most of them indulged in unprotected sex. 

Besides that, there are numerous misconceptions related to sex and pregnancy. One among them is that you can't get pregnant if you have sex for the first time. It is high time that we remove these misconceptions and myths, which can be brought forward with the implementation of proper sex education. It is something that has to be done from a community or society level. 

Through this, everyone can gain theoretical guidance and awareness about sex and sexual wellness. It would help in gaining a better understanding of using contraceptive measures correctly and effectively. Besides that, it is also a strategy that you can adopt to avoid unintended pregnancies.

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