Can a woman get pregnant if the condom slips off after sex?

Last updated on August 18, 2020

Question:

Can a woman get pregnant if the condom slips off after sex? Can spilled sperm get a woman pregnant?

Answer:

The possibility certainly exists. People use condoms in the hope of avoiding sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. But condoms can and do fail. One way condoms fail is if the man doesn’t withdraw his penis immediately after sex. Condoms are held in place because an erect penis is large. After orgasm, a man’s penis returns to its normal size and so the condom easily slips off. In addition, the flaccid penis no longer seals the sides of the condom, so semen can spill out. If the condom is not carefully removed after the man withdraws, there exists a strong possibility of spillage.

Even after the removal of a condom, the possibility of pregnancy remains. Couples often continue to lie together after sex. The end of the man’s penis was in contact with his semen. If some of that semen ends up in or near the woman’s vagina, she could get pregnant. It only takes one sperm to fertilize a woman’s egg.

It is true that the odds of this happening are slim, but it not impossible, and cases of this happening have been recorded. This is why condoms only lower the possibility of getting pregnant in a year’s time to 20%. (A healthy couple trying to have a child have an 85% chance of conceiving a baby in one year.)

This is one of many reasons why sex outside of marriage should be avoided. People use condoms in an attempt to commit fornication without facing the natural consequences of this sin. The reality is that though they are decreasing the possibilities of a consequence occurring, they are not able to totally eliminate them. There is no such thing as “safe sex” when sex takes place outside of marriage.