You Can't Get Pregnant if You Stand Up... Or Can You?

I wanted to share this antidotal story from one of my readers concerning birth control myths. Janelle wrote:

I really enjoy reading your About Contraception Newsletter. I look forward to receiving it..... I have to tell you a funny anecdote about my conception of my son in January, 1990. I was trying desperately to get pregnant. It took me so long I thought that I was infertile. We tried and tried, but nothing was happening.

Then the evening in January 1990...the night I got pregnant, I did something much different after sex than I used to do. That night, instead of getting up after making love and going to the bathroom to clean up and pee, that night I laid in bed, rolled over and went right to sleep.

About a month later, I found out I was pregnant and I truly believe that I got pregnant [because] I didn't get out of bed to go to the bathroom. I didn't stand up, therefore the sperm was able to get to the egg in a better fashion. Doesn't that sound like a myth to you..., but for me....It worked!!

I wanted to spend a moment clarifying the facts in Suzy's statement as well as the myths claiming that your sexual position can prevent you from getting pregnant.  A recommendation when trying to get pregnant is for a woman to stay lying down for about 30 minutes, after sex, with a pillow under her bottom to elevate the pelvis. This allows for gravity to help "pull" the sperm down towards the egg. By Suzy not getting up to after having sex, this allowed the sperm to more easily and quickly reach their destination. When one stands up after sex, gravity may help to pull some of the sperm away from the egg. This being said, simply being in an upright position is not enough to prevent pregnancy. Sperm are tough swimmers and can work against gravity. They are also quick, so by the time a woman would get up after having horizontal sex, millions of sperm will have already made great strides towards their search for an egg.

The moral to Suzy's story: remaining in a horizontal position after sex may aid in becoming pregnant, yet this does not then imply that being in a vertical (upright) position will prevent a pregnancy. A woman can become pregnant regardless to sexual position and immediate "bathroom runs" after sex.

Please Share: What Birth Control Myths Have You Heard (or Think) Are True?

More Myths:

• Common Contraception Questions
• Birth Control Misconceptions
• Top 10 Birth Control Pill Myths
• Myths About Jacuzzis and Hot Tubs

_{Photo Reprinted with Permission from DELC}