Women can get pregnant from anal sex (yes, really)
Sneaking in the back door can usually feel like a safe bet. You’re less likely to run into trouble.
However, when it comes to anal sex
, that’s not necessarily the case. And, if you’re not trying for a baby
, you need to heed this warning.
Yes, you can get pregnant
from doing anal. While the chances may be low, they aren’t out of the question, and you don’t want to get caught with your pants down.
Pregnancy could happen for one of two reasons: cross-contamination or cloacal malformation.
So, let’s slide right in to a little bit of sex ed…
‘Cloacal malformation is a rare congenital condition where the rectum, vagina, and urinary tract are fused into a single common channel rather than having separate openings.’
This is what Dr Donald Grant, GP and senior clinical adviser at The Independent Pharmacy
tells Metro.
This means that if you were attempting to have anal, you could easily get pregnant too.
‘This complex condition usually requires surgical intervention shortly after birth to create separate openings and correct the anatomical abnormalities,’ he adds.
It affects about one in every 50,000 live births, meaning that with about 700,000 babies born in the UK each year, there will be 14 cases annually.
But there has been a case of cloacal malformation
that lead to pregnancy. Back in 2016, Dr Brian Steixner, a urologist at the Jersey Urology Group in Atlantic City, told Men’s Health he had actually treated a pregnant woman with the rare condition when he was a medical student.
The woman had an operation when she was younger to separate the channels, but it went wrong. The surgery caused a fistula, where a tiny hole is formed creating a connection between two organs.
In this case, the woman’s womb became connected to her rectum. The woman, confused to discover that she had fallen pregnant, told doctors she had only had anal sex before getting pregnant.
All was fine in the end, and the woman delivered her baby via c-section.
If you do have cloacal malformation surgery when you’re young, it can affect your sex life and fertility to varying degrees depending on the success of the procedure, according to Dr Grant.
He explains that anatomical and functional differences could affect your sexual encounters, and your fertility, but remaining in constant contact with your healthcare provider will enable you to address these concerns.
Dr Grant says: ‘Some women with cloacal malformation may have irregular menstrual cycles or other gynaecological issues that could affect ovulation and conception.
‘In such cases, fertility treatments such as ovulation induction or IVF might be necessary.’
If you are pregnant with cloacal malformation, it could be high-risk because of potential complications from reconstructed anatomy.
‘Careful monitoring by an obstetrician with experience in high-risk pregnancies is essential to ensure the best possible outcome for both mother and baby,’ Dr Grant adds.
You can also get pregnant from anal sex if semen or pre-ejaculate fluid comes into contact with the vaginal opening.
‘This could occur if semen leaks out of the anus and drips towards the vagina, particularly if a woman is lying down or in certain positions that facilitate this movement, such as doggy style or spooning,’ Dr Grant explains.
It could also happen if semen is transferred via fingers or sex toys that are used during anal then inserted into the vagina without being cleaned.
The golden rule of sex toys: always clean them properly after use!
Dr Grant says: ‘While the exact odds of this happening aren’t well-documented due to the rarity of such occurrences, the general consensus in the medical community is that, though possible, it is an uncommon way to conceive.
‘In other words, the probability of this leading to pregnancy is quite low compared to vaginal intercourse.’
To give a rough idea, the likelihood is far lower than the approximately 20% chance of conception from unprotected vaginal intercourse during a woman’s fertile period.
The moral of the story though is to use condoms during anal sex and switch to a new condom if you’re going to have vaginal sex after.
Oral contraception, the patch or IUD’s are also worth thinking about if you are having sex, and don’t want a baby – although these won’t protect against STIs.
