Websites say sperm CAN live up to 5 days max; did your OWN experience confirm / refute this?

[Alia_in_FL]

Websites say sperm CAN live up to 5 days; did your OWN experience confirm / refute this? I'm researching this topic (lifespan of sperm once deposited "indoors"). Some sites say 2 days; some say 3 days; some say up to 5 days max. What has been your experience in this department?

[Butter]

All our kids were conceived on purpose. I was charting so I know when I ovulated. Two of them it only had to live 24 hours. Two of them about 48. We used NFP for years and on the coulpe occasions I O'd within 5 days, I did not get pregnant. We never did it closer than 5 days before.

[jillian]

With DD my fertile mucous dried up after we had unprotected sex the one time that month (he was out to sea and came home for 8 hours) within 48 hours max. I was pregnant two weeks later. All my other charting endeavors for the last 4.5 years and we've had sex anywhere from 5 days before to 2 days after ovulation and I've not gotten pregnant yet again. My infertility doctors go with the 5 day time table

[ktgrok]

I concieved the youngest 4 days before ovulation.

[stripe]

!

[BigMamaBird]

No opinions or info to share. But your "deposited indoors" comment made me chuckle!

[gingersmom]

Just when I thought every possible topic had been discussed. :001_smile:

[Crimson Wife]

The Couple-to-Couple League NFP book talks about cases where the wife got pregnant after relations a week before ovulation. I've not met anybody IRL who said that happened to them, but I believe the CCL when they say it can happen.

[scholastica]

It is up to five days, especially with fertile mucus present (that's one of it's functions). Without fertile mucus they die pretty quickly. A friend of mine is pregnant right now and the activity occurred 6 days before peak. They were a tad surprised, but not unhappy.

 

scholastica

[Matryoshka]

I was charting with my youngest, and it was most definitely 5 days.

[VeritasMama]

The Couple-to-Couple League NFP book talks about cases where the wife got pregnant after relations a week before ovulation. I've not met anybody IRL who said that happened to them, but I believe the CCL when they say it can happen.

 

 

This happened to me this fall ;).

[stripe]

Thanks to everyone who helped with hotel

 

You're welcome! Anything to keep sperm alive!

 

Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk

I'm a woman's man, no time to talk

....

Whether you'll be the father of a sister or brother

You're stayin alive, stayin alive

[zoobie]

My oldest is a pretty good confirmation. I was charting after a miscarriage because my cycles were completely insane, so I'm pretty sure on the ovulation date. I can't remember now whether it was 4 or 5 days, but it was a looong time and I thought for sure we missed the window. I was in the middle of law school finals and depositing anything anywhere wasn't super high on my priority list. ;)

[coffeegal]

Websites say sperm CAN live up to 5 days; did your OWN experience confirm / refute this?

 

 

Confirm.... :coolgleamA:

[mommymilkies]

I'm an andrologist, so this really wasn't news to me. ;)

[Sara in AZ]

The Couple-to-Couple League NFP book talks about cases where the wife got pregnant after relations a week before ovulation. I've not met anybody IRL who said that happened to them, but I believe the CCL when they say it can happen.

 

 

Pretty sure this happened to us the fourth time around.

[Sisyphus]

My first was a 6 day...thing. I went to a training camp, forgot my bcp. Dh brought them to me at the small break (1day) between sessions. We also...uh...well, you know. Because I was sure based on ovulation we were ok. Well, no actually. I spent the last week at the training (by that time about 4 weeks pregnant) climbing mountains with a rucksack and barfing into every other bush. But I was NOT repeating the training, by golly, so I told no one I was pregnant and made it through.

 

So use, in my real world experience (very regular, have pain in ovulation so I know) those swimmers can live a long while!

[BlueTaelon]

yep, 7 days! I was so stressed out that month due to work I figured I must have not noticed those nasty little O pains, DTD the day before AF was due and didn't worry cause hey! AF is due tomorrow! AF didn't show and I didn't really notice until 7 days after we DTD when I felt O happen and was confused as heck then prayed like hell lol. I ended up m/c but yes, those little buggers can live 7 days.

[lea_lpz]

I've heard that when you have sex a couple days before ovulating it increases your chances of having a girl because the girl sperm is slower but hardier and more likely to survive longer. Just curious to see if those of you that conceived that way (sperm 5 days before ovulating) had girls?

 

As for me I am not sure. We didn't plan dd and ds we tried a lot before, during and thought just to be safe after ovulation.

 

[TXBeth]

With DS it was 7 days.

[JenC3]

Dd1 was a I'm fertile next week so let's have dtd everyday for 7 days so I have no clue which time took:)

Ds I was charting and when my temp went up we dtd so I know the 48 hours in which he was conceived.

Dd2 followed the 5 days before O method to have another girl. So I know it was at least 4-5 days.

Dd3 felt ov pains on a Sunday afternoon and didn't dtd until Tues morning. I thought I already o'd but obviously not. I was sure she would be a boy.

[Matryoshka]

I've heard that when you have sex a couple days before ovulating it increases your chances of having a girl because the girl sperm is slower but hardier and more likely to survive longer. Just curious to see if those of you that conceived that way (sperm 5 days before ovulating) had girls?

 

 

Yes.

[Kathryn]

No idea with DS7.

Early U/S said 7 days before with DS3, though it could have been 5 days before also.

It was 3 days before with the baby I miscarried last month (sex unknown).

[ktgrok]

Mine was 4 days before, with zero cervical mucus, and he is a boy.

[KungFuPanda]

In my experience, fresh sperm is not hard to come by.

[musicianmom]

I've heard of 7 days (a friend had it happened to her, she was pretty sure because of her dd's travel schedule).

[mom2bee]

What is 'DTD'?

[BlueTaelon]

do the deed or have sex

[Crimson Wife]

What is 'DTD'?

 

doing the deed or in TWTM-speak "tea".

[mom2bee]

Oh, okay. Thanks, this was the 2nd time in as many days that I'd seen that on these boards and I couldn't figure it out.

 

Also, why is sex referred to as 'tea'? (Meaning is it like 'pass the bean dip' /'bean dip', or did someone just make up that euphemism?)

[lea_lpz]

We might find this very thing out because I am a day late and we had sex 3 days before ovulation, but not during / after close enough to conceive :)

 

I know when I ovulate because I get cramps that are distinctly different than period cramps about mid cycle.

[UrbanSue]

The Couple-to-Couple League NFP book talks about cases where the wife got pregnant after relations a week before ovulation. I've not met anybody IRL who said that happened to them, but I believe the CCL when they say it can happen.

 

Our first was most definitely about a week before ovulation. I almost sent my chart into CCL because it was so borderline "impossible" that we could have conceived.

 

Our second was also on the long end of normal but more in the 3-5 day window. Sorry I no longer have those charts to confirm.

 

ETA: First was a boy, second was a girl.

[redheadmom]

I've heard that when you have sex a couple days before ovulating it increases your chances of having a girl because the girl sperm is slower but hardier and more likely to survive longer. Just curious to see if those of you that conceived that way (sperm 5 days before ovulating) had girls?

 

Mine were opposite. 24-48 hours before = a girl. 5-7 days before = a boy. Was really surprised with the boy since I though we were safe. You just never know.

[I.Dup.]

I do believe the several days before O produces a girl theory. Our max was about 3 days before, possibly 5, I wasn't charting or anything but I only saw him on the weekends so I possibly O'd mid week. And that was our only girl. The others we had teA within 24 hours of ovulation- all boys.

[Alia_in_FL]

I read the directions that came with the ovulation predictor kit I bought at the Rite Aid. It said that sperm can live for "3 days". Why would it SAY that if sperm COULD live longer? It just seems like so many ladies seem certain that their deposits lived for 4+ days so again.....WHY would the official packaging say this if it weren't accurate?!

[Crimson Wife]

I read the directions that came with the ovulation predictor kit I bought at the Rite Aid. It said that sperm can live for "3 days". Why would it SAY that if sperm COULD live longer? It just seems like so many ladies seem certain that their deposits lived for 4+ days so again.....WHY would the official packaging say this if it weren't accurate?!

 

 

Probably because the best chance for conception is the day before ovulation, the day of ovulation, and the day after ovulation. Couples who are trying to achieve pregnancy have a different "fertile window" than couples who are using NFP to try to avoid pregnancy.

[Butter]

1 day before (lke 12 hours before the little twinges) - girl

2 days before - boy

1 day before - boy

The last one we kind of gave up. I was nursing and figured I just wasn't going to O. I did eventually... 10 days late. So we had been having sex every other day. Then we decided to just wait until next month because the fertility signs just weren't there. So the last time we had sex was 3 days before O. He's a boy.

[ktgrok]

I read the directions that came with the ovulation predictor kit I bought at the Rite Aid. It said that sperm can live for "3 days". Why would it SAY that if sperm COULD live longer? It just seems like so many ladies seem certain that their deposits lived for 4+ days so again.....WHY would the official packaging say this if it weren't accurate?!

 

 

Remember, people buying those kits are trying to get pregnant. So having sex at the BEST time is important. More than 3 days out is unlikely, but not impossible. People buying htis want likely times for conception, not unlikely times. Make sense?

[FaithManor]

Darn sperm!