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Many women fear that peeing after sex will alter their chances of getting pregnant. While it’s a common belief, this is actually not true.
Peeing after sex won’t hurt your chances of getting pregnant, and can actually help you avoid certain infections.
Let’s dig deep into why it’s okay to pee after sex, when to do it, and evidence-based ways to encourage conception.
You’ve probably heard that you shouldn’t pee after sex when trying to conceive. The theory behind this idea is that releasing urine after sex pushes out semen from the vagina. It makes sense that you want every bit of semen to stay inside you if you’re encouraging fertilization.
But peeing after sex when trying to concieve is actually not a problem. There’s even evidence that you should pee after sex.
Many women spend the first part of their lives trying to avoid pregnancy. As young girls, we’re told it can happen accidentally.
Then when we want to have a baby, conceiving is a lot harder than we expected. If you’ve been trying to conceive, you want to be sure you’re not hurting your chances after sex.
In this article, we’ll discuss the facts and myths about peeing after sex when trying to concieve. We’ll break apart common misconceptions on this topic, and also talk about practical ways to increase your chances of getting pregnant.
First, let’s address some common myths and misconceptions about peeing after sex.
Does peeing after sex push sperm out of the vagina?
Yes. But let’s talk about why this isn’t a problem.
While they are very close to each other, the urethra (where pee comes out) is totally separate from the vagina. Peeing doesn’t flush out the vagina because the two organs are not connected.
With that being said, you probably notice that when you pee after sex, some white fluid is pushed out. This is normal.
When you push urine out of your bladder, it puts some pressure on the uterus and vaginal canal. The white fluid that you see is a mixture of your cervical mucus and excess semen (male partner’s sperm-carrier fluid). This fluid gets pushed out of the vagina while pee leaves separately from the urethra.
Even though some semen flows out of the vagina while you pee, there is still a lot left to fertilize the ovum.
Remember that it only takes a single sperm to fertilize an egg. Men expel an average of 1.25 to 5ml of semen on ejaculation. This equates to millions of individual sperm, more than enough to create a pregnancy.
Semen leakage is totally normal. So, while peeing after sex does push excess semen out of the vagina, this doesn’t hurt your chances of pregnancy.
Does peeing after sex kill sperm?
Nope. Let’s go back to our anatomy lesson.
Now that we know that the urethra and vagina are separate organs, we also know that urine doesn’t touch the semen in the vaginal canal. Once you pee, the two may possibly get mixed. But that is once they’re outside of your body.
Sperm swims quickly once ejaculated into the vagina. If you are ovulating, the cervix widens to allow sperm to enter the uterus.
After ejaculation, the sperm journey up through the cervix, into the uterus and the fallopian tubes. Here, fertilization can occur.
Peeing after sex doesn’t kill sperm, because both the organs are totally different!.
Should I pee after sex?
Yes. Peeing after intercourse is the best way to prevent Urinary Tract Infections.
Chances are you’ve had a Urinary Tract Infection or UTI at least once in your life. This happens when bacteria gets into the urethra and causes inflammation and infection.
Women are more prone to UTIs than men: almost half of all women will experience one in their lifetime.
Women are more at risk of UTIs after sex, because bacteria from intercourse can get pushed into the sterile urethra. While peeing after intercourse does not flush out sperm from your vagina, it does flush out bacteria from the urinary tract.
The symptoms of a UTI are uncomfortable, and if left untreated this infection can become life-threatening.
Bacteria from an untreated UTI can travel up the urinary tract and into the kidneys. This is a life-threatening infection, accompanied by fever and abdominal pain. By peeing after sex, you can prevent many UTIs before they even begin.
It’s important to note that peeing after sex will not prevent Sexually Transmitted Infections or Sexually Transmitted Diseases. STIs and STDs affect the vaginal canal, so peeing after sex will not flush them out like bacteria in the urethra.
Should it hurt or burn to pee after sex?
No, but it may not be serious. Burning or painful urination after sex could mean a UTI, an STI, or it could be relatively normal.
Some soreness during and after sex is normal. This is called dyspareunia, and it’s surprisingly common.
In the US, 10-20% of women experience this pain. Women may have discomfort around the vulva, inside the vagina, or in the uterus. This may be related to the oxytocin release during pregnancy, which makes the uterus contract.
It’s also normal to have a little skin irritation after sex, especially if you and/or your partner has shorter public hair. This “rug burn” feeling should be short-lived.
You can prevent this by moisturizing your pubic area, or letting your pubic hair grow to protect that vulnerable skin.
The most common cause of internal pain or burning during urination is a UTI. If you notice burning when you pee; drink extra fluids and look out for more symptoms.
Another tell-tale symptom is feeling the urge to pee, yet seeing only drops of urine when you try. See your doctor if these symptoms persist for more than a few days. If you notice abdominal pain or fever, call your doctor or go to urgent care.
If you’re experiencing extreme pain, burning, or itching while peeing, see your doctor. This could be related to a Sexually Transmitted Infection like chlamydia, gonorrhea, or herpes. Yeast infections can also lead to pain during sex and urination.
Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. While some soreness is normal, you should investigate any extreme urinary pain with your doctor.
What happens if I don’t pee after sex?
If you don’t flush out the urinary canal after sex, you may get a UTI.
The vagina has its own flora, or healthy bacteria. But the urinary canal is sterile. These two passages are close to each other, which is why some women don’t know they’re separate.
Bacteria have less distance to travel in the female urinary tract because it is shorter than a male’s. This short distance, as well as proximity to the vagina and anus, make women much more at risk for UTIs.
During sex, bacteria can be enter into the urinary tract from the vagina and penis. If not flushed out, the bacteria can cause inflammation and infection in the urinary tract leading to a UTI.
When should I pee after sex if I’m trying to conceive?
Depends on who you ask. Let’s go through the reasoning for this.
Some pregnancy experts say it doesn’t matter. This is because of the amount of semen, as well as the force of ejaculation. These experts argue that enough sperm are high up in the vaginal canal after sex and it doesn’t matter whether you pee immediately or after a few minutes.
Still, other experts say you should wait to pee to give sperm the best chance at swimming up into the uterus.
Gynecologist and Obstetrician Dr. Sapna Lulla encourages women to lay down for 2-5 minutes after sex to encourage sperm to “have it’s date with the egg”. If you are trying to get pregnant, this may be the best advice. Just be sure you pee afterwards, whether it’s immediately after sex or 10 minutes later.
A similar myth is that you should hold your legs above your head after sex to encourage fertilization. This isn’t based on any evidence. If you are ovulating, sperm should be able to travel up the vagina and into the fallopian tubes without any acrobatics.
What should I do after sex to help my chances of conceiving?
Planning your fertile window is the best way to help your chances of conceiving.
If you’re wanting to increase your chances of getting pregnant after sex, the first thing to know is your ovulation window. This will help you plan sex according to when you’re most fertile.
Ovulation happens in the middle of your monthly cycle, about two weeks before your period.
During this time, the cervix widens to allow sperm to pass up into the uterus and fallopian tubes.
At the same time, the ovaries release an egg or ovum, ready to be fertilized. This narrow window is when conception can begin.
The good news is that once inside the body, sperm lives for longer than you think.
In fact, sperm stays in the fallopian tubes for up to 5 days after intercourse. This means that if you have sex even 5 days before an ovum is released, you can get pregnant.
This long sperm life also takes away some of the pressure to have sex every day. If you’re too tired for sex on your ovulation day, you still have a shot at getting pregnant because sperm should still be active from the day before.
If you’re wanting to conceive, have sex in the week before and the day of ovulation. Typically, this falls between day 10 and day 14 of your cycle.
Most women don’t know when they’re ovulating. With Inito, you can track your fertile days to give yourself the best chance of getting pregnant.
Inito tracks ovulation by measuring the hormones that cause it: Luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and Estrogen. It also tracks PdG (urine metabolite of progesterone) to confirm that an egg is released.
You can monitor your cycle without the guessing and calendar math of traditional tracking. For more about fertility windows, check out or blog on when you’re most fertile.
Summary:
Peeing after sex won’t hurt your chances of conceiving, and will actually help you avoid UTIs.
You may expel some semen when you pee after sex, but this doesn’t stop you from getting pregnant.
The best way to help your chances of getting pregnant is to plan sex around your fertile window and track ovulation. Learn more about Inito.
Was this article helpful?
- https://www.issm.info/sexual-health-qa/what-factors-determine-semen-volume/
- https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/urinary-tract-infections
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28791233/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5969816/
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