Planned Parenthood

Someone asked us:

What’s the average concentration of sperm in pre-ejaculation? I’ve always heard that it’s extremely low, but recently I read somewhere that theres actually a high concentration. It wasn’t a very reputable source, but still, I want to make sure. Thanks for your time!

We can’t tell you for sure what the average concentration of sperm is in pre-ejaculate (aka pre-cum). But we can tell you that it isn’t very high. Generally speaking, it’s possible for pre-cum to contain a small number of sperm. But the amount in pre-ejaculate, if any, is nothing compared to the millions released in ejaculate.

To review, pre-cum is a liquid that oozes out of the penis before ejaculation. Releasing pre-cum is involuntary, meaning you can’t control when or how much you secrete. Pre-cum usually doesn’t contain sperm. But some peoples’ reproductive systems leak small amounts of sperm into their pre-cum. It’s also possible for pre-cum to pick up sperm remaining in the urethra from a previous ejaculation.  There’s really no way to know if you’re someone who has sperm in your pre-cum or not, or whether there’s sperm in your pre-cum on a given day.

Some people tend to worry a lot about the possibility of becoming pregnant from pre-cum. Here are the facts: it’s unlikely but still possible to get pregnant from pre-cum. But if you’re using a condom correctly every time you have sex (which means putting the condom on before you start having sex, and keeping it on the entire time) and especially if you’re using it alongside hormonal birth control like the pill, patch, ring, or shot, then you don’t have to worry about getting pregnant from pre-ejaculate, or regular ejaculate for that matter.

-Nina at Planned Parenthood