Anxiety or ocd

[Suman]

If someone washes his hands after masturbation with water, are his hands now free of any sperm? If a girl touches a surface (that is also touched by the boy with wet hands after masturbation) and insert a finger inside her vagina can she be pregnant? If I insert a dry finger(that may have any dry sperm)inside my vagina, can it lead to pregnancy? I'm continuosly checking my cervical mucus (because found on internet that usually cervical mucus increases in early pregnancy period). My cervical discharge was increased and very stretchy for almost 12-14days after my last period and then suddenly decrease and I got my usual sore boobs (pms). I had this same anxiety before my last period and I did a serum hcg test that came back negative. After that I was continuosly checking my cervical mucus. I'm afraid that may be in this process of checking my cervical mucus, I introduced any sperm inside my vagina. I'm having this constant fear that whatever I touch it may have any sperm on it. Recently I took tinidazole, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth even after 3-4 days of stopping the drug. Now I have this anxiety that metallic/bitter taste is also found in pregnancy and may be this bitter taste is due to pregnancy. I'm so anxious and still continuously checking my cervical mucus. Please help. I will be very grateful to you .

[Emily N]

Hi Suman!

The short answer is, NO, a person cannot become pregnant by inserting a finger with sperm on it into the vagina. This is because sperm are extremely fragile and aren’t going to survive outside of the body long enough to cause pregnancy even when reintroduced into another body. If you are feeling anxious about pregnancy in these situations, try reading this article - You’re Not Pregnant, Why Do You Think You Are? If none of the situations in this article apply to you, you can try reading this article - The Pregnancy Panic Companion.

It sounds like (and as the name of your post implies) you are struggling with a lot of anxiety surrounding pregnancy. Do you want to talk more about why you might be feeling so much anxiety around pregnancy, or how it is affecting you? Is there anyone (friend, family, therapist) who you have been able to talk to about this anxiety?