How much sperm is "too much sperm"?

[El000]

Hey! I was wondering, how much sperm is *relistically* going to get someone pregnant? Especially if it is not directly put up in the vagina?
I know that tecnically someone could get pregnant with just one spermcell but I've also read online and here that it's not at all likely to get pregnant without unprotected intercourse...
My main concern is related to hand jobs/oral sex, I freak out a lot if my hands have sperm on them eheheh.
Also, while putting on a condom should I be worried if my hands have already touched my boyfriend's penis (with maybe some precum)?

Thank you so much
You're always so helpful <3

[Nicole]

Hey El000,

I recently responded to someone who posed a similar question. I'll just copy what I told them.

My fellow staff member mentioned this to another user: Sperm are fragile and need specific conditions to co-create a pregnancy. They aren't going to survive being wiped off, or even transferred from hand to hand. Here's a link with more information: Who's Afraid of Sperm Cells?


Also, I want to mention that pre-ejaculate (pre-cum) itself does not always contain sperm, yet trace amounts have been found in expelled pre-ejaculatory fluid. With that being said, I want to emphasize that you should still be cautious. You can read more about this here: My boyfriend doesn't get pre-cum!
I know the title doesn't sound like your situation but the content might help you out with understanding how pre-cum works!

Now, to answer some of your specific questions. According to A cornucopia of "Can I get pregnant if...?" (which I recommend you check out!), it takes one sperm to fertilize an egg, it also takes a few hundred "helper" sperm to get it to that point. This resource also mentions that if semen gets onto or near your vulva, risks of pregnancy exist.

I hope any of this helps! Let me know if you have more questions.

[El000]

Thank you!
Could you tell me what kind of precautions should I take after giving an hand job to avoid pregnancy? Of couse I'm not going to put my fingers right up my vagina ahha but are there other things to be careful about?

[Amanda B]

Hi El000,

Hope it's okay I'm stepping in here. If there is semen present during the hand job, washing your hands afterward could provide some peace of mind. Also just a good general hygiene tip after coming in contact with someone's genitals! An additional safety technique could be avoiding touching your genitals after giving the hand job where semen is present. As Nicole said, sperm is quite fragile, but sperm on or near the vulva does have some potential to cause a pregnancy.

I'd also recommend considering some birth control options if this is something you're interested in and is available to you. If you're not already using a method that works for you, our Birth Control Bingo tool could be a huge help.