Can I get pregnant using a condom if we use it perfectly?

[LaikasComet999]

Hi, pardon me if I’m missing any etiquette here… I’ve never really been one to post on a forum or board.

I’m about to turn 18, and my girlfriend and I plan to have penetrative sex. (I am biologically female, she is biologically male)

After reading online articles, a lot of them say that even with perfect use there’s still a 2% chance of pregnancy? This worries me. I understand that even if you do everything right, the condom can still slip, leak, or snap or anything else like that. But if nothing were to happen, is it still possible to get pregnant? When the articles say you can get pregnant with perfect use there’s only thing I can think of is that sperm leaks through the condom somehow?

While I’m here, another similar thing I worry about is that what if the reservoir isn’t big enough? She tends to have a lot more ejaculate than what I’d consider average, I worry this might pop the condom or leak somehow. I don’t know if they make condoms with extra large reservoirs, but if they do I haven’t seen them at the local drug store.

Thankyou in advance to any staff who responds to this, hopefully it hasn’t been asked a million times

[Latha]

Hello and welcome to the boards, LaikasComet999! Don't worry about missing etiquette here. Your post is perfectly fine as is, of course, but if you did miss something, we would just let you know and ask for a change if necessary. Nothing more than that. <3

First: I believe the 2% chance of pregnancy covers condom failure that occurs outside of user error--that is, as you said, where it breaks or slips when you've done everything right. If that doesn't happen, you can assume that the barrier did its job.

If you'd like to reduce risk further, I'd recommend considering using a back up method of contraception. It is not possible to eliminate risk entirely when you are having the kind of sex that can cause pregnancy, but using two kinds of birth control together will protect you in case one of them fails, and will allow you to get the chance of pregnancy as close to zero as possible. We have a resource listing effectiveness rates for different combinations of birth control here: The Buddy System: Effectiveness Rates for Backing Up Your Birth Control With a Second Method

As for your second question: They do make condoms in smaller and larger sizes, but I expect that the reservoir would be big enough either way. The material of condoms can stretch a great deal--enough to make balloons out of them if you wanted. So, no matter how much your girlfriend ejaculates, it would not break a condom.