Expert: Lawrence Jay Rappaport <B>M.D.</B> - 2/23/2006
Question Thank you for your swift response Dr. Rappaport,
I had done lots of research concerning my question before I contacted you and was wondering why there are so many conflicting answers. There are other websites where it states that sperm can last from 3-7 days in a woman and a woman's egg only 12-24 hours. I was just making sure I was clear on the life of the sperm and egg and how sure you were of this. I forgot to mention that I am having a baby boy which coincides with the shettles method of conceiving a boy is that correct since I conceived on the day of ovulation or the day after.cYou are pretty sure that I conceived from my sept 21st experience correct? Sorry if I'm being a pain, I just want to be clear. By the way you are the best OBGYN I see giving advice online and we appreciate it. are you still practising? Where?-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
Dr. Rappaport,
I have a very embarrassing question. My last period began on Sept 6 or 7th 2005. I had sexual intercourse with one partner on Sept 15 and 16(early morning on the 17th actually about 2am). I also had sex on september 21st 2005. Which day did I most likely get pregnant. Any advise will help.
Thank You.
Answer -
If your last period started on September 6 or 7, you would have ovulated on September 19 or 20 and could have only conceived if you had sex on September 18,19,20,21, or 22. Therefore,if you had sex on Sep9tember 21, that is when you became pregnant.
Answer Sperm can remain viable for 12-24 hours and an ovum can remain viable for 24-48 hours, no matter what you read on the internet.After that period of time, the sperm do not have the ability of fertilization and. That is why we say that you can become pregnant from one day prior to ovulation and up to two days after ovulation. If you were using Shettle's method, the best time to conceive would have been at the time of ovulation. Therefore, if your last period started on September 6 or 7, ovulation would have occurred oon September 19 or 20, and you could have conceived if you had sex on September 18,19,20,21 or 22. It seems likely that you conceived on September 21. I would refer you to any standard endocrinology text book.
