Can I ask an embarrassing question about the 'Is there any chance you could be pregnant' question?

[roujelips]

I've never had sex so my answer has always very truthfully been no, but how are you supposed to answer? If you are on the pill or using condoms, there is still a chance you could be pregnant, so does that mean just answering yes if you've had sex since your last period?

I am slightly mortified that I am asking but I couldn't ask anyone IRL!

Pretty much

What's the point in this question and why you mortified? If your having sex and have all the internal stuff needed to Carry a baby then yes you could be pregnant whenever

Yup

If you’ve had sex, even if you’ve used a condom AND be on the pill, and your periods late, there is still that very small chance you could be pregnant. Even if you have no penetrative sex! The man can ejaculate near your bits and there’s still a chance

No birth control is ever 100% effective.

The only one that is, is abstinence.

I'll just say "well I'm married, so it's technically possible, but it's very unlikely." No one has ever asked further.

I think they just want to know you aren't actively trying or haven't been fucking unprotected lately.

Yes you would say you are using contraception but there is a small chance if it failed, they would then probably do a pregnancy test if it was needed.

If you had sex since your last period, you answer yes, there is a chance I am pregnant. It doesn’t matter if you used 6 forms of birth control, there is still a chance you are pregnant.

I just wanted to know

Thank you for answering.

I had that question when I got my vaccine earlier today. I've had sex 3 times in the last week, with condoms. I just said it was very unlikely that I was pregnant. Possible, but very unlikely.

I am actually pregnant now but whenever I’ve been asked this in the past, I've taken it to mean ‘do you think there’s a possibility you could be pregnant ie have you had unprotected sex since your last period?’

I would always assume that if it was important enough to have a definitive answer for, they would ask you to take a pregnancy test (ie I was asked to provide a urine sample for testing shortly before a general anesthetic)

Yes, it was my vaccine too. Are you allowed to have it while pregnant?

It depends what the situation is I guess.

I normally give an answer along the same lines as what @BuffySummersReportingforSanity said. For an abdominal X ray they tested me just in case. For giving blood, covid vaccine etc they didn't.

I tend to just clarify if I’m being asked face to face (rather than on a form where it’s just yes/no). Eg “I’m on the pill so no, I don’t think so.”

Any woman that's been near a penis in the last 9 months could technically be pregnant. But if you're on contraception that you're using properly and haven't missed a period then the answer to this question is no.

The answer is yes, there's a chance if you have sex, protected or otherwise in the last 9 months. What is mortifying about this? It's routine and no one in a healthcare setting will judge your answer.

@BuffySummersReportingforSanity

I'll just say "well I'm married, so it's technically possible, but it's very unlikely." No one has ever asked further.

I think they just want to know you aren't actively trying or haven't been fucking unprotected lately.

What has being married got to do with it?!

I'm finding it hard to be single right now. I'm more embarrassed that I'm still answering no tbh.

What has being married got to do with it?!

In the context discussed, it obviously means "I have regular sex with a man". "I have a partner" would do the same job, if you have a steady male partner you are not married to.

I went for my vaccine with my very new, 12 day old baby. We did laugh, the nurse, me and the people close by when she asked me!

Yes you can have the vaccine when pregnant though it’s recommended to have the moderna or Pfizer one. I’m pregnant but they gave me my due date for the vaccine and I pushed it back.

@roujelips

I'm finding it hard to be single right now. I'm more embarrassed that I'm still answering no tbh.

You don’t need to embarrassed. I answered no. No doesn’t mean you’re not in a relationship and declaring it to the world.

If I’m using contraception and my period isn’t late, I’ll answer no. Yes, there is technically a chance but it’s a very small chance. If I was having an invasive procedure on my ovaries or uterus, I would probably get into the debate a bit more but for giving blood I’m not going into the detail. If I was trying to conceive when asked that question, I would respond accordingly. To answer your other question, yes pregnant women can have the COVID vaccine. I was asked at mine and I was responded that I was, they asked if I was happy to continue.

Also, just because you’re married doesn’t mean you’re having sex or that if you are having sex, that you’re pregnant Women in a same sex relationship can have sex but there’s no chance they’re accidentally pregnant.

I'm with you @roujelips I really had no idea how to answer this in my younger years, what degree of certainty was necessary for a no...

Now I'm older, married, have three children, I pretty much know if I've had sex since my last period, and if not, answer is no...if yes, the answer is "possibly". Although I'm in perimenopause and it will soon be a firm no at all times.

In younger years I'd have answered no if on the pill or used a condom and would only have answered yes for unprotected sex since last period.

It's a good question, OP, don't be at all embarrassed. I was sort of wondering the same when I had my jab. I said 'no' as I'm on birth control, don't really have periods because of this, but had trouble conceiving most recent DC, and timing-wise it was unlikely. But I don't really keep track of if I'm walking around with a 0.01% chance of pregnancy or not, and tend to round down to zero!

I said no because i havent had sex in months-no need to be embarrassed they dont know you

I’m a HCP and often have to ask this question.

I usually start by asking about the patients LMP. Then I’ll ask if there’s any chance of pregnancy, and then based on the persons answer I’ll adjust my next question.

If it’s a flat “no”, then I’ll say “has there been any unprotected sexual intercourse?”.

The patients answers inform my questions and my assessment of the risk.

Sometimes people will say “Yes, there has been UPSI, but I don’t think I’m pregnant” and we’ll explore that further. As of course there is a pregnancy risk, and unless they’ve had a negative Urine HCG since the first day of missed period then they could definitely be pregnant.

Sometimes they say “No, I’m on the depo/implant/coil” and I’d usually take that as a reliable “not pregnant”. But if they happen to be calling about a unilateral abdominal pain and PV bleeding (without signs or symptoms indicating another differential diagnosis) then we’d probably need to explore further, as of course people can very rarely still get pregnant on these forms of contraception, and particularly on the coil the risk of ectopic is increased.

Basically, what I’m saying is it depends on the individual circumstances and the answers the patient provides. But it’s safest to assume that anyone between the ages of 12 and 55 is pregnant until proven otherwise, if there is any uncertainty about LMP/Contraception/UPSI.