Published on September 15th, 2022 and Updated on February 28th, 2024
If you’re wondering “am I ready for a baby” or attempting to get pregnant, you think—sperm travels upwards…does that mean pee washes it out?
Not exactly.
Many women practice going to the bathroom after sex, but doing so doesn’t inhibit your ability to get pregnant or your fertility overall. However, peeing after sex does have one key health benefit: it helps prevent urinary tract infections.
Whether you’re trying to get pregnant or not, your post-sex hygiene routine is an important part of your personal and reproductive well-being. Below, we cover which contraceptive methods are proven to prevent pregnancy, especially if you’re looking at the average time to get pregnant with a second child, as well as how post-sex peeing helps promote a healthier body (whether or not a baby is in your near future!).
Peeing and sex: How do they connect?
Female anatomy is complex. When you look “down there”, everything can seem jumbled together, so understanding anatomy can help us understand how sex and urination relate.
For starters, your body is built to perform innumerable activities at once. While your vagina and urethra (the aperture that releases urine) are close together, they connect to entirely different organs and physical systems.
Your vagina is a part of your reproductive system, which also includes your:
- Vaginal canal
- Cervix
- Uterus
- Fallopian tubes
- Ovaries
If a partner ejaculates into your vaginal canal during sex, the sperm will travel up towards your uterus. This may lead to pregnancy, especially if you have sex in your ovulation window (the period when your ovaries release an egg into the Fallopian tubes).
In contrast, your urethra connects to your urinary system—not your sexual organs. The urinary system also includes:
- Bladder
- Ureters
- Kidneys
Your urethra is located near your clitoris, resting closer to the front of the body than your vagina does. This separation means that urine wouldn’t normally make contact with your vagina—and it would never be able to “wash out” the sperm cell, preventing you from getting pregnant.
Birth Control 101: Science-Backed Ways to Prevent Pregnancy
Will peeing after sex prevent pregnancy? Not one bit.
Remember, sperm are ejaculated at a force much stronger than gravity. Some of them will keep traveling up your vaginal canal, even if you immediately stand up after sex (yes, even if semen leaks out of you!).
Whether you’re trying for a baby or are taking control of your sexual health, it’s good to know which family planning methods are proven (and which, like peeing after sex, are myths) to prevent pregnancy. To that end, let’s address the efficacy of long-term and short-term birth control options for women.
Birth Control: Hormonal Contraceptive Methods
In decades past, hormonal birth control only came in pill form. Today, a range of hormonal contraceptive methods are available, from daily combination pills to leave-in IUDs.
Hormonal contraceptives provide some of the most consistent and reliable options for pregnancy prevention. Let’s look at the most popular types and their efficacy in preventing pregnancy:
- Birth control pills – Oral contraceptives (or “The Pill”) are the most well-known and effective birth control method. They have a 99.9% efficacy rate at preventing pregnancy when used as directed.
- Vaginal ring – Vaginal rings sit in the upper vaginal canal and emit synthetic forms of estrogen and progestin to the uterus locally. With perfect use, they’re 99% effective at preventing pregnancy.
- Birth control shot – Birth control shots inject progestin directly into the arm or buttocks to inhibit the female reproductive cycle. They must be injected every 3 months to ensure 99% efficacy at preventing pregnancy.
- Hormonal IUD – Hormonal IUDs are T-shaped devices that are implanted inside the uterus. These are more than 99.9% effective at preventing pregnancy for up to 6 years.
- Hormonal implant – Like an IUD, hormonal implants are inserted into the uterus and prevent pregnancy by releasing hormones into the bloodstream. Fewer than 1 in 100 women will get pregnant when using a hormonal implant as directed. The hormonal implant is the Nexplanon and is inserted into your arm.
Birth Control: Non-Hormonal Contraceptive Methods
In addition to hormonal contraceptives, there are several methods of non-hormonal family planning methods that can be effective at preventing unwanted pregnancy.
The following non-hormonal contraceptives can be excellent alternatives to their hormonal counterparts:
- Copper IUDs – Like hormonal IUDs, copper IUDs are T-shaped instruments inserted into the uterus. But unlike IUDs, they use copper—a natural sperm repellent—rather than hormones to prevent pregnancy. Copper IUDs are 99.9% effective at preventing pregnancy.
- Condoms – Male and female condoms are affordable, single-use, and side effect-free contraceptives in the “barrier method” category. Typically, male condoms prevent pregnancies at an 82% rate, while female condoms prevent pregnancy 79% of the time.
- Spermicides – Spermicides are formulated as liquids, creams, or suppository formulas that can kill sperm. They’re very difficult to use perfectly, so their success rate at preventing pregnancy is only 28%— much lower than other contraceptives.
What are the benefits of peeing after sex?
Peeing post-sex has no bearing on your chances of getting pregnant fast, and it cleans out your urethra, which has one important benefit: lowering your chances of a urinary tract infection (UTI).
A UTI refers to an infection that affects any part of the urinary system. Female anatomy is more susceptible to urinary tract infections because bacteria have an easier time entering the urethra than people with male anatomy. This occurs for two reasons:
- Female urethras are shorter than male urethras
- Female urethras are located closer to the anus than male urethras
Peeing after sex has been shown to prevent urinary tract infections. If bacteria pass from your partner’s skin or genitals to your urethra, peeing after sex possibly flushes out the infectant.
Why is this important? UTIs can range from annoying to painful if they aren’t addressed with antibiotics. In severe cases, a UTI can spread to the kidneys, presenting a major health risk in both men and women.
If you think you might have a UTI, keep an eye out for the following symptoms:
- A strong urge to urinate
- A burning sensation when urinating
- Urinating frequently in small amounts
- Cloudy urine
- Red, pink, or brown urine
- Very odorous urine
- Pain in the center or lower part of the pelvis
What else can you do to prevent UTIs?
You can do more than rely on post-sex bathroom trips to keep your kidneys healthy! Aside from peeing after sex, there are a few effective habits to implement in your urinary system hygiene:
- J-wiping – Did you know the direction you wipe affects your vaginal health? When on the toilet, always wipe from front to back. This J-shaped wipe motion prevents the spread of bacteria from the anus to your vaginal area, preventing potential UTIs.
- Avoiding douches or fragrances – Many women may try to change or eliminate their natural scent “down there.” However, try letting it be. Fragranced products can irritate the vaginal tissue, making it susceptible to UTIs. Similarly, cleansing formulas in douches can upset your vaginal bacteria, making you even more vulnerable to vaginal infection.
- Wearing cotton underwear – Bacteria love warm, moist environments, and underwear fabrics that trap air can make your vagina hospitable to their growth. Instead of wearing fabrics like polyester, opt for breathable underwear in textiles like cotton.
- Drinking adequate water – The more water you drink, the more you pee. The more you pee, the more you can flush out potentially harmful UTI bacteria. One study showed that women who drink 1.5 liters of water pe day have a lower likelihood of developing UTIs.
- Peeing when you feel the urge – Just as regular urination flushes out UTI bacteria, infrequent urination may kep it in. If your tendency is to “hold it,” you may be raising your likelihood of trapping harmful bacteria in the urinary tract.
- Avoid overusing antibiotics – Like many bacterial infections, UTIs can be more difficult to get rid of if your body develops a resistance to antibiotics—a result of antibiotics overuse. In fact, antibiotic-resistant UTIs are becoming more and more common.
These habits work to both prevent and flush out infectious bacteria from your urinary tract. If you have frequent UTIs, try talking to your healthcare provider about treatment options and the best lifestyle adjustments to make for you.
Can peeing after sex prevent other infections?
Peeing after sex may come in handy for UTI prevention—but what about preventing sexually transmitted infection (STI)?
Urinating after sex may flush out bacteria in the urethra, but it won’t clear them out anywhere else. Since most STI bacteria are transferred via tiny tears in the skin during sex, urinating will not affect whether you contract a sexually transmitted infection.
If you’re sexually active and concerned about STIs, the best way to prevent them is by practicing safe sex and testing regularly. You can protect both you and your partner by:
- Using barrier contraceptives like condoms
- Sharing test results with your partner(s)
- Getting vaccinated for HPV and hepatitis B
Do you have to pee after sex?
The real answer? Only if you want to—but it’s probably a good move.
Peeing after sex is an easy way to prevent urinary tract infections. Since many women feel light pressure on the bladder during vaginal intercourse, it can be an excellent way of decompressing after getting intimate.
4 Tips for Peeing After Sex
Most healthcare experts recommend peeing within 30 minutes of sex. Wait any longer, and you could be letting bacteria in the urethra spread where they’re not welcome.
That said, nature calls when nature calls, and if you don’t feel the urge to “go” post-coitus, there are other ways to help your body flush out your urethra and freshen up. Try these post-sex, pee-friendly tips:
- Drink more water before sex
- Avoid peeing right before sex
- Use visual or auditory cues for running water
Even if you don’t have much to spare, a little bit of pee can still help. The more urine you can push out of your system post-sex, the more bacteria you may be able to guide out of your system.
Find Fresh Beginnings with SneakPeek
Whether you’ve been trying for a baby for months or you’re just doing some pre-research, it’s always the right time to take care of your body. The better your hygiene and self-care habits, the better your body can take care of you (and possibly a future little one!).
If you’re on the road to becoming a mom, we’ve got something to help guide you along the way: the SneakPeek Test. This DNA-based Gender Blood Test can predict the sex of your baby at just 6 weeks into your pregnancy—that’s months before your 20-week gender reveal ultrasound.
SneakPeek is the #1 OBGYN-recommended at-home gender test for a reason: our results are over 99% clinically accurate1, with full privacy protection on your journey of discovery with your new arrival. Join the 1 million moms who trust SneakPeek, and pick up your test today.
This post has been reviewed for accuracy by the following medical professionals:
Dr. Heather Soper, Certified Nurse Midwife
Dr. Heather Soper brings over 15 years of experience in women's health and obstetrics to her role as the owner of The Genesis Resort for Birth. Complementing her clinical practice, she serves as an Assistant Professor of Nursing at James Madison University, where she educates nursing students with a focus on compassionate, patient-centered care. Her advanced training and dedication to midwifery are evident in her contribution to both academia and the wellness of expectant mothers.
Katie Smith is a seasoned Certified Nurse Midwife and a nurturing mother to six children, offering a unique blend of professional expertise and personal experience. She is the founder of Birth Your Way Midwifery and Women’s Wellness Center in Bay County, Florida. Katie's comprehensive approach to care is informed by her hands-on experience in motherhood and her passion for empowering women through their birthing journey. Her dedication extends beyond her center as she actively engages in community wellness and family health education.
Sources:
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- Planned Parenthood. What are hormonal IUDs? https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/birth-control/iud/hormonal-iuds
- VeryWell Health. Effectiveness of Condoms Against Pregnancy. https://www.verywellhealth.com/effectiveness-of-condoms-against-pregnancy-906819
- University of Michigan Health. Spermicide for Birth Control. https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/tw9509
- Parents. Yes, Sperm Can Leak After Sex and Pregnancy Is Still Possible. https://www.parents.com/getting-pregnant/why-does-sperm-leak-after-intercourse/
- Planned Parenthood. Female Sexual Anatomy. https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/health-and-wellness/sexual-and-reproductive-anatomy/what-are-parts-female-sexual-anatomy
- Mayo Clinic. Contraceptive implant. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/contraceptive-implant/about/pac-20393619
- The Body. Peeing after sex. https://www.thebody.com/article/peeing-sex
- Office of Women’s Health. Douching. https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/douching
- Healthline. 8 Underwear Rules to Live by for a Healthy Vagina. https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/underwear-hygiene
- Mayo Clinic. Women’s Wellness: Drink more water to fight those urinary tract infections. https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/womens-wellness-drink-water-to-fight-those-utis/#:~:text=Drinking%20more%20water%20will%20help,drank%20less%20than%20that%20amount
- Harvard Health Publishing. Antibiotic-resistant urinary tract infections are on the rise. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/antibiotic-resistant-urinary-tract-infections-are-on-the-rise-2019101417982
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