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My husband and I want to conceive. We cannot have vaginal sex because of pain during intercourse. I am a day past predicted ovulation, and I gave my husband a hand job. After he came I inserted my fingers into my vagina. I didn’t have a lot of cum on my fingers. Could I get pregnant?
Yes, people can absolutely get pregnant that way! In fact, many couples conceive this way especially if they are dealing with painful intercourse, vaginismus and/or erectile dysfunction during intercourse. Some couples also have the man ejaculate as close to the vaginal entrance as possible and then push as much as they can inside the vagina, so that’s another possibility.
Some couples find it helpful to work with a sex therapist to address issues around painful intercourse — you can find one through sstarnet.org — but if your main concern right now is conceiving then you are on a good track.
If you try for six months or longer and don’t yet test positive for pregnancy, you might want to check in with a healthcare provider who can speak with you both about fertility testing as well as a wide range of options for becoming pregnant. Best wishes to you with conception!
OK so I masturbate on average about once every day or so — I have a lot of free time. I don’t use any toys or anything just my hands. But one day after I masturbated I pulled my pants back up and relaxed in bed and my clit started to itch. Not really bad just enough to irritate me. So I rubbed it softly instead of itching hoping that would help. (My hands were dry at this point) and when I did that I felt a slight sting. Like when you touch an open wound with a finger. And I tried to look and see what was going on but I have big lips so it was hard. Then it felt like I opened a cut or made one bigger. It freaked me out. Could I cut myself by masturbating just with my hands? And if so and I do have a cut it’s right above my clit so how exactly is that going to heal?
Yes, genital cuts happen sometimes during both masturbation and partnered sex (and to both women and men), but fortunately they usually heal within one to three days if there’s no further irritation. In the future, you can reduce the risk of tearing by using lubricant when you masturbate.
This can reduce friction, increase pleasure and reduce the risk of genital cuts and tears. You might try applying a little lubricant to your fingers as well as putting some on your vulva, maybe even right on or around the clitoris or wherever you generally touch yourself.
Debby Herbenick, Ph.D. is an associate professor at IU’s School of Public Health and a Research Fellow and sexual health educator at The Kinsey Institute. She’s the author of six books about sex; her newest is “The Coregasm Workout.” Follow Kinsey Confidential on Twitter @KinseyCon & visit us online at www.KinseyConfidential.org
