Should I Be Nervous About Pregnancy Because I Was Fingered?

Published: February 14, 2017
Dear TeenHealthFX,
On the 19th of January I started my period I do not know what day my cycle ended, on the 24th of January I got my first depo shot on the upcoming Saturday the 28th I was fingered by my bf we are both pretty sure there was no semen on his finger but I am still nervous I could be pregnant, should I be ?
Signed: Should I Be Nervous About Pregnancy Because I Was Fingered?

Dear Should I Be Nervous About Pregnancy Because I Was Fingered?,

TeenHealthFX will start with some information about the effectiveness of the birth control shot:

According to Planned Parenthood when used perfectly (meaning you get a new shot every 12-13 weeks, every 3 months or 4 times a year), the birth control shot effectiveness is more than 99%.

To have this level of effectiveness it is critical to get your shots on time. If you get your shot late, you may not be protected from pregnancy. According to Planned Parenthood: You can get your follow-up shots as early as 10 weeks after your last shot, or as late as 15 weeks after your last shot. But, if you get your shot more than 15 weeks after your last shot, you'll need to use another method of birth control, like a condom, for the first week after getting your shot.

As for when the birth control shot first becomes effective, Planned Parenthood provides the following information:

If you get your first birth control shot within the first 7 days after the start of your period, you're protected from pregnancy right away. If you get the shot within 7 days after a miscarriage or an abortion, you're also protected from pregnancy right away. If you get the shot within 3 weeks of having a baby (giving birth), you're also protected right away.

For all other times, you need to use another form of birth control (like condoms) for the first week after getting the shot for the first time. As long as you get your next shots on time, you won't need a backup method of birth control after that first week. But remember that it's still important to use condoms to protect yourself from STDs.

 

As for your specific situation, according to the dates you gave TeenHealthFX, you did get your first shot within 7 days after the start of your period. This would mean you would have been protected from pregnancy right away.

Keep in mind, that even if you were not using any type of birth control, in order to become pregnant from being fingered, there would need to have been ejaculatory or pre-ejaculatory fluids on your boyfriend’s hands. It sounds like there was not semen on his fingers, so even if you were not using birth control, FX can’t imagine you would have gotten pregnant from this.

 

Given the information you provided us, and the information we included above, it does not sound like you could be pregnant right now from being fingered by your boyfriend. However, in order for you and your boyfriend to make healthy decisions for yourself going forward, TeenHealth recommends you check out the links in our Resource of the Month: Planned Parenthood Resources on Safer Sex so that you can learn about birth control, STDs, how pregnancy happens, emergency contraception, pregnancy tests, safer sex and more. You can also read all of the information presented by Planned Parenthood on the Birth Control Shot (Depo-Provera). Finally, please read the TeenHealthFX article, When Am I Ready for Sex?, to make sure that you are not putting yourself in any situations you are not ready for or comfortable with when it comes to being physically intimate with someone else.

 

If you have any other questions or concerns, please speak to a parent/guardian, a doctor, or even your school nurse. If you don't have a doctor and live in northern New Jersey, you can call the Adolescent/Young Adult Center for Health at 973-971-5199 for an appointment with an adolescent medicine specialist or contact your local teen health center or Planned Parenthood. You can also contact your insurance company for a list of in-network providers.

Signed: TeenHealthFX

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