How do people get pregnant?
In this section you will learn about how people get pregnant
Learning about pregnancy and sex is an important part of growing up.
This page is for people aged 13 years and older.
If you are younger than 13 year old you can talk to a trusted adult about sex and how people get pregnant.
On this page there are drawings of
- private body parts
- people with no clothes on
- sexual activity
There are no photos of real people’s private body parts on our website.
It is ok to see these drawings when learning about how do people get pregnant.
If you have any questions, it is good to speak to an adult you trust.
Move down the page to learn more about how do people get pregnant.
If not you can learn about bodies or what is sex.
How do people get pregnant? By having sex
Pregnancy can happen when an egg and sperm meet and join together.
One way pregnancy happens is by having penis in vagina sex.
The egg and sperm meet during sex, when sperm comes out of the penis and into the vagina.
When sperm get into the vagina they swim towards the uterus.
At the same time an egg might be moving through the uterus.
The egg and sperm might meet and join together. This is called conception.
This can happen inside the uterus or fallopian tubes.
This is the beginning of a pregnancy.
The joined up egg and sperm start to change and grow.
They are now called an embryo.
The embryo grows into a baby.
This takes 9 months and is called being pregnant.
Visit Ready Steady Baby! to find out more about how a baby grows.
Move down the page to learn more about how people get pregnant with medical help.
How do people get pregnant? With medical help
Pregnancy can happen when an egg and sperm meet and join.
One way this can happen is with medical help.
There are many reasons why people might need medical help to get pregnant.
Some people may have problems getting pregnant. This is called “infertility.”
Doctors can use special medicine, procedures, and advice to help people with infertility get pregnant and have a baby.
Some couples who both have a uterus might use medical help to get pregnant.
Someone with a penis might ‘donate’ sperm to them which they can use to make a baby.
Some couples who both have a penis might get medical help to have a baby.
Someone with a uterus can become a “surrogate” by donating their eggs and growing a baby in their uterus for the couple.
Some people with a uterus decide to have a baby without a partner.
They can use medicine and donated sperm to get pregnant.
IVF is another way of saying In vitro fertilisation.
This means the egg and sperm are joined together outside of the uterus.
The people wanting to have the baby meet with doctors.
The doctors explain everything that will happen.
If you think you need medical help to get pregnant, you can talk to your GP about treatment options.
