How fast does sperm swim?

[GiGiGiGi]

Obviously I was not paying attention in Seventh Grade Health Class.  Does anyone know how long it takes sperm to reach the fallopian tubes?  

DH and I had a timing issue this month, and I'm trying to "do the math" to see if conception is even possible.  There would be no need to waste money on HPTs this month if we missed the boat.

I had a LH surge on Thursday at 10pm.  When I took my BBT at 7:00 am the next morning, my temp had not increased.  When I took my temp at 2:00pm, it had increased by an entire degree so I know that I O'd somewhere between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.  DH did not get home from out of town until 4:30 on Friday and we did not have a chance to BD until 5:30 or so.  Does anybody know how long it takes for the sperm to get into the tubes?  Would my egg(s) still be alive by the time the sperm got there?  Help!

Thank you to those of you who paid attention in health class!

g

[GiGiGiGi]

Hi Ladies... thanks for the information.  It looks like there is plenty of hope for this month. It only takes one sperm, right?

I'm at 5 DPO today.... 5 days down, nine to go!  yahoo.

g

[usuk]

I think 2 hours. I remember something about if you are worried about a low sperm count and lying/staying in bed that it only takes them two hours to get there. But they can live up to 72 and it is better if they are there first like a big catchers mitt :)

[Keyan]

Oh no girl!! Don't you count yourself outt!! .....I also didn't pay much attention in the health class, but  since we are all "experts" here (lol)  this is what I think, doctors recomend you BD a day before you O just to be sure some swimmers are right there in the front door waiting for the egg to get out...but some swimmers can die and not survive just waiting there (you know how guys are, they get bored and forget what they were supose to do, he he he)....soooo by what you say, you probably BD while your egg was already on the front step, and the swimmer and the egg were able to meet somewhere in the middle!! soooo I think is perfect timing!! ........and as you mention before, maybe trying different techniques can help us! I will be cheering you on this 2ww!!

BTW  what DPO are you? 4dpo?

[ita17]

you're FUNNY!  I've asked about the "speed of sperm" before! LOL
I THINK it's actually about one hour per inch, & it's about 6-7 inches that they are traveling....so I've been told;)

[GiGiGiGi]

Well, thank you Ita!  You ladies have me convinced.  I wont count myself outta the race just yet!

Unfortunately, I am one of those ppl who doesnt nomally get a lot of warning with my LH surge.  When it happens, my BBT will always be higher the next day.  Arrghh - who knows.  I didnt get any acupuncture this month, and I ended up Oing a little earlier than usual.  So, I think I'm just gonna have to accept that this cycle is now officially out of my control!  What's done is done and I will know in about 10 days.

LOL - I felt so SILLY asking about the speed of sperm.  Sounds pretty ridiculous, but I wanted to know!

[ita17]

I meant to write 24 hours or so from your surge, to O

[ita17]

Hey you;)
   I "think" it takes a bout 6 hours or so.  BUT I THINK that maybe you O'd a bit later than your thinking you did.  Cuz, Your temp rises & falls through out the day, & the only reliable source of  temping is w/first morning.  Plus if your surges @ 10:00 pm  NORMALLY it wouldn't be sooner than 24 hours, occasionally it's less though.
&&&&&&  One more thingy;) is that if you did a regular OPK, 10:00 pm is too late to get an accurate result.  I think that the best times are between 10:00 AM-8:00 PM

SOOOOOOO  I think your timing was most likely PUUUUUUUUUURFECT ;)

[GiGiGiGi]

Thanks Ladies.  It's funny - I tried to research it online and I cannot seem to find concrete info anywhere!  There is tons of info on what goes on with the female, but very little seems to be said about the male's contribution.  

I checked through Taking Charge of your Fertility, and while there is no mention of the speed of sperm, it is mentioned that two or more eggs may be released over the span of 24 hours.  Since I normally get one mature follicle on each ovary while on Femara. I will hope that one egg was released a little later than the other.

And Allie, you are right - maybe this will be a blessing in disguise.  Perfectly timing BDing hasnt seemed to work for us - so maybe doing it a little later will bring us some luck!  It's not gonna make matters worse, thats for sure!

Thanks for your advice,

g

[MiracleOfLife]

From what I can remember, them guys are pretty fast swimmers... I believe it is a matter of an hour or two :)

[allie_44107]

Hey G-

Sorry to hear about this timing issue.  I think it is very possible that the egg would still be there.  I always thought the egg hung around for about 12-24 hours and I think the sperm would reach probably very soon after BD'ing.  I don't have any scientific knowledge to back this up, but I know I was doing the same math every single month for years.  If it makes you feel better-one of my best friends recently had a baby.  They were not trying.  When she found out she was pregnant she was SHOCKED.  She always has a perfect 28 day cycle which means she o's the same time very month.  In fact, they were not interested in having a baby bc they have a 1 year old.  So she would sort of pay attention and try not to BD around the time of Oing.  They BD's around day 16 and she still got pregnant, so anything is possible.  I am wishing you guys the best of luck, as always.