How long does sperm live in the body?

The combination of male sperm and female egg can make a woman pregnant. A normal mature male can discharge tens of millions of sperm in one ejaculation, but most of these sperm lose their vitality and die due to the acidic environment of the female reproductive tract. This is also one of the causes of infertility. Many people will wonder about this, how long can sperm survive in the female body?

Generally speaking, the life span of sperm in the female vagina does not exceed 8 hours. After that, only a small number of sperm will escape and continue to move forward. Why is this? Because when a man ejaculates, the sperm in the semen can be protected by a large amount of fructose and enzymes that decompose sugar in the semen. When the sperm enters the uterine cavity, it leaves the semen. At this time, the living conditions are far worse than in the semen, so the life span is greatly shortened. Poor quality sperm moves slowly and cannot reach the uterine cavity quickly, and loses its vitality.

So, after sperm enters the female body, how long can it survive in the female body? Experts say: After passing through many checkpoints, only a few sperm can finally reach the fertilization site in the fallopian tube. However, as long as the sperm enters the fallopian tube, it has a strong fertilization ability. Of course, in the end only 1-2 sperm are lucky enough to combine with the egg, and the rest of the sperm will die within 24-36 hours. Only the sperm stored in the crypts of the cervical mucosa can live for 2-6 days, even so, its fertilization ability has been basically lost, because the fertilization ability of sperm can only be maintained for about 20 hours. The egg has the strongest fertilization ability within 15 to 18 hours after being released from the ovary, and can maintain its fertilization ability for about 30 hours. After that, the egg begins to degenerate, and its fertilization ability rapidly weakens and disappears.

Although sperm injected into the female reproductive tract can survive for up to 4 to 5 days, the time with strong fertilization ability is 1 to 2 days, which means that conception is only possible if sexual intercourse is performed within 1 to 2 days before or after ovulation. This is very important for guiding infertile couples in their sexual life. Some couples have no problem with their fertility, but they are infertile for several years after marriage because they ignore the opportunity to conceive.