A US mum has revealed how she fell pregnant at 19 despite never having sex — and turns out, her situation isn't quite the miracle you would think it was.
Samantha Lynn Isabel began experiencing cramps and her period was late when she decided to take a pregnancy test just to be safe.
But the teen was floored when she returned a positive result and found out she was five weeks pregnant as she was a virgin and had never had penetrative sex.
"I read you can get pregnant during foreplay," she said in a TikTok video that has since been viewed more than 1.4 million times.
Samantha said her pregnancy has resulted in her "being called Virgin Mary the rest of my life by my family and friends".
She also told Buzzfeed that she had considered getting an abortion and had suffered from anxiety during the pregnancy.
"I was just nervous I wouldn't be able to give him everything. But he has it all and more," Samantha said.
Bentley, her son by "immaculate conception", is now 5. Samantha is still with her high school boyfriend Alex and the couple had another son Theo last year — conceiving their second child the old school way.
How do you get pregnant without having sex?
Falling pregnant without having penetrative sex is entirely possible — and more common than you might think.
A 2013 survey of 7870 women published in the British Medical Journal found that around 0.5 per cent of them had a "virgin pregnancy", aka falling pregnant without having penetrative sex or IVF.
According to the NHS the change of a women getting pregnant without having sex is "very low" but still possible.
Common ways this happened was if a male ejaculated near the vagina, his erect penis came near or into contact with the vagina, or if semen gets inside the vagina during other types of sexual contact.
In Samantha's case, US obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Alyssa Dweck told Insider that there had probably been a "slight" amount of contact.
"My suspicion is that there was 'penis-vagina contact' and even the slightest penetration even at the vaginal opening and or exposure to pre-ejaculate can lead to pregnancy," she said.
"This comes as a surprise to many."
Read more about getting pregnant using artificial home insemination
Article: www.nzherald.co.nz 26th July 2020