Oral sex and stab wound led to teen pregnancy – here’s what doctors say

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Compiled by Carien Grobler

Deputy Digital Editor


A 15-year-old girl from Lesotho became pregnant via oral sex, despite being born without a vaginal opening.


In a rare medical phenomenon, a teenage girl without a vaginal opening became pregnant via oral sex.

The 15-year-old girl from Lesotho was admitted to a hospital with symptoms of abdominal pain. Routine testing revealed the patient was nine months pregnant.

More astonishing than the surprise pregnancy was that she was born with distal vaginal atresia, a rare condition that left her without a vaginal opening.

This condition should have made natural conception impossible without assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

Additionally, the absence of a vaginal opening meant she could not deliver vaginally, requiring a C-section for her son’s birth, the New York Post reported.

Baffled doctors solve the mystery of the pregnant teen

Doctors, baffled by the pregnancy, questioned the teen about her medical history. They soon uncovered a critical detail. Nine months earlier, she had been hospitalised for a stab wound to the abdomen shortly after engaging in oral sex.

She told a nurse that her ex-boyfriend had attacked her after discovering her engaging in the act with her new partner.

Doctors, reporting in the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, concluded that sperm she had swallowed likely traveled from her stomach to her reproductive organs through the stab wounds, leading to conception.

Can sperm survive stomach acid?

However, one question remained; how did the sperm survive the harsh environment of the digestive system to lead to the pregnancy?

Normally, stomach acid is strong enough to destroy sperm. According to Mail Online, doctors believe the girl’s malnourished state at the time of the stabbing may have lowered her stomach acidity. This allowed the sperm to survive and travel through the knife wound to her reproductive organs.

The final piece of evidence ruling out what medics termed a “more miraculous conception” came as the baby grew. He bore a striking resemblance to his biological father, the man she had been intimate with before the attack.

The case dates back to 1988. It resurfaced in the news following a recent report of a Scottish woman who thought she had a burst appendix. However, she was pregnant and gave birth 40 minutes later.

NOW READ: Unpacking the link between reproductive health issues and major health conditions with Dr Michael Mol [VIDEO]

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