- With Mayo Clinic obstetrician and medical editor-in-chief
Roger W. Harms, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Roger W. Harms, M.D.
Roger W. Harms, M.D.
"Nothing helps people stay healthy more than the power of real knowledge about health." — Dr. Roger Harms
As medical director of content, Dr. Roger Harms is excited about the potential for Mayo Clinic's health information site to help educate people about their health and provide them the tools and information to live healthier lives.
The Auburn, Neb., native has been with Mayo Clinic since 1981 and is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Harms is a practicing physician and associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology, and his specialty areas include office gynecology, high-risk obstetrics and obstetrical ultrasound.
From 2002 to 2007, Dr. Harms was director for education at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dr. Harms was the 1988 Mayo Medical School Teacher of the Year and served as associate dean for student affairs and academic affairs. He is the co-author of the "Mayo Clinic Model of Education." In 2008, Dr. Harms was presented the Distinguished Educator Award, Mayo Clinic, Rochester.
Dr. Harms is vice chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and medical editor of the Pregnancy section on this website. In addition, Dr. Harms is editor-in-chief of the "Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy" book, a month-by-month guide to everything a woman needs to know about having a baby.
"My medical education experience has grown out of a love of teaching, and that is what this site is about," Dr. Harms says. "If any visitor to this site makes a more informed and thus more comfortable decision about his or her health because of the information we provide, we are successful."
Fertility (6)
- Sperm: How long do they live after ejaculation?
- Abortion: Does it affect subsequent pregnancies?
- Baby's sex: Can parents choose?
- see all in Fertility
Parental health (2)
- Paternal age: How does it affect a baby?
- Pregnancy after gastric bypass: Is it safe?
Pregnancy symptoms (1)
- Birth control pills: Harmful in early pregnancy?
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Question
Sperm: How long do they live after ejaculation?
How long do sperm live after ejaculation?
Answer
from Roger W. Harms, M.D.
The life span of sperm after ejaculation depends on the circumstances.
Sperm ejaculated into a woman's vagina can live in a woman's cervical mucus or upper genital tract for three to five days. Fertilization is possible as long as the sperm remain alive. Sperm ejaculated outside the body might survive in semen — the fluid released during ejaculation — up to a few hours.
Sperm can be preserved for weeks when semen is stored at a lowered temperature — or years when semen is frozen.
Next questionAbortion: Does it affect subsequent pregnancies?
- Jennings V. Fertility awareness-based methods of pregnancy prevention. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Dec. 28, 2011.
- Pallone SR, et al. Fertility awareness-based methods: Another option for family planning. Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. 2009;22:147.
- Hall JE. Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, Penn.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:973.
- Morbeck DE (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Feb. 13, 2012.
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