if vaginas are self cleaning organs, and constantly outflowing acidic fluids- how in the world does sperm swim against the current to impregnate someone?

Question

Does the semen’s alkalinity deactivate it? How is something so small able to swim against the current in tight tissues?

In: 21

Answer 1

The real question is how does one out of hundreds of millions of sperm make it?
Its a numbers game, and also a matter of having high quality sperm and a functioning reproductive system in women also.

Sperm are motile, meaning they can move to an extent. They dont move far, fast, in a manner of hare vs tortoise, but relatively speaking, sperm can move as fast as one cm per hour, which is rather fast. Some or much sperm will only move about 2.5.cm a day. Thats apparently average. Its better to have sperm that are slightly or much faster than average. This is, in fact the Procreation Olympic Games after all. Some of those little guys wont make it through the first heat, and only a few will finish with a silver medal. Only one gets the Gold. And that isnt even always the case.

The other thing is, most of the sperm will be deposited directly onto the cervix, which is the opening of the uterus. The cervix stays mostly closed, absent a birthing event or an OBGYN procedure, but the opening is technically indeed (slightly) open for business 24/7. So many surviving sperm simply wiggle inside. Some just die. Its survival of the fittest, at its core.
The uterus is also generally an acidic environment, except during ovulation and perhaps a few days prior, when uterine conditions are a little less uncomfortable, chemically, in order to allow for implantation to happen easier.

Theres a few allowances offered by an ovulating womans body to at least somewhat encourage the swimmers. The chemical aspect can make it a more or less time intensive journey,

Additionally, her own orgasm might add to a womans body making even more allowances, if she is ovulating anyways, by possibly having some internal added movement that can help to propel sperm to their intended destination.

https://ferticity.com/time-takes-sperm-to-reach-egg-after-sex/#:~:text=Following%20the%20ejaculation%2C%20the%20sperms,these%20tiny%20sperms%20to%20travel.