Do you need to have sex in order to have a child?

Nope. Sexual intercourse is not necessary to make a baby. In 1978, the world's first "test-tube" baby was born. Her name is Louise Brown. She was conceived by extracting her mother's ovum, placing it in a Petri dish, then adding some of her father's sperm. The resulting zygote was then implanted into Mrs. Brown. Thus, a technological breakthrough was made! Today, assisted reproductive technology helps tens of thousands of Americans have babies every year.

But you're probably not wondering about the medical science of fertility. Not in this sense, right?

Well when we're dealing with making babies the old-fashioned way, the only thing that needs to happen is sperm must combine with egg. If semen gets onto the vulva, even without penetration, the sperm cells can still make their way into the female body and fertilize an egg. This is why dry sex can still constitute a pregnancy risk if you don't use a condom.

For more information about conception, intentional or not, please check out this article: Where DID I Come From? A Refresher Course in Human Reproduction, and then read What's the Risk? Easy Pregnancy Risk Assessments