An Indonesian commissioner for Child health and Protection, Sitti Hikmawatty, has said that women can get pregnant from swimming in the same pool as men with “strong sperm”.

Mrs Hikmawatty made the statement during an interview with Tribun news, Tuesday.

According to her, women should be wary of the risks of unwanted pregnancies as there is a strong type of male sperm that may cause pregnancy in a swimming pool.

However, Hikmawatty’s claims were rejected by medical experts.

According to the Indonesian Doctors Association, IDA, it was “impossible” for women to get pregnant in a swimming pool.

“The water in swimming pools contains chlorine and other chemicals. Sperm cannot survive in these conditions,” the IDA said.

Buttressing her point, Mrs Hikmawatty said: “Even without penetration, men may become sexually excited [by women in the pool] and ejaculate, therefore causing a pregnancy.”

She however said this type of pregnancy was more likely to happen if the women in question had reached an age of being sexually active.

“If women are in a phase where they are sexually active, such a pregnancy may occur. No one knows for sure how men react to the sight of women in a swimming pool.”

Mrs Hikmawatty also went on to ‘wrongly’ state that in the US, women who killed people but were going through PMS were acquitted of their crimes.

Reacting to Hikmawatty’s statement, many have mocked her over the dangers of women getting pregnant during the recent floods that have submerged the city during the rainy season.

NAN