So you over heard the girls in the locker room today after gym class. One of them mentioned how she was going to “give it up” to her boyfriend after school this afternoon since her parents were going to be late from work. You then hear another girl ask her if she’s worried she might get pregnant? The same girl then responds with, “You can’t get pregnant on the first time!”… WRONG-O ladies (and gents!). Let me be the first person to tell you that you CAN get pregnant on the first time having sex. It only takes ONE sperm and ONE egg to make a baby. Although the female body, on average, will only release one egg, the male body will release millions of sperm per round. Are those odds you want to gamble with? I wonder if your friend talking about ‘giving it up’ to her boyfriend knew those odds.
Do you feel like you’re ready to have sex with your boyfriend? Or maybe he says he’s ready? This is a big choice to make at a young age. Remember there IS more to sex than just the act of being with a boy. There is an emotional tie of having sex that you won’t understand until after the act of sex is finished with. Love is a strong emotion that is hard to understand, even for adults. Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you’re not in love, you absolutely could be, but it also doesn’t mean you need to ‘seal the deal’ to be in love. If your boyfriend ever even hints at the fact he won’t love you or be with you if you don’t sleep with him, I can tell you RIGHT NOW: he doesn’t love you! I know that sounds harsh but please understand that someone who does love you will be with you (and love you) no matter what your choices on sex are.
So you’ve made the choice and now you’re worried, where should you start? First, find an adult to help you. If you’re too scared to talk to your parents, talk to someone you trust: a family friend, a teacher, an aunt. Find someone you can confide in and that can help you. If you are pregnant you will need medical attention starting as soon as possible to make sure that you and baby are healthy. Once you let someone know the next step will be taking a pregnancy test to confirm. Blood tests are most accurate and will need to be given by a doctor. An over the counter pregnancy test will also give results but can be less reliable. Once you have a positive result you’ll begin talking to a doctor about the next route to get the best prenatal care for you and baby. Pregnancy is serious and it is not something to be taken lightly and hide. Hiding a pregnancy will only be harmful to you and your child. As always there are many options to consider with a positive pregnancy and that’s something that you will need your family and the father of the baby to help you decide. No matter what, you need support during this time. If you are pregnant but aren’t ready to talk to you parents yet and don’t feel you have an adult to talk to please consider these help lines to give you information on your next steps: 800-230-PLAN (PPFA) & 888-672-2296 (American Pregnancy Helpline).
Girls please remember there is only ONE way to ensure you will not have an unplanned teen pregnancy: don’t have sex. Nothing else is 100% fool proof, no matter what the girls in the locker room tell you!
Wait until you are married!
OMG, just don’t have sex. It’s easier than you think. Sex makes life way too complicated.