For as long as there have been teenagers, teenage boys have been trying to convince teenage girls to have sex. And five of the things they tell you are myths at best, lies at worst.
“You can’t get pregnant the first time.” Women are at their most fertile in their teens and twenties, whether it’s the first time or the fiftieth. Every year hundreds, if not thousands of teen mothers say “But we only did it ONCE.” It only takes once.
“You can’t get pregnant if we follow the rhythm method.” A recent study shows that one in five teens claims to use the rhythm method of birth control. Unfortunately, this form of birth control results in pregnancy 25% of the time.
“You can’t get pregnant if I pull out.” “Pulling out” isn’t as easy as it sounds, and he may not be able to even if he truly intends to. Furthermore, there may be what is called “pre-ejaculate” which includes sperm that can reach your egg.
“You can’t get pregnant if we use a condom.” While a condom may be more reliable than the rhythm method, they have been known to break.
“You can get pregnant if you take a bath or shower or douche after sex.” Another dangerous myth. In fact, douching can make matters worse by giving the sperm a boost. Not that they need it. In fact, they swim so fast, that it’s unlikely anybody could stop them once they’re on their way. No matter how fast you try to clean up, it may be too late to prevent pregnancy.
So there you have it. Five common myths that teenage boys want to believe and teenage girls should never believe.
And there’s one more myth that nobody will believe, no matter how much they may want to: “I must have gotten pregnant from a toilet seat.”
No, that just doesn’t happen.
Believing these myths can change your life forever. And while everybody loves sweet little babies, statistics prove that early motherhood and abandoned educations lead to lives of poverty for both the mothers and their babies. Because these clichés aren’t the only ones teenage mothers hear.
“It’s not my kid.” And “I don’t think it looks like me.” And “Why should I pay child support? YOU’RE the one that got pregnant.”
And, of course, there’s the myth you’ll hear from your boyfriend’s mother no matter how much she likes you now: “You ruined my son’s life when you got yourself pregnant.”