Pregnancy Myths

The United States teen pregnancy rate is twice Great Britain's rate and 15 times the rate in Japan according to statistics provided by S.I.E.C.U.S. (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States). Therefore, it makes the U.S. the leading industrialized nation with the most teen pregnancies.

A recent study revealed that 85% of all teenage pregnancies were unintended. It occurs within six months of a girl's first experience of intercourse. In the quest for effective birth control there are many myths & fallacies about how to prevent women from becoming pregnant after performing sexual intercourse. They range from vague ideas, laughable, & even some that makes no sense at all.

Most of the facts pertain to having sexual intercourse the unsafe way, which is without using the proper birth control. Below are some known facts on becoming pregnant.

A woman having her period can get pregnant. I once actually believed that women were not able to become pregnant during a period cycle. It is simply a possibility for pregnancy. Sperms are a hardy bunch. They can survive two to three days on average in a woman's body. Also, having sex before or just after her period can result in pregnancy.

A first sexual experience can result in pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (S.T.D.). It is an obvious fact regardless of it being the first or the one hundredth occasion of having unprotected sex.

Washing the private parts with antiseptics, also termed douching, will not prevent pregnancy. When the ejaculation happened inside the vagina, then there is no sense in "cleaning" only the outer parts of the female reproduction organ in an effort to prevent pregnancy.

Jumping up & down after sex does not prevent pregnancy. Kangaroos do it all so frequently but they still produce offspring.

Pineapples are not a cause of miscarriage. Drinking pineapple juice or eating pineapples is not going to prevent pregnancy. Pineapples are not acidic enough to harm the ovarian process. However, go easy on the pineapples even though it can not make a difference regarding pregnancy. It can still infuriate stomach ulcers.

No particular sexual position will prevent pregnancy while performing unsafe sex. Sexual intercourse done in any position is good to make a woman pregnant.

Ejaculation of semen outside the woman's body after performing unsafe intercourse can result in pregnancy. It is because the pre ejaculation fluid contains sperm too. Wear quality condoms. Both sperm containing liquids can get a woman pregnant even when the sperm spills near the opening of the vagina. They are millions of sperm in both liquids & only one sperm is required to successfully make its way to an ovary's eggs for impregnation.

In the event of pregnancy, women can check to see whether they are showing the early signs of pregnancy which usually appears two weeks after conception. The symptoms include a missed period, bloating, fatigue, frequent urination, increased or decreased appetite, nausea, tender breasts, and/or lightheadedness.

A good teenage sex education resource is http://www.teensource.org. The website contains useful information & offers guidance for teenagers regarding sexual related matters. It can be a good place to ask for psychological help too via the linked websites as emotions may become unstable after sex especially for the inexperienced teenagers. - Abas Kamal bin Sulaiman