The best way to protect yourself from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is abstinence. However, if you engage in sexual activity, condoms and use of proper contraception will help protect you against unplanned pregnancy.
The teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. has dropped in recent years, but it’s still higher than in other developed countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Learn the facts versus myths about pregnancy.
Myth: I won’t get pregnant if I’m a virgin and it’s my first time having sex.
Fact: Your chances of becoming pregnant are always the same: 1 in 20.
Myth: My body is too young to get pregnant.
Fact: Once a woman is ovulating, she can become pregnant. This can happen even before your first period, since ovulation begins 14 days before your period.
Myth: Pregnancy won’t happen if the guy “pulls out” before he finishes.
Fact: Once a guy is aroused, he releases pre-ejaculation fluid. That’s at least 300,000 sperm swimming upstream. And guess what? It only takes 1 sperm to fertilize an egg. Pulling out shouldn’t be the only form of birth control that you and your partner use.
Myth: I can’t get pregnant if I’m on my period.
Fact: Not true. Women with shorter or irregular cycles can ovulate during their period. Sperm can also live in the body for up to five days, so if you ovulate within seven days of having unprotected sex, you could become pregnant.
Myth: I can’t get pregnant if I’m having dry sex (the act of sexual motions while still wearing clothing).
Fact: Any time the penis and vagina come into contact, there’s the slight chance of pregnancy or STI transmission. All it takes is for seminal fluid to get inside the vagina.
Myth: I can’t get pregnant by having sex in the pool.
Fact: You can get pregnant in any kind of water – bath, hot tub, lake; you get the idea – if intercourse takes place.
Myth: Sperm die once they hit the air.
Fact: False. Sperm can live for three to five days if in a warm, moist environment. Sperm only die when dry.
Last reviewed: September 2019