Pregnancy

MYTH! It doesn’t matter if it’s your first time having sex–it is possible to get pregnant. Abstaining from sex altogether is the best ways to prevent pregnancy, but if you decide to have sex, condoms and other birth control methods can help prevent pregnancy

MYTH! When a male ejaculates, the sperm travels through the vagina into the cervix, and then into the uterus. Urine is released from the urethra, not from the vaginal opening, so it does not come in contact with sperm. Washing or douching will not prevent pregnancy due to the speed of which semen travels into your cervix and the fact that water can’t reach the uterus. In fact, douching can actually push sperm up farther up into the vagina. Douching also causes an imbalance of healthy bacteria on your vaginal walls and can put you at an increased risk of contracting a vaginal infection.

FACT! It’s very uncommon, but it is possible since having your period doesn’t predict when you will release an egg which has to be present for sperm to begin the process of conception. Additionally, since sperm can live inside your uterus for up to 5 days, if you release an egg during these 5 days you run the risk of getting pregnant. Due to the unpredictability of your cycle, if you want to avoid pregnancy it’s important to use contraception even when you are menstruating.

MYTH! The best way to avoid getting pregnant is though abstinence. Abstinence (not having any kind of sex) is the only 100% effective form of birth control. If abstinence isn’t an option, using a condom in combination with a hormonal form of birth control is a close second. For example, this could be a condom used together with the birth control pill.