Good news and bad news, everyone! The good, no, the great news first: according to the CDC, the US teen pregnancy rate is at a 70-year low. High five, everyone.

The bad news?  U.S. teen birth rates are still nine times higher than in any other developed country. 400,000 teen girls aged 15-19 still give birth every year. Oops. 

Helping teens transition into healthy, happy, adults is a community issue, and we here at TeenSource.org are here to help. Information on birth control, abstinence, and sexuality is available to all and it is your right. In honor of the CDC’s latest study, we present to you the 10 Most Common Pregnancy Rumors, and remind you not to fall for any of them. Congratulations on the good work, and remember that if you’re going to have sex, a condom is always your best protection against pregnancy and STDs!
 

1) You can’t get pregnant if you’re both virgins.
Alas, you’re just as likely to get pregnant if it’s your first time or your fiftieth.

2) You can’t get pregnant if you’ve never had your period.
You get pregnant when you ovulate, and sometimes that can happen right before you have intercourse even if you haven’t had your first period. Pregnancy before even getting a period is entirely possible and entirely common.

3)You can’t get pregnant if you’re on your period.
Menstrual cycles are very unpredictable and vary, especially in teenagers (that means you, friend), and a girl can easily get pregnant when she is on her period.  

4) You can’t get pregnant if you are on birth control
It happens! A lot. Birth control pills/shots will give you a good edge, but there is no surefire way to prevent pregnancy, and they don’t protect against STDs!

5) If you do it girl-on-top, you can’t get pregnant
Sperm are tough, and they designed to fight gravity. It doesn’t matter what position you’re in, if you have unprotected sex you can get pregnant. 
 
6) If you leave you both leave your underwear on you can’t get pregnant.
If this one were true, condoms would be made of cloth. It’s a lot cheaper than latex. Even if there isn’t any skin to skin contact, sperm can and will get through fabric and most other barriers. The materials that they make condoms out of are the same materials that they make rocketships and submarines out of. Trust the NASA engineers and go with a condom, not your undies!
 
7) You can’t get pregnant if he pulls out.           
My little sister is proof that you can! This one is similar to #6. Sperm don’t just come out in one big finish at the end, guys can ejaculate during intercourse as well. All it takes is one.
 
8) Jumping up and down after sex will cause the sperm to leave your body.
On average, about 300 million sperm are released after each ejaculation. Even if you managed to get a few out, there are still millions more. This one is a no. 
 
9)Douching with Diet Coke will kill the sperm and prevent pregnancy.
Douching with anything will not prevent pregnancy. Also, diet coke? Really? That one is a big fat no on both counts. (Seriously, diet coke?)
 
10)If the guy drinks two liters of Diet Coke before sex, she won’t get pregnant.
What is it with Diet Coke and pregnancy prevention? This rumor is either the greatest practical joke ever or there’s a bored kid somewhere doing some really odd science experiments. The fact is that nothing a guy drinks will prevent kill his sperm or prevent him from being able to get someone pregnant. If it were that simple, we would know (and tell you about it!)

References: Snopes.com