By Maddi, Peer Health Educator
There are so many things to learn in the world before you turn a certain age. One thing that health care providers, teachers, parents, and health educators are realizing is that teens are not learning enough about teen pregnancy prevention.
There are simple steps to preventing teen pregnancies as long as people actually use them. The only thing that will be 100% effective is abstinence. There are other good methods to prevent pregnancy that are effective, but not 100% effective (such as condoms and hormonal birth control like the Pill.) Even more effective are long-term reversible methods of birth control, like the IUD. These types of birth control are WAY more effective than any other method you are trying, like the pull-out method. It may sound like a good idea, but it's highly ineffective at preventing pregnancy, trust me.
Talking with your parents about birth control and sex can be hard and it could go wrong but it needs to be talked about with someone you trust if you have questions. So find that parent or other adult that you can honestly communicate with. You can always tell your parents about the TalkWithYourKids.org website if you are having difficulty bringing up the topic of sex. If you feel that you can’t talk with anyone you know, one option is to call your local clinic. You can always find a clinic near you at TeenSource.org.
All of this information is coming to you from a teen parent herself. I wish and I wish that I had had the information then that I have now. I don’t regret anything at all that I did but it's hard to see that some people in the world don’t care if you get this information or not. Luckily we have websites like TeenSource and places like Planned Parenthood that are working hard to reach out to youth in our communities.