Baby, Baby, Baby
Based on your menstrual cycle, when's the best time to have sex so you have the lowest chance of pregnancy?
—Megan, 16, Arizona
TeensHealth: For teens, there's really no good time to have unprotected sex and avoid pregnancy. That's because a girl's menstrual cycle takes time to settle down after she starts getting her period — even several years. And until that happens, it can be hard to judge when a girl is fertile.
Once a woman's cycle has settled down, she is most fertile during the few days two weeks before her period known as ovulation. This is when a woman's ovaries release the tiny egg that can then be fertilized by sperm and grow into a fetus. Of course, teen girls ovulate too, but the timing can be very hard to predict. So it's quite possible that a girl may be fertile without knowing it.
There are lots of myths out there about pregnancy and periods — but they're wrong. The truth is, a girl can get pregnant if she's never had her period, a girl can get pregnant the first time she has sex, and a girl can get pregnant if she has sex during her period. Because teen girls can ovulate even during what seems to be a period, a girl's best bet to avoid pregnancy is using a reliable method of birth control, like the Pill or the patch. Couples should also use condoms to help prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
—Megan, 16, Arizona
TeensHealth: For teens, there's really no good time to have unprotected sex and avoid pregnancy. That's because a girl's menstrual cycle takes time to settle down after she starts getting her period — even several years. And until that happens, it can be hard to judge when a girl is fertile.
Once a woman's cycle has settled down, she is most fertile during the few days two weeks before her period known as ovulation. This is when a woman's ovaries release the tiny egg that can then be fertilized by sperm and grow into a fetus. Of course, teen girls ovulate too, but the timing can be very hard to predict. So it's quite possible that a girl may be fertile without knowing it.
There are lots of myths out there about pregnancy and periods — but they're wrong. The truth is, a girl can get pregnant if she's never had her period, a girl can get pregnant the first time she has sex, and a girl can get pregnant if she has sex during her period. Because teen girls can ovulate even during what seems to be a period, a girl's best bet to avoid pregnancy is using a reliable method of birth control, like the Pill or the patch. Couples should also use condoms to help prevent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
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