Free Condoms and Pregnancy Prevention
According to the CDC, teen pregnancy rate in the United States has declined in the past few years, although it is still the highest of any industrialized.
If you decide to be sexually active and are not ready to have a baby, you should have plenty of condoms handy. Studies have found that consistent and correct use of condoms is by far the most important factor in preventing pregnancy, compared to failure, condoms through breakage or slippage. Pregnancies reported with condom use are due primarily to inconsistent and incorrect use not to defective condoms (see ďHow To Use a Condomď). Failure of the condom itself is rare. Research has shown that exposure to semen is nearly always due to non-use, with a very minor portion due to breakage during use and virtually none due to holes resulting from the manufacturing process.
Life is difficult for a teenager even without having a child. A recent study has shown that teen mothers and fathers are more likely to drop out of high school than their piers who delay childbearing and 64 percent of teen mothers graduated from high school or earned a general equivalency diploma (GED) within two years after they would have graduated, compared to 94 percent of teen women who did not give birth. With education cut short, they are more likely to lack job skills, making it hard for them to find and keep a job. Teens may not have good parenting skills, or have the social support systems to help them deal with the stress of raising an infant. Children whose mothers were age 17 or younger when they were born tend to have more school difficulties and poorer health than children whose mothers were 20 to 21 when they were born.
There are a few different methods of pregnancy prevention, the most common is the barrier method like a condom and this is a safe sex MUST even if you are using something else for birth control. You can get pregnant, or catch an STD, the very first time you have sex or the very first time you have sex without protection. Birth control and STD protection must be used properly to be effective. Missed pills and doubled up condoms are the most common misuse of birth control and can result in pregnancy or STD transmission. There is no right or wrong way to have intercourse but if it hurts, or if it doesn't feel right emotionally, you should stop right away.
Teen Condom Facts and Use
Teenagers think they know how to use a condom correctly, but user error is the number 1 reason why condoms fail.
Use a new condom for each act of intercourse. Do not use old brittle condoms that have been in your wallet for months. Check the expiration date, it should be printed right on the back of every condom wrapper. Open the wrapper carefully and please... no teeth.
Put on the condom as soon as erection (hard-on) occurs and before any sexual contact (vaginal, anal, or oral).
Hold the tip of the condom and unroll it to the base of the erect penis leaving space at the tip, if an air bubble gets caught inside, it could break the condom, so be sure that there is no air trapped.
Adequate lubrication is important, but use only water-based lubricants, such as Wet, Rain, KY, or Astroglide. Oil-based lubricants, such as petroleum jelly, cold cream, hand lotion, or baby oil, can weaken the condom and possibly break.
If you notice that the condom breaks during intercourse, withdrawal from your partner and put on a new condom. Pay attention! You and your partner may not notice if the condom has broken.
Withdraw from the partner immediately after ejaculation, holding the condom firmly to keep it from slipping off. Tie the end of the condom and throw it in the trash, donít flush!
Just The Facts
The likelihood of teenagers' having intercourse increases steadily with age; however, about 1 in 5 young people do not have intercourse while teenagers.
Most young people begin having sex in their mid-to-late teens, about 8 years before they marry; more than half of 17-year-olds have had intercourse.
While 93% of teenage women report that their first intercourse was voluntary, one-quarter of these young women report that it was unwanted.
The younger women are when they first have intercourse, the more likely they are to have had unwanted first sex.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) of sexually active 15-17-year-old women have partners who are within two years of their age; 29% have sexual partners who are 3-5 years older, and 7% have partners who are six or more years older.6
Most sexually active young men have female partners close to their age: 76% of the partners of 19-year-old men are either 17 (33%) or 18 (43%); 13% are 16, and 11% are aged 13-15.7
It is our goal is to encourage young people to practice safer sex by using condoms and personal lubricants in order to possibly reduce the risk of aids, sexual transmitted disease, and unexpected pregnancy, however any information provided on this site is provided for informational purposes and is not meant to substitute for the advice provided by a physician or any medical professional.
CDC National AIDS Hotline: 1-800-342-AIDS