Teen Pregnancy - Knowing the Signs and Your Choices

Teen Pregnancy & Parenting

For a teen who has decided to take that BIG next step and become sexually involved - pregnancy is a factor that you need to think about. There are some methods that you can use in order to prevent pregnancy once you start having sex (seeour section on contraception). However, accidents do happen and you risk becoming pregnant every time you have sex. It is important that you are informed in the what's, where's, how's and when's of pregnancy.

Being a Single Teen Parent:

Not only is it difficult to be a teen parent, but most teen parents end up being single parents. There are many tips that single parents can use to make sure that they remain happy and healthy and able to provide good care to their kid.

Here is some common information on pregnancy and getting pregnant:

Sex acts:

As a general rule, sexual intercourse (genital-to-genital penetration) between a guy and a girl is necessary for pregnancy to occur. You can use forms of birth control to reduce the risk of pregnancy by a lot, but no form of birth control is 100% guaranteed. Abstinence is the only way to avoid pregnancy.

The following activities could (theoretically) cause pregnancy:

* Intercourse (with or without protection)
* Any contact between the female genital area and male sperm or pre-ejaculatory fluid
* Anal sex (if any sperm makes contact with female genital area)

The following activities will not (ever) cause pregnancy:

* Abstinence
* Holding hands
* Dancing
* Kissing
* Heavy petting or making out with clothing on
* Making out in a hot tub or swimming pool
* Oral sex
* Touching of genitals with hands
* Homosexual relations
* You cannot get pregnant from making out with your clothes on; it is possible to get pregnant from making out while naked but the chances of this happening are highly unlikely. **In order for pregnancy to occur there must be contact between the female genital area and male sperm and contact without penetration is unlikely to result in pregnancy. However, any contact between the female genital area and male sperm can, in theory, result in pregnancy and should be handled with caution.