Sex: Myth vs. Fact

When I was a teen, I heard rumors about sex that weren't true. There were things that I wasn't aware of either. I'm posting some facts for teens and virgins so that when you start thinking about having sex, you'll be armed with some good information.

In the book The Virgin Diaries, a seventy-seven year-old women shared her story. She was fifteen when she lost her virginity. She heard that if you thought you might be pregnant, you could shake up a bottle of cola and insert it and that might abort a baby. This is simply ridiculous and completely untrue. It seems pretty obvious but when we are not informed, sometimes, we believe these kinds of things.

Condoms are pretty reliable in preventing pregnancy but not 100%. They can come off during sex. There can be a tiny hole that can't been seen with the naked eye. Semen can pass through. Using condoms won't guarantee that you are preventing sexually transmitted infections either. You can use a condom and still get herpes and genital warts because these STIs can live in the areas surrounding our genitals. YUCK!

The "pull-out" method is one of the worst myths to believe. It means the male pulls his penis out before he ejaculates. The myth is, that if this is done, a female won't get pregnant. The truth is, when a male is inside of a female, semen does leak out. Many women have become pregnant this way. It is absolutely NOT a way to prevent pregnancy.

There is also the rhythm method.  There are times during a woman's cycle (during ovulation) when she is more likely to become pregnant.  It's usually about two weeks after the first day of her period. Ovulation occurs when a mature egg is released from the ovary, pushed down the fallopian tube, and is available to be fertilized. The lining of the uterus has thickened to prepare for a fertilized egg. If no conception occurs, the uterine lining as well as blood will be shed. The shedding of an unfertilized egg and the uterine wall is the time of menstruation.


Fertilization periods vary with each woman. This is a better way to try to plan on becoming pregnant because the truth is even when we are not in our "fertile time frame" we can still become pregnant.  After unprotected intercourse, sperm can sustain its reproductive viability for several days – if it makes it up as far as the cervix.


Keep in mind that when you have sex, you open yourself up to the possibility of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. The only way to avoid this is by abstaining. Understanding the facts about sex will help you make an informed decision when the time is right for you.