It can be really tricky navigating the world as a teenager. Adults think you’re too young so sometimes they keep certain things from you in a bid to be protective, however this can cause more hard than good.
A good example of this is the issue of sex education. There’s a lot of debate about when to start teaching kids about sex. Some people argue that teaching young people about sex might encourage them to start having sex early but the truth is that not arming them with enough information means that they are more likely to be exposed to the many myths floating around and this can get them in even more trouble.
I’ll be sharing a few of the ones I’ve heard and debunking them in this post.
1) You can’t get pregnant the first time you have sex: This is completely false. Your reproductive life starts as soon as you get your first period. This means that any time you have unprotected sex there’s a chance you can get pregnant. So if the first time you have sex happens to be during your ovulation then yes there’s a chance you can get pregnant if you did not use contraception.
2) If you have sex standing up, you will not get pregnant: This one sounds a little ridiculous but i believe the premise is that if you have sex in a standing position then the ejaculate just slides out and so you can’t get pregnant. This is very very false. Why? During sexual intercourse, when the male ejaculates, the sperm already start swimming up into the womb, so if there’s an egg already released and waiting there then the sperm will meet the egg and you can start getting ready for antenatal care.
3) Taking antibiotics after unprotected sex prevents sexually transmitted diseases. First of all, it is not advisable to take antibiotics except they have been prescribed for you by a doctor to treat an infection. Because when you take antibiotics anyhow you can develop resistance and then they wouldn’t work when you need them. Secondly it is important to get a test to confirm the presence of an infection and what type of antibiotic it would respond to before taking any antibiotics. Most importantly the only way to prevent sexually transmitted diseases is by using condoms.
4) Douching with alcoholic preparations after unprotected sex can prevent pregnancy. This one is not just ridiculous but also dangerous. The vagina is a very sensitive area and even using soap to wash it isn’t advisable, much less something as harsh as alcohol. No matter how much washing you do after unprotected sex, whether with, soap, water or other harsh chemicals
5) Drinking locally prepared alcoholic concoctions can help terminate pregnancy. Recently i’ve seen a few people on social media giving their own abortion recipes which involve a mixture of alcohol, (especially spirits) along with some medicine. This is also dangerous because under no circumstances is it a good idea to mix alcohol with medication. It is also dangerous to take medication that’s not prescribed by a doctor. Such preparations may infact harm the pregnancy but may not lead to a complete abortion and this can cause even more complications.
This is by no means an exhaustive list, it’s just a starting point but we need to have more of these conversations in real life with the young people around us because knowledge is power and not having enough knowledge can cause more harm and even lead to fatal mistakes.
