1. If you’re on your period, you can’t get pregnant.
Just because you’re on your period doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant during this time. While every female is different, sometimes they can ovulate while they are on their period. What you also have to keepin mind is that sperm can live in the female body on average 3-4 days, but can live as long as 5-7 days. If a couple has sex towards the end of her period, and her body decides to ovulate soon after, there could be sperm still living. It only takes one sperm to meet with an egg, so it’s important that if you make the decision to have sex, you need to be protected EVERY time!

2. If you urinate after sex, it will wash all of the sperm away, and you won’t get pregnant.
This is a common myth I hear a lot. What you have to realize is that the urethra and the vagina are two separate areas in the body. A female does not urinate out of her vagina. This is how she is able to wear a tampon and urinate at the same time. So, even though the two are very close to each other, urinating after you have sex will do nothing to wash sperm out of the vagina. The only way to help keep sperm away is to use a condom, or to not have sex at all!

3. If you douche after sex, it will rinse the sperm out and you won’t get pregnant.
Douching is a method used to wash out the vagina. Thus, some people look at this as an effective method of birth control. In reality, douching may actually help the sperm reach the egg faster when douching takes place. Douching has also shown to possibly create infections in the vagina. Overall, douching isn’t as helpful as once thought, so just steer clear of this method all together.

4. You can’t get pregnant the first time you have sex.
Just because you’ve never had sex doesn’t mean that you get a free pass the first time you have sex. For example, most of you have heard of Maci from MTV’s show Teen Mom. Maci is a great example of how this can happen! Maci lost her virginity with her then boyfriend, Ryan, and two months later found out that she was 8 weeks pregnant. Sex is a big responsibility with lots of things to consider. If you’re not ready for the consequences, you may want to put off having sex until you’re able to handle it. 

5. You can’t get pregnant if you stand up with having sex.
Contrary to what you may have heard from the movie, Knocked Up, you can indeed get pregnant while standing up. Sperm are able to travel upstream even if the body is in a standing position. And just to clarify, if you’re having unprotected sex, you can get pregnant no matter WHAT position you’re in. So be safe, and be prepared!

I know we are all watching MTV’s Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant, and I want to chat about how we perceive it. Being a pregnant teen was once a shunned and even “dirty little secret” for some families is now the in your face growing normalcy on our TV screens. Do you think it’s glamorous? How much money are the girls getting per episode? Do you think that it’s worth getting pregnant to try to become a reality star? Are these girls role models?Let’s tackle one think at a time.

The money- well we don’t have access to their contracts but as we see in many episodes they are always struggling. Let’s take the original 4 of MTV’s Teen Mom.  Maci, Farrah, Amber and Catelynn. Even though a couple of them come from families with money they are still struggling to make ends meet. Maci even had to fight Ryan for child support right? And Farrah was trying to get benefits for her daughter too. So just because they are on TV doesn’t mean they are rich.  Did you know the average cost to raise a baby is at least $10,000 in just the first year?? That’s not including the daycare costs. Will your part time job support that? Two-thirds of families begun by a young unmarried mother are poor. More than half of all mothers on welfare had their first child as a teenager. Do you know how much a condom costs? $0. What about abstinence? Also $0.

Being Famous- Now let’s think what are these girls really famous for? Not wearing a condom? These shows are designed to show you how hard it is to be a teen and have to raise a child when, let’s face it you are still a kid yourself. But unfortunately these mom’s have become famous and are splashed on the cover of magazines with the likes of Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston. What message is that sending? Remember these girls have to face the downside of fame too, the media builds them up and viciously tears them down. Headlines like “Surviving on Prescription Drugs” and “Getting her baby taken away” are a constant battle. Do you want your picture next to those captions?

Role Models- Let’s look at the definition:

Now, I do not want to put these girls down for the choice that they have made, I do not believe it is my placed to judge, they have a very hard road ahead. But do we think they are role models? Or, should we look to them as an example of what NOT to do. I think that this is part of the reason the girls and their families agreed to do the show, for others to learn by a real life example

Teen moms rarely finish high school, only one-third of adolescent mothers will graduate high school, and only slightly over 1 percent of those will earn a college degree before they turn 30. What about being a role model for your kid yourself… Daughters of teen moms are three times more likely to become teenage mothers themselves. The sons of teen moms are two times more likely to end up in prison.

Again, I don’t think they Bristol Pailins’ or the “Teen Moms” out there are bad people, but they made irresponsible choices and are now dealing with their lives and their families lives turned upside down. Babies are a wonderful part of life, but wouldn’t you like to live yours a little while first? Think about it, if you get pregnant, I can guarantee MTV is not going to come knocking on your door.

As a spin off to MTV's 16 and Pregnant series, the show Teen Mom was created. In addition to teenage motherhood, the series focuses on themes of changing relationships, specifically those of the family, friends, couples and school. It shows the struggles teenagers have to go through to raise their children. The Livestrong.com website stated that the United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate of all developed countries. About 1 million teenagers become pregnant each year and 95 percent of those pregnancies are unintended. So, do shows like this bring awareness to teenage pregnancy, or do they do more harm than good?

If you're a Teen Mom fan like me, you're aware that it's on Season 3 for teen moms Maci, Farrah, Amber and Catelynn. We watched them originally on the show 16 and Pregnant, which aired back in late 2009. Some people say that it's been great to see the struggles associated with teen pregnancy and really brings light to a rising issue. Others say that it does nothing more than glamorize teenage pregnancy and may be encouraging others to try to become pregnant because they want to become reality TV "stars".

16 and Pregnant has showcased over 30 stories since it's start back in mid 2009 and Teen Mom has shown a total 8 stories. Some say enough is enough. We've seen the stories and now it's time to end the show. Others wonder when will the filming of the original Teen Mom's lives come to an end? Just how much money are these girls receiving for having their entire lives filmed? Does the filming do more harm than good? When do these shows go from bringing awareness to an issue to just being another reality show purely for entertainment value? Do you think Teen Mom is bringing awareness to teenage pregnancy, or do you think shows like this are only making the problem worse?

What's your stance on the Teen Mom debate? Let your opinion be known by participating in this discussion!