Sex Ed Quiz!

Can you separate the myths from the facts? There is SO MUCH misinformation and outright false claims on social media about birth control. Do you know the facts based on actual medical research (and not some crazy online influencer)? Answer the questions below and test your knowledge!

1. A person can get pregnant the first time they have sexual intercourse.

2. A person cannot get pregnant if they bathe, urinate, or douche after sexual intercourse.

3. Birth control does not cause weight gain.

4. A person cannot get pregnant if they are having sex during the 'safe' time of the month.

5. Abstinence is the only method of contraception that is 100 percent risk free.

Here are the answers:

1. FACT: A person is at risk of becoming pregnant anytime they have unprotected sex. This rumor has existed for years, and many unplanned pregnancies are the result of people who believed this contraception myth. It doesn't matter if they are having sex for the first time, they can still get pregnant.

2. MYTH: Washing, douching or urinating after sex cannot clean out of prevent all of the sperm from entering the body. Therefore, the person can still get pregnant.

3. FACT: While the hormonal birth control won't inherently make you gain weight, it can make you retain water - creating the appearance of weight gain. This isn't a permanent change, and will usually go away once your body has adjusted to the new hormones, after about a month or two. If your birth control contains progesterone (most do), it can, for some people, cause an increase in appetite. Increased appetites can lead to eating more, which, yes, will lead to weight gain. Your appetite will increase slightly and then level out; meaning that once your body adjusts you shouldn't continue to gain weight.

4. MYTH: It's possible for a person to get pregnant anytime they have unprotected sex, if ovulation has occurred. While there are ways to track ovulation, they are less effective than hormonal or barrier forms of birth control.

5. FACT: Avoiding sexual intercourse of any kind (oral, anal and vaginal) is the only way to avoid pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease, including HIV infection.

More resources are available from Sex Ed To Go if you are unhappy with your score or need more knowledge of pregnancy prevention. You can also check out one of my FAVORITE sites called Bedsider - this site is great to share with your teen and let them explore options and learn more about what questions they may need to ask to determine