Safe sex advice

[MariaHernandez]

Hey guys, I need some serious advice. I started dating this guy and I'm completely whipped, we are getting really into each other and things get really hot really fast. It's only been a couple of weeks since we started dating but we are gonna fuck real soon. And I've been really hard to get not because I think having sex on the first dates it's bad, it's because sex scares me a little bit (pregnancy, stds) I've only had sex once in my life and that was like 8 months ago. We've only done oral and we want to take it to next level soon but I wanna wait because I wanna start taking birth control first, cause getting pregnant is something I wanna be when I'm way older and mentally and financially stable and right know it's not the time. So, what should I do? Should I just stick to condoms? Is waiting until I start birth control too much? I'm 20 years old btw

[al]

Hi there Maria,

It sounds like you're already started thinking about the important stuff - whether or not you feel ready to have sex, what contraception options feel right to you, etc. Those are the types of questions that we usually reflect back to people who are trying to decide when and how they'd like to have sex for the first time, or first time with a new partner. You might find it helpful to also check out Ready or Not? The Scarleteen Sex Readiness Checklist, because it asks more of those questions, and reviews the different risks, pros, and cons of those decisions. As for what contraceptives you choose to use, I highly recommend Birth Control Bingo! because it asks you about what you value and then talks about the pros, cons, and effectiveness of the different contraceptive methods.

Hope this helps!