Hey! I’m a teenage girl who wants to lose her virginity with her boyfriend. My family is strictly Catholic and believe in no sex before marriage. I’m atheist though and I’ve been dating this guy for almost eight months. He’s got condoms, but should I be on a pill or something? We’re both virgins and neither of us have any venereal diseases. My main concern is pregnancy. My parents will not tolerate any kind of sex, so no help there. It’s too long to explain but my doc can’t help me out. Advice?

Condoms are only about 80% effective. Accidents happen with condoms – they can break or slip off or something could wrong. So, ideally, you want to be on birth control AND use a condom to be as safe as you possibly can.

If your doctor isn’t someone you trust to keep your confidence then I suggest you google free clinics in your area (such as Planned Parenthood). They will be able to help you with all your questions about safe sex, testing, and birth control needs. And, no, they will not contact your parents. They are required by law to keep your records confidential.