[baccanogal]

Originally Posted by Coffee.

If he respects you, he should be willing to wait. I have been dating my partner since the end of my freshman year of high school and we waited two years, when were were seniors, until we both felt emotionally ready to make that kind of decision and that we could deal with the consequences. He was ready before I was, but he waited because he respected and cared about me.

I'd definitely consider birth control options now (before you're sexually active) so if you're looking into exploring different options, here is a great site for it! The IUD and the implant are the most effective methods at preventing pregnancy, and if you combine with a condom (which also protects against STIs), chances of bad effects are very small. However, you're right to be concerned-there is always a chance! Therefore, waiting until you would be ready to deal with the consequences (either pregnancy or an infection) is a great choice.

Thank you for your reply

Yeah, I'm assume that this guy in particular will be respectful of me as well, he isn't the sort of person who would go around forcing girls to have sex with him (or forcing anybody to do anything for that matter!).

Yeah, birth control pills are likely to be quite difficult to get a hold of, due to my parents really not wanting me to have sex (since they know that I wouldn't want to have sex unless I was a) emotionally prepared and b) with all the necessary precautions on hand), but I would probably be a lot less scared of having sex if I could get hold of some very effective measures such as those- I'm assuming that this guy will be understanding and equally cautious of doing the deed as I am if he knew about my inability to obtain contraception though- I'm sure the thought of becoming a teenage parent is rather undesirable to him as well haha!