If you can become pregnant, or if you’re sexually active in ways that can start pregnancies, there are some things that are good to know. Lots of people have questions about pregnancies, how they function practically, how you can protect yourself against getting pregnant and the rules for getting an abortion. Pregnancies start when an egg and a sperm are fused in the uterus, forming an embryo. This is called fertilisation. The embryo grows into a fetus which grows into a new human being.

Birth control

Menstruation is the body’s way of showing that you are sexually mature. This means that you can get pregnant by vaginal intercourse. If you are going to protect yourself against pregnancy, you have many different options. For example condoms, birth control pills, etonogestrel, and IUDs. You need to contact either a youth clinic or a midwife clinic to make sure you get the kind of birth control that works for you.

Fertilisation - getting pregnant

If you have a uterus, an egg from your ovaries will come loose around once per month, starting when you’re sexually mature. That’s called ovulating. The egg can be fertilised by a sperm. Sperms get to the egg through ejaculations, if they happen in the vagina, then they can reach the uterus and fuse with the egg. Sperms can come from the penis even if there is no ejaculation, small amounts come out as precum well before any orgasm. This can be enough for a pregnancy to start.

It can be difficult to know when you’re ovulating, this is why it’s extra important to use birth control if you don’t want to get pregnant.

The egg turns into an embryo when it’s been fertilised. The embryo develops into a fetus, which grows in the womb for 40 weeks, or 9 months. If the egg is not fertilised, it is rejected by the body after two weeks. That is what menstruation is.

Signs you might be pregnant

Commonly, the first sign that you’re pregnant is that you don’t get your period.

Other signs can be

• You are nauseous and might throw up, especially in the morning

• You are tired and get sad easily

• Your breasts are sore

• You’re sensitive to some smells

Pregnancy test

To find out whether you’re pregnant, you need to do a pregnancy test. You can book a time for a test at a youth clinic, midwife clinic or health centre. You can also buy a test and do it on your own at home. You can do a test around the time when you should have had your period.

It can be good to do the test at a clinic, though. That way you can talk to a midwife right away. Midwives can guide you towards the next step, regardless of whether you want to go through with your pregnancy. Midwives also help you with birth control, to reduce the risk of getting pregnant during your next vaginal intercourse. .

If you’re pregnant

Being told you’re pregnant can trigger many different emotions. You can feel happy, sad, scared, or surprised. You might not even feel anything at all at first. Maybe you don’t feel the way you thought you would. All those feelings are normal.

You might know, even before you’ve gotten the results of your pregnancy test, how you want to proceed. Or you might not have dared to think about it. You might want children, but not right now, or not with the person you’ve gotten pregnant together with.

It’s probably a good idea to talk to someone about how you feel. Talking to the other person that you started the pregnancy with is good. Additionally, you can talk to your sibling(s), parent(s), friend(s) or someone else who’s close to you. You can also talk to someone at a youth clinic or midwife clinic, or contact one of the support groups listed here at ungasjourer.se

Miscarriage

Miscarriage means that a pregnancy is terminated by itself and the fetus is rejected by the body before it’s completely matured. Most commonly, the reason is that the fetus isn’t developing like it should. 

Miscarriages often occur in the early stages of pregnancies, maybe even before you know that you’re pregnant. You can get belly aches and bleed from your vagina. The blood might contain mucus. You can bleed and be in pain for three weeks or so after a miscarriage. Having a miscarriage doesn’t increase the risk for miscarrying again. 

Miscarriages can lead to various emotions. You can get both sad and relieved. It can feel good to talk to someone about it, especially if you feel sad.

Abortion

Abortion means terminating a pregnancy. There are many reasons for having an abortion, but the reasons don’t matter that much. Everyone has the right to abortions, regardless of reasons.

It’s always the person who is pregnant who gets to decide if they are going to have an abortion. That is also true if you’re under 18. You have the right to change your mind at any point before the abortion. There is no age limit for having an abortion.

It’s common to have many thoughts and feelings about abortions. Regardless  if you think it’s a relief or something difficult, you might want to talk to somebody. You can also talk to someone about abortions if you’re undecided about having one yourself.

Having an abortion

Abortions are performed at abortion clinics. Up until week 18, you can have an abortion without special permissions. It’s not harder to get pregnant again if you have an abortion. The people working at abortion clinics are bound by professional secrecy, meaning they aren’t allowed to tell anyone about your visit. You don’t have to tell your guardian(s) but if you’re under 18, it’s probably good if an adult accompanies you. They don’t have to be your parent, it could just be another adult whom you trust. It’s normal to have lots of feelings after an abortion. You can feel sad and down, or relieved. Sometimes it takes a while for the feelings to catch up. It’s also common for feelings to go back and forth between good and bad. At the abortion clinic, you have the opportunity to talk to someone both before and after the abortion. Find your clinic at http://www.1177.se

Remember:

It’s always the one who is pregnant who is in charge!

Text av Sara Malmström - Tjejjouren i Eslöv

Translated by Dannie Milve, Förenade tjej-, trans- och ungdomsjourer

Källor
1177.se

UMO.se

Further reading

The body

Cunt knowledge

Dick dictionary

More about pregnancies at Umo!

More about pregnancies at 1177