Thank you for your question. It is totally possible for a young woman to become pregnant without having her first period. This is because during ovulation a mature egg is released from your ovaries and if a sperm attaches to it, you become pregnant. Ovulation typically occurs in the middle of your cycle, but doesn’t always result in a period. So it’s possible that you could ovulate prior to having your first period.
To answer your question about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), there are two ways you can protect yourself against them. The first is by using a condom every single time you have sex. The second is by refraining from all sexual intercourse, by practicing abstinence.
Neither abstinence nor STI protection (condoms) will allow you to become pregnant. However, it is possible to become pregnant and prevent STIs, but it requires good communication and trust. Start by having a conversation with your partner; the two of you need to agree to have a monogamous relationship. This means you only have sex with each other and no one else. Once you’ve reached this agreement, you both need to get tested for STIs. This is the only way to ensure that you do not have and will not contract an STI. It’s important to receive frequent STI testing, as some STIs do not have symptoms and be very harmful to a pregnancy.
It’s important to mention that becoming pregnant and having a child comes with major responsibilities. Even the most mature adults struggle with becoming a parent, because it is a lot to take on! Before you make the decision to become pregnant ask yourself: Can you support a child? Do you have a job, health insurance, and a safe stable place to live? Are you ready to become a parent? Do you think you are emotionally ready? Are you in good health? As a teen, you’re at a greater risk of developing health problems during your pregnancy. Make sure you take time to talk to your partner, health care provider (HCP), parent, and/or a trusted adult about your wishes to become pregnant. Your HCP can also give you advice and help make sure you have a healthy pregnancy.
Our health guides are developed through a systematic, rigorous process to ensure accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness. Written and reviewed by experienced healthcare clinicians from Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital and consistently ranked as a top hospital by Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report, these guides combine clinical expertise, specialized knowledge, and evidence-based medicine. We also incorporate research and best practices from authoritative sources such as the CDC, NIH, PubMed, top medical journals, and UpToDate.com. Clinical specialists and subject matter experts review and edit each guide, reinforcing our commitment to high-quality, factual, scientifically accurate health information for young people.