ng swept away," or "not knowing what they were doing," as if,
somehow, that guaranteed that they wouldn't get pregnant. Many teenagers talk about the issue
of spontaneity in a sexual relationship. " To them, premeditated sex is wrong. Spontaneous sex,
in which a couple suddenly succumbs to overwhelming passion, is somehow viewed as
acceptable"(Bode, Pg. 28). If a teenage girl walks into her first sexual encounter equipped with
a diaphragm and a tube of contraceptive gel, she feels guilty, as if she has planned her
rendezvous. She feels immoral. It is only later, when she is in a state of high panic over a
possible pregnancy, that she wishes that she's marched in with an oversupply of birth control
If a teenage girl doesn't expect to have sex, if she is actually swept away, "One can
hardly expect her to have started taking the pill a month earlier, or for that matter to have
purchased a box of contraceptive sponges or a container of contraceptive foam"(Guernsey, pg.
224). Frequently. birth control is not used by teenagers because of they way sexual intercourse
happens. It is often hurried, done in places that don't provide privacy or time to use many of the
effective methods. Mostly, birth control is not used because the passionate feelings are so urgent
that young people don't want to interrupt their lovemaking or because they are not comfortable
enough with sex or each other to discuss it.
However, lack of education or psychological factors are not the only reasons teens tend to
become pregnant. "15 percent want to have a baby in order to make their boyfriend stay, or so
they wont be lonely"(Angel, Pg. 66) There is another reason teenagers are becoming pregnant
more than ever before- a reason that may surprise many people. The reason is that many teens
-both boys and girls- want to have babies. " Many girls...