Did you know that almost l 70% of adolescents that have started a sexually active lifestyle state that they will have preferred to wait before engaging in intimate relations ,[1] and that 80% of teens consider that they were too young when they started intimate relations?[2]

Sexuality is a very powerful force that can create life or self-destroy us if we don´t exercise it correctly. This force makes us capable of creating a unique bond with the person we love and we have chosen to be with us for our lifetime, experimenting great pleasure and allowing the arrival of children. If we don´t take this powerful force seriously and play with it, we and our loved ones suffer with the resulting destructive effects.

¿What are consequences of sexual relations during adolescence?

1) Getting pregnant or getting your girlfriend pregnant There are many scientific studies that show how single mom children, have less social and academic achievements, than children with married parents. Above all, kids need both, mother and father. You should not take the chances of having kids that will never enjoy the love, protection and affection of one of their parents. You should remember that NO contraceptive is 100% safe to avoid pregnancy, and most of them have serious health consequences.

2) Getting a lifelong sexually transmitted disease like: HIV (AIDS), herpes, and human papillomavirus; among many others. And if you are women, the risk of infecting your children with one of these diseases during delivery. There is always a risk of acquiring the disease, even if you use a condom during intimate relations.

3) Deteriorate your academic social and psychological performance. Scientific studies show that teens that begin to have sexual relations drop out of school earlier, completing less academic instruction.[3]

4) Increased tobacco, alcohol and marihuana use. Research shows that teens that have started a sexually active life, have between 50 and 100% more alcohol,[4] tobacco and marihuana, compared to those that have not started sexual relations.[5]

5) Sharing with someone that won´t be committed, with you for a lifetime, that won´t be with you during the good and bad times, that could be using you to satisfy his own desires; and after some time won´t want to know anything about you, and even experiencing the shame of him/her letting friends know about this relations.

6) Living your first sexual relations in secret , , without enjoying them, feeling insecure and with guilt feelings, without feeling sure if the person you are with will stay with you permanently.

How much do I have to wait to start sexual relations?

Until marriage. Even though many people believe that this answer is old-fashioned, the only way of being sure that your boyfriend or girlfriend loves you; is when he commits in front of your parents and family, friends, and the whole society to: love you, respect you, make you happy, and raise a family together; and this is only possible through marriage.

[1] Martino SC, Collins RL, Elliott MN, Kanouse DE, Berry SH. It's Better on TV: Does Television Set Teenagers Up for Regret Following Sexual Initiation? Perspect Sex Reprod Health 2009; 41(2):92–100.

[2] Cotton S, Mills L, Succop PA, Biro FM, Rosenthal SL. Adolescent girls perceptions of the timing of their sexual initiation: "too young" or "just right"? J Adolesc Health 2004; 34(5):453-8

[3] Blum RW, Halcón L, Beuhring T, Pate E, Campell-Forrester S, Venema A. Adolescent health in the caribbean: risk and protective factors. Am J Public Health 2003; 93:456–60.

[4] Blum RW, Halcón L, Beuhring T, Pate E, Campell-Forrester S, Venema A. Adolescent health in the caribbean: risk and protective factors. Am J Public Health 2003; 93:456–60.

[5] Gutierrez JP, Bertozzi SM, Conde-González CJ, Sanchez-Aleman MA. Risk behaviors of 15–21 year olds in Mexico lead to a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections: results of a survey in disadvantagedurban areas. BMC Public Health 2006, 6:49.