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There is no "right" or "wrong" way to do anything sexual. Some people like things rough, others like it gentle. Some people bite a lot, some lick a lot, some don't use their mouth much at all. Some people just jump right into intercourse, other people like to have lots of foreplay first.

You just have to experiment and find out what works for you and your partner. If you have not experimented with kissing, touching, manual sex, and oral sex, I would recommend doing so before you two have intercourse. Because all those things will help you learn what you like, help you learn what he likes, teach him what you like, get you both comfortable with each other's body, help you communicate, etc. And all that knowledge will come in handy for intercourse!

You should get birth control before having sex. It can be the pill or it can be one of the many other methods out there. One hormonal method (like the pill or patch) paired with one nonhormonal method (like condoms) would be even better.

You can get condoms over the counter at any age. You can get the pill and other hormonal methods at any age too, but you need to get them from a doctor. That means you either have to tell your parents and have them take you to the doctor or you have to find a way to get to a clinic.

If you think your parents would be able to handle it, you can be honest and tell them you're not sexually active yet but you want to go in and get some birth control so that you're prepared for the future. If you're nervous you can write a note.

If you don't think they would handle it well, you'd have to find another ride and go to a clinic. Clinics like Planned Parenthood and Family Planning can give you free or low cost birth control, paps, STD tests, and more. And they'll even help you hide it from your parents.

A good doctor will sit you down and discuss all your birth control options. But you should still do some research beforehand so that you know the basics before going in, especially since you might be too nervous to really absorb everything the doctor says! Read through the stickies here to learn about birth control, sex myths, fertility, and other aspects of sex. There are also other reputable sex ed guilds here on Gaia, so feel free to look through their stickies as well.

Take your time and do your homework. STDs, accidental pregnancies, and regret can happen to anyone. But they are all more common among people who rush into sex without doing their research. Here's a quick preparation check list for you.

-Do you know about reproductive anatomy?
-Do you know that sex is not supposed to hurt the first time?
-Do you know about lubrication?
-Are you able to get a water-based lubricant to have on hand?
-Do you know about fertility and how pregnancy occurs?
-Do you know the difference between sex myths and sex facts?
-Do you have at least one form of birth control that you know how to use?
-Do you feel comfortable with your partner?
-Have you experimented with your partner?
-Do you know what feels good to your partner?
-Do you know what feels good to you?
-Do you know all your birth control options?
-Do you know about STDs and how protect yourself?
-Can you get to the store for condoms?
-Can you get to the ob-gyn for hormonal birth control, paps, STD tests, and anything else you might need?
-Do you feel comfortable enough to ask a doctor questions and to have a doctor see you naked?
-Do you have a backup plan in case of accidental pregnancy?
-Do you have a private place to have sex, where you know you won't be rushed or walked in on?
-Do you have enough privacy to keep birth control handy without someone rifling through it or without getting in trouble?
-Do you both want sex, feel ready for it, and feel prepared for it? Or is one person pressuring the other?

Another way you can tell your parents about getting on the birth control pill would be to say that your periods are irregular or you feel like you get severe cramps. The Pill also helps those things and that's my primary reason for being on it. So you can just use that excuse, since birth control can be used for other reasons than protection from pregnancy. biggrin
Definitely use ONE method of birth control, but your best bet to be protected is to use the Pill AND a condom EVERY time, as the above people already said.

I have been having sex for over ten years and have never been pregnant. Birth control is very effective when used as directed. If you got pregnant at 15 it means you were probably either not using birth control or not using your birth control correctly. And if that is the case, then it would be your fault for doing something you were not prepared for. You can't blame sex for that or tell other people not to have it. It would be like jumping into an airplane, trying to fly it with no training whatsoever, then blaming the plane when you crash.