[Always *]

Hey girl, so you should get a pregnancy test. I don't know if the recommendation is still the same, but it used to be that you should get 2-3 of them to double and triple check before seeing a doctor, but I guess they could have improved the quality of at-home pregnancy tests since then. If you get even 1 positive see a doctor to get everything done up.

If you are pregnant, I'm sorry, but you're mom will probably have to know. I know it is scary and that she'll be angry, but you'll need her support. Either you'll need an abortion (which will probably require health insurance or some sort of financial support) OR you'll be growing a baby, which isn't something you can keep a secret for that long. It will be ok though, there are a lot of other support systems out there - friends, boyfriend, teachers, support groups, social services etc.

If you are pregnant you have options and I promise, you will be ok. I have friends who became parents as teenagers and they're fine. It wasn't easy, and most of them had their education and/or careers affected by it (ex. took longer to graduate or something), but it's not like their lives were ruined. Three of my friends even went to college while being parents. They had a lot of support (ex. one had a boyfriend take pat leave, another had a lot of family help etc.) but it worked out.... You can also choose adoption.

If you are not pregnant, you should get some kind of birth control. Condoms are the obvious and most accessible choice, but if remembering to use this is a problem for you and your boyfriend, I recommend something like the Nuva Ring: you just put that in, forget about it for 3 weeks, then take it out for a week to have your period, and repeat with a new one.