性行為的發展

隨著青春期的到來，青年男女也開始有生殖能力了。在發達國家，女孩現在月經初潮介於8-12歲，而男孩首次射精在12-14歲之間。從生理上看，這就意味著他們在非常小的年齡就能夠做父母了。可是，通常來說，他們的心理和社會成熟尚未完成，並因而仍不適合做父母。

不幸的是，許多青少年還沒有完全理解做父母的含意和不懂避孕知識就開始發生性交行為了。時常，首次性交並未事先做出計畫，就是這麼“碰巧發生”的。尤其對於年幼的男女青少年來說，恰恰就是這種情形下發生了首次性交。可是，一名已經行經的女孩子有非常充分的條件“首次”懷孕。一些男女青少年沒有任何的防範，而且因而可能最終和出乎意外地必須要處理掉非意願妊娠。在最好的情形下這也是一個嚴峻的難題，但是這種最好的情形卻也是遭之又遭。尤其對於不能擺脫非意願妊娠的女孩子來說，更為糟糕。即使生下了健康的嬰兒，對於這位年輕的母親及其自己的雙親來說也是一個沉重的負擔。時常，流產被視為唯一可接受的解決方案。除了上述的弊端以外，流產本身也是這位女孩子的沉重包袱。

非意願妊娠的難題只有早期而充分的性健康教育才能夠解決。青少年只有懂得了自己身體的機能、熟悉了避孕和預防性傳播疾病知識，才能夠在生殖行為中做到理性和負責任。

瑞典 法国 加拿大 英国 美国   :一些國家十幾歲青少年的生育和流產 (上世紀90年代中期：每1000名15-19歲婦女(%) 一些國家十幾歲青少年的性交行為: (上世紀90年代中期）：20-24歲婦女(%)     生育   到15歲     流產   到18歲    資料來源: 紐約伽特麥切研究所   到20歲

Stages of Development: Adolescence

Reproductive Behavior

With puberty, young females and males also become capable of reproduction. In the developed countries, girls now have their first menstruation between the ages of 8 and 12, and boys have their first ejaculation between 12 and 14. This means that, physically, they can become parents at a very early age. However, as a rule, they are psychologically and socially unprepared and thus still unfit for parenthood.
Unfortunately, many adolescents begin sexual intercourse without a full understanding of its implications and without using contraception. Most often, the first coitus is unplanned and “just happens”. This is especially true for very young couples. However, a female who has begun menstruating may very well get pregnant “the first time”. Some couples take no precautions in any case and thus may eventually and unexpectedly have to deal with an unwanted pregnancy. This is a serious problem under the best of circumstances, but often the circumstances are far from good. Especially the female cannot escape the consequences. Even if a healthy baby is born and accepted, it is usually a burden to the young mother and to her own parents. However, all too often an abortion is seen as the only acceptable solution. Apart from everything else, this also puts a heavy burden on the female.
The problem of unwanted pregnancies can be solved only with early, adequate sexual health education. Only adolescents who understand the workings of their own bodies and who are familiar with contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases can be rational and responsible in their reproductive behavior.