Real questions from real young people, answered honestly

You cannot get pregnant before puberty starts. Pregnancy needs an egg, and your body does not release eggs until puberty begins. But there is an important detail. Your body releases its first egg about two weeks before your first period. That means you could get pregnant just before your first period arrives, without ever having had one. So before puberty, no. But once puberty is underway, pregnancy becomes possible even before your first period. If your body is showing signs of puberty like breast growth or body hair, it may already be able to get pregnant.

Most people do not know if they can have children until they try. There is usually no obvious sign beforehand. For girls and women, very irregular periods or no periods at all can sometimes mean the body is not releasing eggs regularly. Conditions like PCOS can affect this. For boys and men, fertility problems are usually about sperm, which can only be checked with a test. Untreated STIs like chlamydia can cause fertility problems if left for a long time. This is one reason getting tested matters. If you are a teenager worrying about this, you would not usually know at your age. If you have concerns, a GP can help.

Some STIs can be cured and some can't. It depends on which one it is. STIs caused by bacteria, like chlamydia and gonorrhoea, can be cured with antibiotics. You take the medicine, and the infection goes away. STIs caused by viruses, like herpes and HIV, can't be cured. But they can be controlled with medicine. People with HIV take daily tablets and live normal, healthy lives. Herpes can be managed so outbreaks happen less often. The important thing is to get tested. Many STIs have no symptoms, so you might not know you have one. Testing is free and private at any sexual health clinic.