Sex Ed 101

Kate's advice: There is no way to keep a period "regular" per say, the body does that in it's own time. At 17, your body could still be adjusting to womanhood, hence the missed periods, and it could take awhile to become regular. My period wasn't regular and on time until I was almost 20. However, there are other reasons a period could go missing: stress, sickness, eating poorly, lack of sleep, and let's not forget pregnancy are all reasons that a period could go MIA. When it does come back, it may last a little bit longer, because the uterine lining has been there for quite awhile and has had more of a chance to build up.

The average period should last between 3-7 days, and shouldn't be so heavy that you are soaking a super absorbent pad every hour. If you just got your period in the last couple years, I wouldn't worry about it too much, but this is definitely something that is worth mentioning to your doctor next time that you go. Also, if you are sexually active, don't forget to use two methods of birth control - just because you aren't bleeding regularly doesn't mean you aren't fertile!

Janet's advice: While medical technology is, overall, pretty advanced, once a female transitions to being male she cannot have children or get another woman pregnant. The external parts can look extremely convincing, but do not work for reproduction. Furthermore, even prior to undergoing the sex-reassignment surgery many of the medications that people of either sex take can reduce their potency in reproduction or eliminate it all together.

Janet's advice: I'd skip over buying the pregnancy test right now and just go straight to a doctor--find a free clinic, go to an emergency department if you have to (and as an EMT I'm pretty picky when I tell people to go to an emergency department--but if there's no other way for you to get in and see a doctor, you do what you've got to do). If you're pregnant you need to know now and you need to know for sure. You also need to talk to a doctor about how to take care of yourself if you plan to keep it (and it sounds like you do). You're also probably going to be urged to have some sort of counseling and I can almost guarantee will find the need to set up communication with a social worker.

I don't know what you think is involved with raising kids, but it's a time intensive job that, while I'm sure you have enough love to raise the child, you're barely out of childhood yourself. You're not even a teenager, you'll never really get to experience the same sort of freedom that you'll watch many of your friends, the ones who haven't even had boyfriends yet, will soon experience as they're out late at movies and dances and all of those activities that they're all going to take for granted. Additionally, how do you think your boyfriend is going to react? If he's also about your age he's probably going to flip out, for a lack of better words, because he may not share your sentiments about raising a child.

You've got a lot to work through and think about. You need to see a doctor though. It is absolutely imperative. I also strongly advise you touch base with a social worker and a counselor because you're going to go through a lot over the next nine months and then for the next eighteen years after that (at least). I hope you find some way to make this work, while I don't understand your point of view, I respect it and hope that you find ways to make the decisions that are right for you, the guy that got you pregnant, and, apparently, this child that you're pregnant with. But I think the gateway to making those right decisions is seeing a doctor.