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Let’s celebrate moms! Moms give us valuable sexual and reproductive advice! Except when they don’t! Read on for some of the best sexual/reproductive advice our moms ever (or never) gave us...

“I was very lucky, my mom was always honest and open about sexuality and taking care of our bodies. She always encouraged myself and sisters to be proud we were women and respect our bodies. If we respected our bodies then we would be strong enough to make smart decisions about who we chose to share it with.” –Rusty B.

“My mom was trying to explain to my 11 year old self that kissing could lead to getting pregnant. And I don’t think she understood that I thought that meant that just kissing would get you pregnant. So I asked her, ‘But mom, if kissing gets you pregnant, then how do actors do it?!’ and she responded, “I don’t know but we have to make sure to not fall into temptation.’ So the next day I told all my friends to NEVER kiss anyone EVER because you could get pregnant. My friends and I laugh about it now but my mom NEVER clarified what she actually meant and when I would go to her and say ‘MOM! I saw xxx and xxx kissing, are they going to get pregnant?!?’ She would say ‘let’s pray they make the right decisions.’ Also, I asked my mom once if sex feels good to her and she goes ‘what an inappropriate question. But if you’re married, it does.’” -Lizette J.

“The day I started my first period she told me it’s Very, Very, Very, very important that I stay away from Men. That is the one and only piece of reproductive/sexual health advice I ever got from my mom.” –Shilpa B.

“The only thing my mother ever taught me about sex was mostly about urination. My sister and I asked her what happens if you have to pee during sex. She said: ‘It shuts off.’” –Holly F.

“My Mom didn’t give me advice. She gave information, inspiration, and strength. We had ‘the talk’ every 3 to 6 months from the time I was 9 or 10 years old. It was always age appropriate but very fact based. She never pulled her own opinions or bias into the conversation. She inspired me to embrace my sexuality as I got older, but she also emphasized that the decisions I made with my body as a teen/young adult could affect the rest of my life. These were powerful decisions and not to be taken lightly, but I knew that there would never be any judgment from her. The power to make my own decisions with my body gave me strength and confidence to make the best decisions for my life and to choose a career where I help others to do the same.” –Cassie A.

“My mother would tell me to ALWAYS wash my ‘lady parts’ before having sex. ‘You want to be clean and smell nice for your boyfriend/partner.’ Another word of advice was ‘Never have sex while on your period because you’ll get ‘granos’ in your vagina.’ FYI…’Granos’ is the Spanish word for pimple/sores.” –Gloria M.

“My mom’s best advice to me: ‘Sex hurts, don’t do it…you only have sex when you want to have a baby and that’s after you’re married.’ And her advice to my brother who was just a year older: ‘Always wear a condom.’” –Stephanie R.

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