Teen Pregnancy: How Parents Can Make a Difference Podcast
Fifteen-year-old Zina, five months pregnant with twins after incorrectly following the instructions on her birth-control pills, states, “I am meant to have these babies, and I don’t want to change it in any way. If it wasn’t meant to be, then I wouldn’t be pregnant.”
Sounds almost like a movie, doesn’t it? We’ve seen versions of it in “Juno,” the story of a pregnant teen searching for quality adoptive parents, and on the CW’s Gossip Girl, where a leading female character had a pregnancy scare. In real life, Jamie-Lynn Spears, 16-year-old sister of Britney and star of Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101, announced that she was pregnant in December 2007. Needless to say, teen pregnancy is on our minds.
And it should be. The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancies and births of all developed countries. Though these numbers had been on the decline over the last 15 years, for the first time since 1991, teen births in the United States are on the rise again. The National Center for Health Statistics released birth data for 2006, which found a 3% increase in teen births (from 40.5 births/1000 females in 2005 to 41.9 births per 1000 females in 2006). Teen mothers are less likely to finish school, more likely to be single parents, and fall into poverty. In addition, babies born to teen mothers are more likely to have low birth weight and other health-related complications, and babies born to teen parents are more likely to be teen parents themselves. Teen pregnancies cost taxpayers—take a big breath—$9.1 billion each year.
Kelly Forster, kenosha, WI 10/11/08
Kelly, Kenosha, WI 10/11/08
My 13 year old daughter just informed us that she has had sex with a boy from her school who is also 13! She snuck him into our home while we were asleep. They had unprotected sex. This is ripping our family apart. I took her to the doctor for a preg. test but the nurse said it was really inconclusive becasue it's too soon so we have to wait a couple weeks and hopefully she will get her period. She also has to be examined/tested for STD's as the young man has had sex before. Her father and I have spoken to her about sex many times as well as her counselor so she knew what the concequences could be. She also says she may do it again with him! So now we have to put her on birth control, at 13!!
She says if she is pregnant she would concider keeping the baby... I am not willing to raise another child! We do have a 26 year old single daughter who may be willing to raise it. Has anyone ever been in this situation? Would that be a good idea? Also do I let her walk around 8th grade pregnant? Should I pull her out and homeschool her? I have family in another state she could go live with until she has the baby. Her reputation is shot already as her entire school knows about it.
What's really sasd is that all the girls and boys talk about having sex. I have read it on her myspace page. I don't think most of the parents have a clue. This boys mother had no idea he was sexually active.
I would love for my daughter to spend a day with another teen mother who is trying to raise her child to see how difficult it is but I don not know how to arrange that either. Any adive would be appreciated!!
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