Many parents are hearing the words “I’m pregnant” long before they are ready, their children are already becoming parents before graduating high school. May is teen pregnancy prevention month.
Teen pregnancy is at an all time high (since the 90’s) in the United States, as shown on the hit show 16 and Pregnant. This show follows around young girls that did not make the decision to use protection or abstinence.
The series shows all of the hardships that teen moms go through, some of them being bad grades in high school, loss of families trust, and not being able to graduate on time.
“750,000 teens become pregnant each year – the vast majority (82 percent) of these pregnancies unintended,” stated by Advocates for Youth. The nineties was actually the high in teen pregnancy.
The push for protection helped in the fight with teen pregnancy. The numbers of pregnancies from teen moms is still higher than any other nation.
Advocates of Youth wrote: “By comparison, the United States’ teen pregnancy rate is over four times that of the Netherlands (14.1) over three times that of Germany (18.8), and almost three times that of France (25.7).”
Many couples are deciding to take precautions before they have sex. There are still others that are still thinking that it will never happen to them. There is also groups of teens that think having a baby will be great and fix everything in their lives.
Bringing a child into the world before someone is ready is very difficult. Babies cost a lot of money and time to raise them. Teens are focusing on their futures that lay ahead of them and a child can come in between dreams and future aspirations.
Many of the Teen Mom (spin off from 16 and Pregnant) stars have become advocates to stopping teen pregnancy because they have seen what it has done to their own lives.
Macy Bookout (star of Teen Mom) is the main face of the push to prevent teen pregnancy. Bookout has gone all around the U.S spreading her story of teen pregnancy and the harsh times that she went through.
On twitter many girls thank Bookout for being such a strong leader in the fight to prevent teen pregnancy. Other say that she is their birth control because of the real truth she spreads from her speeches.
May 2nd is the Day to Stop Teen Pregnancy. On thenationalcampaign.org they are setting up information to help stop teen pregnancy. This website asks all teens to go on StayTeen.org to participate is several interesting activities and to take a quiz.
The website is full of messages about preventing teen pregnancy and to also think before they have sex. StayTeen is trying to spread the word that “Sex has consequences.”
Even though numbers of teen pregnancy have declined, it is important to have a special month to remind teens that things can happen when sex is involved, especially if there is no protection involved.
Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant have some very good role models that try to help fight the teen pregnancy epidemic. There are also teen moms on both shows that upset and bother teens into thinking about having children.
Recently one teen mom from season 1 of 16 and Pregnant was arrested because of the house being unsafe for the child and child neglect. The child was taken away from the teen parents that are now nineteen.
Every teen needs to remember that there are consequences of making the wrong decisions when it comes to being intimate with someone else. Everyone needs to remember that it might be love now, but tomorrow it could be gone.
Staying safe and protected is the main goal of Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. Everyone needs to remember that the one person who suffers the most in teen pregnancy is the child.
Visit StayTeen.org to see all the activities and information about teen pregnancies and what people can do to prevent this. No one wants their life turned upside down, prevention needs to spread to everyone.