TEEN PREGNANCY in the News

Poster's Note: Having watched a few episodes of MTV's "Teen Mom" Show this summer it occurred to me that it could be helpful in showing the consequences of unplanned parenthood at such a young age. Then again, some youth might see this type of show as a chance at fame. Here's an interesting article along that line.

Teen pregnancy needs to be de-glamorized, experts say

Consistent legislative, parental support can help keep teen birth rates in decline
By Maureen Salamon
MyHealthNewsDaily
updated 10/20/2010 11:13:53 AM ET 2010-10-20T15:13:53



This is the third in a six-part MyHealthNewsDaily series examining the problems and solutions related to six "winnable battles" in public health, as recently announced by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Teenagers sporting baby bumps aren't hard to find, with three of every 10 American girls becoming pregnant by the age of 20. But national health experts are optimistic that a 20-year downward trend in teen pregnancies can be continued with consistent legislative and parental support. CDC director Thomas Frieden's choice of teen pregnancy as one of six public health issues that are "winnable battles" seems particularly appropriate to teen pregnancy experts, who hope this new push to prominence will save the issue from what they see as apathy on the part of the public.
"The CDC pick is not only a good thing, but particularly timely," said Bill Albert, chief program officer of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. "We've seen truly extraordinary success on an issue that many once considered intractable... but I don't think anyone would consider three in 10 girls getting pregnant a victory." Story: Teen pregnancy rates dip, but vary widely by state Story: Teen birth rates across the U.S. Pregnant teens miss out on typical adolescent experiences. A 2006 report from researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown Medical School found teens who'd had a child reported feeling they had to put their lives on hold and revise their life goals, and expressed concern about the difficulties of juggling school and motherhood. The teen birth rate has plummeted 37 percent since 1990, with a slight increase in the mid-2000s before returning to the downward trend in 2008, according to the National Abstinence Education Association (NAEA). What needs to be done to win
For the battle to be won, teen pregnancy needs to be de-glamorized, the same way smoking has been over the past generation, said NAEA executive director Valerie Huber. Young people also need a stronger "risk-avoidance message," which comes from abstinence programs and parents, she said.
"We need to look at teen pregnancy as one consequence of a deeper health issue — teen sexual activity," Huber said. "One in four girls has at least one (sexually transmitted disease) and the rate in African-American girls is one in two." Albert said a "kitchen sink" strategy is needed to further lower the teen birth rate, which should include government investment in proven sex education programs and parents openly broaching the subject with their kids. "No one strategy or intervention is going to do it," he said. Huber is dismayed that 169 abstinence programs lost funding on Sept. 30 as part of President Barack Obama's request to phase out funds for this type of education. But a report released in January by the non-profit organization the Guttmacher Institute attributed the mid-2000 rise in teen pregnancy to "the growth of abstinence-only sex education programs at the expense of comprehensive programs." A 2006 report from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found U.S. teenage pregnancy rates declined by 24 percent between 1995 and 2002. The researchers attributed 86 percent of that decline to improved contraceptive use — teens were using more effective methods and using multiple methods (e.g., the pill together with condoms). They also attributed 14 percent of the decline to teens waiting longer to start having sex. Other research reveals another way to curb teen pregnancy: give kids a sense of self-confidence and high expectations for their futures. Teen girls with low confidence in themselves and their educational future are most likely to become pregnant, according to research published in 2004 in the American Journal of Health Behavior. Is this battle winnable?
Albert and Huber differ on how they define victory. "I doubt we will ever get to zero" pregnancies, Albert said. "Maybe the first goal is for the U.S. to no longer have the highest rate of teen births among (industrialized) countries."
According to United Nations' statistics, the teen birth rate is one and a half times higher than in Great Britain, which has the highest rate in Europe. Countries such as Canada, Japan, Denmark and Sweden have much lower rates. Before winning is possible, Huber said, the battlefield should be widened to include teen sexual activity rather than only the resulting pregnancies. "The premise is too narrow," she said. "I agree that this needs to be a health priority... but there needs to be some policy course corrections."

Cash: Teen Pregnancy More than Numbers


Updated: Tuesday, 18 Jan 2011, 5:03 PM CST
Published : Tuesday, 18 Jan 2011, 5:03 PM CST

• 
  
  Les
  Smith
  

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Mathematicians will swear
that numbers never lie. But, when it comes to teenage pregnancies in
Memphis, especially the reported 90 girls at Frayser High School alone,
Memphis City Schools Superintendent Dr. Kriner Cash asserts the numbers
by themselves tell a fear-based but incomplete story. “That just
continues to pour gas on fear-factor, and it's not fair to the schools
that work so hard and it's not fair to the young people. And it's
because it's not accurate,” Dr. Cash said. Cash's rebuttal of
media reports focused on the number of pregnant teens at Frayser came in
the midst of an informal summit on "teen pregnancies" and efforts to
curb the problem jointly co-sponsored by city and county Mayors, A C
Wharton and Mark Luttrell. Backed by city school administrators, board
members and representatives of various organizations promoting teen
pregnancy prevention, the Mayors announced a multi-pronged program that
hopes to bring a unified approach to a problem that's reached almost
epidemic proportions in the Bluff City.
“The combined office of
Children and Youth will help us pool, not to takeover those programs,
but to help centralize, to help get a focus. So, where we see
duplication of effort we can point that out,” Wharton said. The
pledges of aid from various organizations included a 4 million dollar
grant given to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital to promote a teen
pregnancy initiative. But, Cash found himself peppered with questions
about the shocking revelations surrounding Frayser's female student
body. However, in downplaying the reported numbers, but by no means the
overall teen pregnancies problem, Cash surprisingly revealed the school
had already been involved in their own teen pregnancy initiative,
asserting the numbers might be skewed because its success had prompted
30 to 35 pregnant girls to seek transfers to Frayser to be enrolled in
the voluntary program. According to former Frayser Principal,
Cassandra Turner, “We had parents that say look I have a problem. Can
you take my child? I've had schools that said, Turner, we have X, Y, Z
can she go and come to your school? “There are a number of girls,
at different stages of either having a child already or two, in a
relative smaller number who maybe pregnant at a given time. But, you
can't know until you get the self report,” said Cash. “This is about a
whole host of reasons that these young ladies deserve our respect, our
support, our confidence, and not exploit them.” (Um - why???????????)
“In the Frayser
neighborhood you need to meet the same type of standards that you expect
everywhere… something that's hopeful and healthy,” added Turner.

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/local/011811-cash-teen-pregnancy-more-than-numbers

New teen pregnancy prevention effort to benefit Horry County



19 year old mother Courtney Hardee says every day now revolves around her 13 month old son.

Published: January 18, 2011

CONWAY, S.C. --

Nineteen-year-old Courtney Hardee hasn't had what many would consider typical teenage years.
She found out she was pregnant when she was 17, a junior at Socastee High School.
"I learned that it wasn't about me anymore, that my days are planned
around him, it's not on my time it's his time, it's his schedule," said
Hardee. "From the moment I wake up in the morning, every decision is
based off him, I think about him."
Hardee is part of the 6% of Horry County teens that are or will become pregnant before their 20th birthday.
According to Coastal Carolina University Professor of Health
Promotions, Sharon Thompson, that is an above average number compared to
the rest of the country.
"In 1,000 girls, nationally 42 of those thousand get pregnant, in
South Carolina, it's 53 of the thousand, and in Horry County it's 60 per
1,000 teens," said Thompson.
The South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (SC Campaign)
says Horry and Spartanburg Counties have the highest teen birth rates in
the state, and both are higher than the national average.
Though Hardee is now married and raising a healthy baby boy, not all cases have a happy ending.
"For the child, they are about 50% more likely to repeat a grade,
they are more likely to be incarcerated, more likely to have health
problems. As far as the mothers go, it very often disrupts their
education, they aren't able to finish high school, they're out of the
workforce," said Thompson.
Teen pregnancy isn't only costly for the families involved, according
to Thompson it places a financial burden on the entire state of South
Carolina.
"In 2004, teenage pregnancy cost our state $156 million for child
welfare, services for the mother and child, loss income, taxes, all
those kinds of things. So this is a problem that really affects
everybody in our state," said Thompson.
The SC Campaign is set to unveil a new federally-funded initiative
aimed at reducing the teen birth rate in both Horry and Spartanburg
counties.
The two counties will receive a $1.5 million grant awarded every year for five years, totalling $7.5 million.
Thompson says the grant will fund new efforts such as PSA's, awareness campaigns, and both school and faith-based programs.
These are all ideas 19 year old Hardee feels will benefit South Carolina teens.
"It really is hard and I do hope that there are some programs out there that can actually help girls," said Hardee.
Forrest Alton, chief executive officer of the South Carolina Campaign
to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and CCU Alumus, will unveil the new
initiative Tuesday, January 18.
The event will take place at Coastal Carolina's Wall Auditorium at 6:00 PM. It's free and open to the public.

http://www2.scnow.com/news/2011/jan/18/new-teen-pregnancy-prevention-effort-benefit-horry-ar-1355547/