I went to NYC yesterday because my boss, Sarah Brown, was one of the panelists at a National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy event. Bristol Palin was also a panelist.

Bristol is a parenting teenager - like hundreds of thousands of other girls in this country, she got pregnant and had a baby last year. She and her boyfriend have broken up (as is usually the case in these situations) and she is urging other teens to avoid what she's been through. She loves her son, as most moms do, but she says she wishes she had waited. Waited to have sex, waited to have a baby, waited a little longer before growing up this way. And people are attacking her for it.

I don't get it. She's a kid who made some mistakes and she's warning others not to make the same ones. If she were a recovering addict urging young people not to use drugs no one would call her a hypocrite. If she had killed someone (killed someone!) while driving under the influence and was warning other teens about drinking and driving she'd be hailed as courageous. If she had a history of disordered eating and was reaching out to young girls about forming healthy relationships with food she'd be a hero. Why is this any different? I think more of us who have learned from past experiences should work to save others from the heartache we've had.

This piece is cross-posted on RH Reality Check.

There is reason to be concerned on this 8th National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. The extraordinary decline in teen pregnancy and childbearing - one of the nation's preeminent success stories of the past two decades - is in danger of being reversed. Cue sober music.

From the early 1990s, until 2007, the teen pregnancy rate in the United States plummeted 38 percent and the teen birth rate declined by about one-third. State and local level trends mirrored national trends almost everywhere: Over the past decade, we've seen declining rates of teen pregnancy in all 50 states and among all racial and ethnic groups - extraordinary progress on an issue many once considered intractable.

However, the most recent news on this front has not been as positive. After 14 straight years of declines, the national teen birth rate increased 5 percent between 2005 and 2007 and many states are reporting statistically significant increases in their respective rates of early childbearing as well.

Today is the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.  We hope that everyone concerned about teen pregnancy will do what they can to promote this fun and informative online event. The purpose of the National Day is to focus the attention of teens on the importance of avoiding too-early pregnancy and parenthood.

Thanks to the hard work of more than 200 National Day partners, state and local organizations who are organizing National Day events all across the country, and teens themselves, the National Day is already off to a strong start.  Already, more than 60,000 teens have participated by taking the National Day Quiz and more than 7,000 have added our National Day "Relationship Reality Pop Quiz" widget to their personal websites and social networking profiles.  The advance turnout for this year's event has simply been amazing and we expect that hundreds of thousands more will participate over the course of the month.

Remember, the National Day Quiz and Widget will both be online throughout May, so it's not too late to help spread the word. Need some ideas? Check out our Tips for Getting Involved. For more information, visit the National Day section of our website.

It's a new month and you know what that means, right? New health observances. Yay!

Fibromyalgia Education and Awareness Month. National Arthritis Month. Lyme Disease Awareness Month. And let us not forget Food Allergy Awareness Week and National Brain Tumor Action Week. How come food allergies and brain tumors only get a week?

May is also, of course, Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month and May 6th is our very own National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Beginning today, we hope that teens, parents, teachers and anyone who cares about young people will get involved online. Throughout May, teens are encouraged to visit our teen website -- StayTeen.org -- to take our National Day Quiz, which challenges them to think about what they would do in different risky sexual situations. In addition to the quiz, we're also offering an online widget mini-quiz (you can grab it below) that stresses the importance of healthy relationships. Teens can add this quiz to their profiles on websites like MySpace and Facebook and enter a contest to win free plane tickets or a free iPod Touch. I'll bet you the Fibromyalgia people aren't giving away free iPods...

With so many different issues vying for attention during May, it can be so easy to just not do anything.  Don't just observe Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month.  Get active. Visit StayTeen.org and take the quiz yourself. Talk to every teen you know about pregnancy prevention and tell them to take the quiz and grab the widget. Tell them that we're giving away some cool stuff. 

For more information and to see what others around the country are doing to support the National Day, visit our National Day page the TheNationalCampaign.org.

I am coming up on the fifth anniversary of my employment with The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy next week. When I joined the Campaign, one of my first tasks was to take over our annual teen awareness event, The National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. This year will be my fifth National Day - the Campaign's eighth - and I feel like this event just gets better every year.

One thing that continually amazes me about the National Day is the groundswell of support that the event receives in communities across the nation. The National Day simply could not be a success without the hard work of the many organizations and individuals who organize and participate in National Day activities.

Here are some of my favorite stories sent this year by National Day friends from around the country:

• In Hot Springs, Arkansas, the Smart Teens/Healthy Decisions Coalition is gearing up for National Day with a number of activities. They plan to offer the National Day Quiz to students at local middle school and high school campuses and they are holding a National Day poster design contest for students. In addition, they are planning an event at a local middle school campus where students will present dramatic skits about avoiding risky behavior and peer pressure. Other schools in the county are being sent invitations to participate and being offered a free National Day kit with fliers, wristbands, and a list of ideas and offer of guest speakers from the Coalition.

• In San Jacinto, California, Valley Wide Counseling, a Program of MFI Recovery, is planning their third annual community event in recognition of the National Day. They are hosting the Know Limits Teen Health Challenge at the Hemet Valley Mall. The event is set for this Saturday (May 2) from 12-4pm and more than 40 community agencies and schools, as well as government and local business, are planning to attend. Several performances have been scheduled by the local cheer/dance teams, a band, DJ, and VITAL (an intergenerational theatre troupe). They also plan to have activities such as a raffle, rock wall, and an information scavenger hunt.

Gentle reminder time friends. 

Although the official 2008 National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy has come and gone  (by the way, anyone have any ideas for a pithier title?), remember that May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month (again, title ideas anyone?) and the snappy National Day online quiz will be up and operating throughout the month. 

Please alert family, friends, neighbors, and enemies.  Take the quiz, you'll be glad you did.

For more information and to see what others around the country are doing to support the National Day, visit our National Day page the TheNationalCampaign.org.