The first thing I noticed about this video (besides the exaggeratedly bad acting)? Inaccurate information about contraception (it's true that abstinence is the only way to be 100% sure to avoid pregnancy and STDs, but using a condom is a lot safer than having sex without one). The second thing I noticed? Gender stereotypes turned upside down! Ok, I'm being a little dramatic, but really, it's almost refreshing to see all the old cliches of teens pressuring each other to have sex before they're ready reversed to show the girl as the aggressor. Contrary to popular belief, women's sex drives are comparable to men's, yet popular culture often perpetuates the stereotype that men always want sex and women--well--don't.

We all know it takes two to make a baby (well, so far, anyway?), yet the focus of teen pregnancy prevention and the responsibility for sexual decision-making in general so often falls upon young women. There are many good reasons for this, of course, including the fact that girls are often the ones who have to deal with the consequences of their sexual decisions and the fact that resources for prevention efforts are often very limited. Even so, guys have been getting a bit more much-deserved attention of late for the role they can and should play in forming healthy relationships and making responsible decisions. Nevertheless, many existing male involvement initiatives focus on men who are already fathers, rather than reaching young men before they become parents.

The fortunate among us will not only usher in a new year tonight, we'll also be welcoming a four-day weekend. That could mean a little more time for writing resolutions, but for many, it also means more time for sex.

Researchers and our friends at Trojan report that the Christmas-New Year's period marks an annual spike in sexual activity and conceptions (though I'm guessing it's not just Christians having more sex and getting pregnant).

They list the big contributors to this trend as leisure time, alcohol and partying, and New Year's resolutions to have kids. For those in the last category, we hope 2009 brings you a healthy pregnancy and birth. For those who aren't planning to have children right this minute but who do have some extra holiday helpings of sex, we hope you'll contribute to that jump in condom sales—or use another effective method of contraception.

Happy New Year from all of us at The National Campaign!

It may still feel like summer, but for many schools around the country, class is back in session. For most teens, the start of the new school year brings mixed feelings of excitement and dread. But for many teen mothers, the new school years also represents a whole new set of challenges. We asked our friend Taylor to share his experiences and tell us what's on his mind as he heads back to school.

For me, the phrase "back to school" brings mixed feelings of excitement and sorrow. Excitement because a brand new school term begins and sorrow because the laid-back attitude of summer draws to a bittersweet end. For many teen mothers though, that phrase typically means an additional demand on their time and patience, particularly if returning to school and/or working will be added to an already full agenda of raising a child.

In my school, I have seen these challenges first hand. For example, in my class last year there was a girl named Alicia. Alicia was a straight "A" student, a cheerleader, and one of the most popular girls in school. I didn't know her personally until this year, but shortly after school began we became friends. Around November, Alicia was only coming to school about once or twice a week and even then she would show up extremely late. To my surprise, she was pregnant and only told a select few. As the year went on, she struggled to balance her academic workload and extra-curricular activities with caring for her new child. As a result, she failed most of her second semester classes and was advised to attend summer school. Alicia couldn't go to summer school because she had to work in order to support her and her child.

The relationship between academic failure and teen parenthood is extremely strong because of the competing demands of school and the attention that a child requires. The stress of all this responsibility must be the main reason why only 40% of mothers who have children before the age of 18 actually graduate high school. Additionally, less than 2% of mothers under the age of 18 have a college degree by the age of 30. The added pressure on teen moms usually makes them choose between school or staying home with their baby. More times than not, staying home with their baby wins.

The odds don't fare well for their children either. Children of teen mothers do far worse in school compared to those born to older parents. These children are more likely to repeat a grade, less likely to complete high school, and have lower performances on standardized tests.

The impact that teen pregnancy has on schools and communities is phenomenal. While many corporations and programs are putting notebooks and pencils into book bags for students that are returning to school, maybe they need to add condoms and information about safe sex and abstinence, too.

Stay Out Loud is our monthly series featuring articles written by teen, for teens. Got something you want to say? Email your submissions and story ideas to stayteen@thenc.org.

For sports fans around the world, there are just a couple days left to catch the 2008 Summer Olympics on TV. But for the competitors who made the trek to Beijing, that means just a few more days to score—and I don't just mean on the field (or in the pool or on the court).

Acknowledging that sexual activity is a likely byproduct of housing over 10,000 world class athletes in the same village, Olympic officials started distributing condoms in 1992. While the condoms are generally supplied in the name of HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, I'm guessing a few unplanned pregnancies have also been avoided thanks to their availability.

In addition to the 100,000 condoms made available to athletes during the current games, Beijing health authorities have also provided local hotels with 400,000 free condoms. Of course, for those not receiving gratis prophylactics, they are always available for purchase and a Chinese condom company, Elasun, launched an Olympic-themed marketing campaign this summer to keep condoms in everyone's consciousness.

Listen to this Youth Radio commentary that aired on NPR and weep.  The commentary suggests that sex without condoms is the modern day equivelent of an engagement ring.  What?