Today the CDC released a report on the effectiveness of various approaches to teen pregnancy and HIV/STI prevention. The study was conducted by the Task Force on Community Preventative Services, an independent panel convened by the CDC. The report suggests that such prevention programs are most effective when they combine a clear message on the benefits of postponing sexual activity with medically accurate and comprehensive information on how to reduce the risks of pregnancy and STIs among teens who are having sex--including the use of contraception.

Most of the American public gets this. It's common sense. Yet, today's results are debated by many, with some saying they prove comprehensive sex ed programs work and abstinence education programs don't, and some saying the reverse. This debate arises in part because comprehensive sex ed and abstinence-only actually encompass many, many different programs, with varying levels of effectiveness behind them. The debate is fueled as much by ideology as it is by science and will likely continue for some time to come.

For those practitioners, educators and parents looking for a common-sense way forward in the meantime, I suggest focusing on specific programs rather than programmatic approaches. Some, but not all, comprehensive programs have rigorous evidence of positive impacts. These have been well-summarized. To date, none of the abstinence-only curricula have this level of evidence behind them, although that is not to say there may not be some in the future.

Efforts have their best chance of success if they stay grounded in science, whatever the state of the science is at the time. It's also important to realize that, while the reproductive health education we provide our teens in school is critical, no curriculum, regardless of its underlying ideology, is a silver bullet. Communities that truly care about preventing teen pregnancy need a comprehensive approach that includes not only schools, but also parents, community leaders, the media, and teens themselves.

In case you haven't seen the Campaign's newest publication, I highly recommend it. And not just because I work here.

As someone who is admittedly ALWAYS attached to some form of media, the format for these helpful tips really strikes a chord with me. While I generally make my contribution to the Campaign's work by keeping my nose buried in some piece of legislation (light reading, anyone?) this got me thinking about the work that my colleagues on the other side of the office do to figure out all the ways we can reach folks through digital media.

These types of projects are becoming increasingly popular with our partners who work on teen pregnancy prevention. The Birds and Bees Text Line, which is sponsored by the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina and has garnered national media attention, and the text messaging contest that FutureNet in Iowa held earlier this year are just a couple examples.

Are your organizations, states, or communities doing innovative work to connect with those of us who are tethered to our handheld devices? How are you using digital media to advance pregnancy planning and prevention? Are you sending text message reminders for people to take their pill? Texting appointment reminders? Let us know what you're doing!

Ps--if you're interested in learning more about how social media and mobile technology can be used to prevent teen pregnancy, check out our new youtube playlist of highlights from our June 26th conference "Taming the Media Monster: Teens and Sex in the Digital Age."

Why is it that some people are better listeners than others? You can tell when someone is listening to you--really listening--when they're actually taking in what you're saying, considering it, and perhaps not even having a response at the ready--not simply planning their next conversational move. Listening is a form of respect, and one that is easily mowed over by the desire to get one's own point across. Like a monologue masquerading as a dialogue.

Since October is "Let's Talk" month (see Bill Albert's post from earlier this month), maybe the added attention will get some parents to move from wanting to talk with their teens about love, sex and relationships to actually doing it. But a critical part of this conversation--and really any conversation with someone you care about--has to be the listening part. We've heard from teens for over a decade now that they are afraid to ask their parents about sex and contraception because they are convinced that mom or dad will freak out and assume that their teen is already 'doing it.' Or that it will be so embarrassing their heads will explode.

Photos are often used to document a trip or special event; they capture fleeting moments in time, and often pieces of art as well. A team of teens in Bayfield, CO are using photos in a slightly different way through a specific technique called photovoice. The goal of the EPIC team (which stands for Every Pregnancy is Considered) is to improve the lives of teens in their small town. To do so they are using photographs of everyday occurrences to document the strengths and weaknesses they see in their community.

The photo above seems simple enough--a nice snow covered playground. To the artist however, the park is an example of how there are plenty of community resources dedicated to smaller children in the community, but the teens lack a fun, safe space of their own, and they're just a little too big for the playground. The other photos in the exhibit include pictures of family members who are important to the teens, fun things to do in other surrounding towns that are hard to access without reliable transportation, and how the teens entertain themselves in their town.

The team of talented artists presented at the Colorado Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Parenting, and Prevention's annual conference in Denver, CO. The teens and photos certainly stole the show, and it was great to hear from them directly what they thought might help prevent risky adolescent behavior in their town. The most striking part of the presentation is that it is not just teens telling you what they think--the images allow you to have a sneak peak into their lives. They had a few ideas for what the community might do: a mobile health clinic, a teen center, and reliable, low-cost transportation to nearby towns were a few of the suggestions.

Have you ever used photovoice? How could photovoice serve your community?

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy applauds the Senate Finance Committee for passing Chairman Baucus' amendment to its health reform bill that would make a substantial and much-needed investment in evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs. The amendment provides a total of $75 million a year over five years in mandatory funding for the Personal Responsibility Education for Adulthood Training (PRE-Adulthood Training) program, including $50 million to states and territories for proven, effective efforts to help young people avoid teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. These programs would also address several other issues to help prepare youth for adulthood including healthy relationships, financial literacy, parent-child communication, and educational and career success. The committee passed this amendment with a strong margin of 14 - 9.

As an organization dedicated to preventing teen and unplanned pregnancy and deeply committed to research and evidence, we applaud Chairman Baucus and the committee for the focus on strong science. The remaining $25 million would support innovative strategies and services for high risk and vulnerable youth, funds for Indian tribes and tribal organizations to address this important challenge, research, evaluation, and technical assistance, including a national teen pregnancy prevention resource center to support the work of states, tribes, and communities.

The committee also passed by a narrower margin of 12 - 11 an amendment that would restore the Title V abstinence-only education funds for states and territories.

Given the recent increase in the teen birth rate, a commitment to evidence-based programs is critical to intensify teen pregnancy prevention efforts around the country. This investment will help prepare young people for successful transitions to adulthood, alleviate poverty and improve educational outcomes, and improve overall child and family well-being. We urge the Senate to maintain this focus on programs with evidence of success and to include this important provision in the final health reform bill that emerges from Congress.

This mandatory funding complements discretionary funds for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention that is working its way through the Appropriations process. President Obama proposed a $178 million teen pregnancy prevention initiative, including $128 million in discretionary funds and $50 million in mandatory funds. This would establish the first dedicated funding for evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs. In July, the House included $128 million in discretionary funds similar to the President's proposal in its Labor-HHS Appropriations bill and the Senate Appropriations committee included $105 million in the bill it passed, which is awaiting Senate floor action. The House Energy and Commerce Committee also authorized $50 million for a Healthy Teen Initiative in its health reform bill.

Hispanic Heritage Month has arrived with colorful strides to the nation's Capitol and throughout the U.S. What started off in 1968 as a one-week celebration has now been a 30-day fiesta (from September 15 to October 15) since 1988. The first day of Hispanic Heritage Month marks the Independence Anniversary of five Central American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Being of Nicaraguan descent, I will wear my white & blue with Nica pride, and will celebrate nuestra cultura with my brothers and sisters--and "honorary" hermanos--through October 15...and beyond.

A new ad in Milwaukee bus shelters has a lot of people (or at least a lot of bloggers) talking about teen pregnancy. This ad isn't offensive so much as just gross--no one will dispute that babies do in fact produce dirty diapers--but it's clearly "edgy" enough to get the public's attention.

A post on AdFreak about the ad, which compares it to a viral video created with a similar purpose this past May (AdFreak deemed the diaper poster less "hard-hitting" than the video) got me thinking about controversial awareness-raising strategies for complex issues (like, oh, say...teen and unplanned pregnancy, for example).

When I started working at The National Campaign, I was myself offended by a National Campaign ad campaign--dubbed the "Labels" ads--which superimposed negative words on top of portraits of teens, accompanied in very small print by a more neutral message about the challenges of teen pregnancy and parenthood.

Sometimes it's hard to feel connected to the change you aim to make and the people who your work affects when you're working "inside the beltway" in Washington, DC. But at the beginning of the summer I joined several other Campaigners on a trip up to New Britain, CT, for a conference that we hosted with a local teen pregnancy prevention organization. The agenda of the conference was designed to draw the connection between what we do at a national level, what Connecticut in particular is doing, and the youth that is served by this specific teen pregnancy prevention program in New Britain - Pathways/Senderos.

While all the information presented was informative and interesting - we learned about how programs are evaluated; specifics about the Carrera program model; how the National Campaign was started and its dedication to poverty reduction; and about some other interesting programs in Connecticut - I think that everyone agreed that the best part of the conference was seeing the program staff, their successful kids and the kids' parents talk about what this type of program means for their lives and their prospects for the future. I made the video below to share a part of that experience, so that we can all better understand the kids that this work serves and the successes that they experience as a result.

As you can see in the video, the conference in Connecticut served another important purpose: to unveil a new publication that we created with the Pathways/Senderos teens on teen pregnancy prevention. The pamphlet is designed for Latino teens, with stories written by Latino teens, to help foster an understanding of the experiences in their lives that shape their decisions on sex and their ability to make decisions about the future. It's designed to use with Latino teens to help start discussions, and includes some tips that can help them make safe, smart decisions about sex. You can download a copy from our website and check it out, or you can order it from our store to use with youth in your community.

To supplement the stories that we gathered at Pathways/Senderos, we're also asking for your stories. If you're a Latino teen, or if you work with Latino teens, please visit our MySpace blog and share your thoughts. We're trying to get the conversation started about how Latino teens think and talk about their sexual decisions, and we'd love to hear from you.

This piece is cross-posted on the Latino Initiative's MySpace profile.

This piece was written by Courtney Macavinta, founder and CEO of Respect Rx and award-winning and nationally recognized journalist, coach, speaker and co-author of RESPECT. It is cross-posted from RespectRx.com.

Preventing unplanned pregnancy is not just about having the "talks" about how babies are made, STDs and the perils of parenting without resources. Kids need to be supported--and invested in--on so many levels before the day even comes for those talks.

Based on my own risky journey with sex as a teen, to me a big part of the "solution" (there isn't one cure-all) comes down to boosting self-respect from many fronts. Imagine from age 0 that kids have a community, role models, school, organizations, family, friends and values around them that support the development of healthy self-respect. Well then risky choices become less of a risk factor, right? This is true for all the biggies that can derail a teen down the line from dating violence to drug abuse to, yes, unplanned pregnancy.

As I sat and listened to several Central Valley, CA, Latino teens tell me about their future ambitions and life dreams, I was struck by how determined to succeed these kids were. Despite living in communities threatened by drug and gang activity, low income and high unemployment levels, each was looking forward to graduating from high school, attending college and having a promising career. It was also clear that each teen was well aware of the fact that becoming a parent at an early age would make achieving their aspirations much more difficult. This anecdotal information precisely mirrors findings published in the National Campaign's recently released report Toward a Common Future.

Yet, according to what these teens shared with me, school year after school year they witness many of their friends and classmates giving up or postponing their efforts to reach their goals as a result of an unintended pregnancy. Given the unique challenges Latino teens face, many of which contribute to the high rates of teen pregnancy in their communities, Latino teens in particular can use adult guidance in order to identify and navigate past the numerous issues they'll more than likely have to address as they grow older.

Well, you can't say the Brits aren't trying. Between a pilot program for low-income youth and a new pamphlet providing guidance to educators and adults on how to emphasize the potential positive aspects of sex, Britain has been making headlines for trying new approaches to reduce their high rates of teen pregnancy. Since our brilliant Senior Director of Research, Kelleen Kaye, already wrote a thoughtful post on the former strategy, I will stick to the latter.

The already-infamous "Pleasure" pamphlet apparently encourages discussion of the health benefits of masturbation and orgasms, among other things. And indeed many public health experts agree that masturbation is healthy and natural, though that perspective is not always presented in adolescent sex ed programs. In December 1994, then Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders commented that masturbation "is a part of human sexuality and it's a part of something that perhaps should be taught" in comprehensive sex education programs. This philosophy didn't serve Dr. Elders well in her career (she was eventually fired for the comment), but it has been espoused by advocacy organizations and many online sex education resources.

A couple days ago, an article in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reviewed results from an evaluation of the Young People's Development Programme (YPDP) in England. The underlying evaluation had actually been done a year ago, but results are making headlines and popping up in blogs now due to the recent BMJ article. In short, BMJ reports that there were virtually no positive impacts of the YPDP program and, more surprisingly, some negative impacts--like higher rates of teen pregnancy.

Since then, I've read wide-ranging conclusions about what this all means for the U.S. and our efforts to prevent teen pregnancy--that sex ed doesn't work, that abstinence education works better, or that youth development actually increases risky behaviors (and, by the way, youth development is not synonymous with sex ed).

Normally, I would preface this with an explanatory statement, conveying the seriousness with which we approach our work (especially in the policy realm). But sometimes, you just have to stop and smell the roses. And by "smell the roses," I mean "laugh 'til it hurts at Stephen Colbert."

When I was in 7th or 8th grade, I was chosen to be one of 6 kids from my class to attend a "leadership workshop". It meant a weekend away from home with other kids of the same age from all over the Pittsburgh area, hanging out at a retreat facility and learning how to be better teenagers, better students, and better people in general. We did all of those activities typical of a weekend like that - ice breakers, team building stuff, reflections on life, our future goals, and everything in between. And even though it was more than 15 years ago, that weekend stands out in my memory as one of the hands-down best I've had...I remember the experience vividly and would do it again in a heartbeat.

So what's my point here? All these memories hit me today because The National Campaign is now accepting applications for our 2009-2010 Youth Leadership Team. The YLT is a similar sort of team building, weekend-adventure kind of thing, but with the added bonus that skills are used year-round. Let me explain... The YLT is a select group of 14- to 17-year-olds from across the nation who work with The National Campaign in a variety of ways: they serve as our eyes and ears when it comes to understanding teen culture, we call upon them to share their opinions and perspectives with the press, we show them off on Capitol Hill and have them talk to their Senators and Representatives about the importance of teen pregnancy prevention. Sometimes we even go bowling. We meet in person twice over their 18-month term, but we work together year-round to help them raise awareness about the issue in their home communities.

Do you know a teen who would be a great fit on our YLT? Take a minute to learn more about the Youth Leadership Team and read our YLT Frequently Asked Questions. If you know a teenager who you'd like to sponsor, download the YLT Application Packet here.

Spread the word!

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.

President Obama released his FY 2010 budget today and called for at least $164 million in funding for a new teen pregnancy prevention initiative. This includes competitive grants for evidence-based programs, research and evaluation, and an authorization for $50 million in new mandatory teen pregnancy prevention grants to states, tribes, and territories. The budget eliminates funding for Community-Based Abstinence Education and the mandatory Title V Abstinence Education program. Based on an initial reading of the budget, the National Campaign released the following statement:

"Regarding teen pregnancy, President Obama's budget is just right--it emphasizes good science, encourages research and innovation, and increases the overall investment in teen pregnancy prevention" said Sarah Brown, CEO of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

"During an economic downturn and at a time when the teen birth rate is on the rise after 14 straight years of decline, it is particularly important that public dollars be devoted to those interventions that have evidence of success. The President's budget does just that.

We also appreciate that 25% of what the President proposes in his budget is devoted to carefully testing innovative approaches to preventing teen pregnancy. If we are to make continued progress in preventing teen pregnancy and childbearing, it is clear that we will need fresh new approaches that, for example, help underserved populations and that employ new technology to reach young people. This will continue to expand the roster of effective approaches that states, tribes and communities can use to prevent too-early pregnancy and parenthood."

Please visit www.TheNationalCampaign.org for language from the President's budget, as well as related and relevant information and updates.

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.

Assuming there are no Pregnant Pause readers who are living under a rock (not that there's anything wrong with that), you have now heard that President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (a.k.a. the stimulus package) into law yesterday. The thing is massive—dollar amount aside, it's got 1,100 pages of Legal-ese for your reading enjoyment—and will surely provide some much-needed relief to state and local governments whose coffers are nearly running dry.

I'm no economist, but an unprecedented financial crisis, state and local budget shortfalls, and increased need for the services government provides to those who need it seem to spell trouble for many of the publicly funded teen pregnancy prevention programs that we all know and love. Governors and legislators all over the country are facing tough decisions about which programs to fund in the coming years. For some of our friends, the news has not been good. And at a time when it looks like some of our nation's progress on teen pregnancy may be stalling, or in some cases even reversing, the timing couldn't be worse.

Our perceived bias here is actually just plain common sense. Not only does investing in prevention save state and federal governments billions (with a 'b') of dollars, helping young people delay childbearing makes for healthier kids and moms, better educational outcomes, and stronger families overall. It's our hope that the number-crunchers give serious consideration to how families get started in the first place and continue to support these critical programs and services at the levels they so desperately need—for the sake of the bottom line and for the sake of young people's futures.

Read more of our musings here and here and then send us your musings on the topic.