Ever wonder how births among teen girls have changed over the past 15 years? Or if parents ever disagree about whether their pregnancy was planned or not? Or even wonder how an unplanned pregnancy might affect the relationship stability of the parents? Or their happiness in their relationship? Don't look any further for answers, simply check out the 5 new sections of our DCR (Data, Charts, Research) Report and find out!

Section E - The Changing Portrait of Teen Childbearing Over Time
This section provides a portrait of teen births among girls age 15-19 in the United States, from 1991 to 2006. More specifically, the section explores the distribution of teens giving birth by age, race/ethnicity, nativity, marital status, and education, as well as the proportion of teen births that are low birth weight and are premature.
Highlights: Non-Hispanic white teens account for the largest share of teen births. However, since 1991, the proportion of teen births that are to non-Hispanic white and non-Hispanic black teens has decreased while the proportion of teen births to Hispanic teens has increased.  

It's not every day that you come across something online that you think is truly different, useful and, even fun. The other day I came across a website, "Maria Talks," that I think meets this criteria. The site was created through funding from the Massachusetts government, and it operates in conjunction with the Massachusetts Sexual Health Hotline. As someone who has spent plenty of time searching the web for resources on sexual health and birth control, I think that this site stands out.

At The National Campaign, we often send the message that safe sexual practices among teens are best achieved through ongoing conversation and communication. First and foremost, teens themselves have told us their parents most influence their decisions about sex, and we have long asked parents to take the lead and start that open and ongoing conversation with their children.

Some scary things to consider this Halloween:

• The teen birth rate is on the rise after 15 straight years of decline.
• Fully seven in ten pregnancies among single 20-somethings are unplanned.
• More than half of pregnancies reported by unmarried men in their 20s are unplanned.
• Rosie O'Donnell is launching a new radio show.
• The magic less sex/more contraception formula that drove down the teen pregnancy rate over the past decade plus now seems to have morphed into a more sex/less contraception formula.
• 3 in ten girls in the United States get pregnant by age 20.
• Mariah Carey continues to record and release music.

What are some things that are scaring you? Let us know.

I must admit that I have been a reluctant participant to blogging, but finally something caught my attention. Recently, I had two interactions with a shopping mall that revealed to me the younger generation's--albeit, misguided in my opinion--obsession with looking good. I am a child of the 60's, when mothers routinely reminded us to wear clean underwear and never to leave the house without a slip and girdle when wearing a dress. As an African-American, I was often told to be careful with the selection of the color of my lipstick, so that my lips would not be too pronounced. "The times they are a-changin'".

Public opinion polling shows that two-thirds of adults (67%) believe most teen mothers come from homes below the federal poverty threshold. A full 70% of adults believe that most teen mothers come from single parent homes.

Not true.

According to new analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health conducted by our wonderful friends at Child Trends and released today by The National Campaign, only 28% of those who report having given birth or fathered a child as a teen lived in families below the poverty level. Only 30% of those teen parents said they were living with a single parent (39% said they lived with both biological parents and 19% said they lived with one biological parent and one step-parent).

This piece is cross-posted from SexReally.com, where it was posted on Friday, October 9th.

Even before it hits the newsstands, November's Teen Vogue has people talking.

Why? Because the cover displays two 19-year-old supermodels, one of whom, Jourdan Dunn, is pregnant.

Critics say Dunn shouldn't be there because she is a role model for teen girls. She makes pregnancy look cool - and there are way too many pregnant teens already.

I'm going to raise a different issue. Why is either model - Dunn or Chanel Iman - on the cover? Vogue, I could see, but Teen Vogue? Though technically teenagers, Dunn and Iman have a lot more in common with 20- and 30-something women than girls who just got their braces removed.

With Billy Mays (R.I.P.) gone and that Shamwow creep lying low after felony battery charges, the path is clear for a new kind of pitchman - one that has no discernible talents and the screen presence of rock. That's right, folks - Levi Johnston is on the scene and he's using the last two seconds of his 15 minutes of fame to sell... nuts?

In a new spot for Wonderful Pistachio's "Get Crackin'" campaign, Johnston - the Alaska teen who fathered a son with Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol - approaches the camera as his ever-present bodyguard, Tank Jones, surveys the scene. Once Tank gives the "all clear" sign, Johnston cracks open and eats a pistachio as the voiceover, nodding to the only reason anybody knows Johnston's name, says, "Now Levi Johnston does it with protection."

What do you think? Is the ad funny or is it making a joke out of a very serious situation? Can sexual innuendo about teenagers help you forget about last April's pistachio salmonella contamination recall or does it just make you feel even more sick to your stomach? Is there anything you would buy based on an endorsement from Levi Johnston? Post your comments below.

UPDATE: I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

On September 17th, the journal Reproductive Health published an article, "Religiosity and teen birth rate in the United States," on the relationship between teen birth rates and "religiosity" (level of religious affiliation) by state. The study found that the states with the highest religiosity also had the highest teen birth rates, even when controlling for income and abortion rates (the study also found that high religiosity correlated with lower income levels and lower likelihood of abortion). Predictably in this contentious field, there are already some who question the overall analytic approach of the study.

Even so, the speculation of the study's authors that "conservative religious communities in the U.S. are more successful in discouraging use of contraception among their teen community members than in discouraging sexual intercourse itself" is worth contemplating. On a personal level (I'll leave the policy theorizing for Rachel Maddow), I've spoken to several of my colleagues from religious backgrounds about this study and they all echoed the theory offered by several blogs and articles--that teens from religious backgrounds are less likely than other teens to use contraception when they do have sex because they don't think it works, or because they feel that thinking about contraception would suggest premeditation and intention.

Like I said at the end of my first post about The Sims 3, the teen pregnancy rate for sims is zero. Makes perfect sense seeing as how teen sims can't WooHoo. But, as we all know, teen pregnancy is all too common in real life, so why not have it in a game that's supposed to be realistic?

According to the publisher, EA Games, teen pregnancy is not part of the game because it could raise the game's ERSB rating from T (for Teen) to M (for Mature Audiences Only), and it's so off-limits that they won't even allow people to discuss teen pregnancy in their forums.

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.

Over the weekend I was able to catch the national tour of the eight-time Tony Award winning production, Spring Awakening, based on a German play written over 100 years ago by Frank Wedekind.

Before I got tickets, the only thing I really knew about this musical was that Duncan Sheik, arguably most famous for his '90s hit, Barely Breathing, composed the music. Given where I work, I'm surprised I didn't realize earlier that among the show's primary themes--which are depicted with graphic scenes and explicit language--are teen sexuality, sex, and pregnancy.

Sheik brought a modern twist to the production through its pop music, but the "mature" themes were there from the beginning. That's right. In the 1890's, adolescents were curious about, and exploring, their sexuality. These days (some) teens express that side of themselves using cell phones. Back then, apparently, they were passing handwritten and hand drawn notes to explain sex to one another and to plan forbidden rendezvous.

Another central theme of Spring Awakening is parent-child communication (or lack thereof). Realizing that this is still something we still struggle with today--especially when it comes to sex--the producers of the musical created a parent's portal so that adults could decide whether it's appropriate for them to bring their children to the show. The site has letters from parents and video testimonials from both parents and teens who have watched the show together. They state repeatedly what a great opportunity this show provided for them to talk about sex. I wish they had provided discussion guides to help out even more with those conversations, as we do for a number of TV shows about teens and sex, but at least they're trying to encourage dialogue. 

So if this show is passing through your town soon, grab a ticket and take your teen. It's understandable if some of the scenes make you uncomfortable, especially if you're there with your child. So sit across the theater from each other if you must. Just be sure to talk about what you saw after it's over.

Usually the dog days of summer are a TV wasteland - all the good shows are in repeats and if there are new shows on, it's hard to get into them because there are vacations, BBQs, and blockbuster summer movies to go to instead. But if you're into teen pregnancy stories, then this summer is actually a great time to be watching TV.

ABC Family's "Secret Life of the American Teenager" (Mondays at 8p) and MTV's "16 & Pregnant" (Thursdays at 10p) are both showing new episodes this summer and both are well worth watching.

There's a new show premiering this week on MTV that is a must-watch for anyone who cares about teen pregnancy or teens in general. "16 and Pregnant" is a 6-part series done in documentary style with one story per episode. It features 6 teen girls, all from different places, backgrounds and circumstances. MTV followed them through their pregnancies and in the time after they gave birth and captured the angst, drama, gossip, worry, heartache, excitement, confusion, pain, love, hope and helplessness that comes with being pregnant as teenager. It is riveting to watch and impossible to forget.

The first episode, which airs Thursday at 10p ET/PT, tells the story of Maci - an over-achiever from Chattanooga, Tennessee who is in the glorious throes of her first love when she finds out she's pregnant. I don't want to give anything away, but suffice it to say there's a big reality check in store for her. And her boyfriend. And anyone else who thinks having a baby at 16 is going to be like a fairy tale.

Not only are we big fans of the show, but we're also involved behind the scenes. We're preparing discussion guides to go along with each episode so that teens and parents and other adults have a place to start when they want to talk about what they're watching. Once the initial on-air run is complete, we'll also be distributing DVDs of the show to groups, classrooms and programs who need compelling content on this important topic to share with teens.

Check out the discussion guides and FAQ at http://www.stayteen.org/tuned/16-and-pregnant/ and don't forget to set your DVRs accordingly.

Vision, a blog which provides "In-depth coverage of current social issues," certainly stayed true to that description in its exploration of the topic of teen pregnancy in the Spring 2009 Issue. Vision interviewed the National Campaign's Chief Program Officer, Bill Albert, to produce "Teens, Parents, and Teen Parents" and also published two other pieces relating to the topic: "Stork Realities," whose punny name speaks for itself; and "Teen Pregnancy: The Tangled Web," a thoughtful look at the complexities of teen pregnancy in the United States and throughout the world.

With the powerful statistics that accompany the issue of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing in our society, it's easy to get lost in numbers rather than focus on the individuals who are affected by this problem. Bill notes in his interview, "We're often very good at issuing reports. We're not very good at telling stories." To better understand and clearly represent an issue as complex as teen pregnancy it is necessary to see stories and individual experiences as complementary to statistics and reports. Indeed, more stories of teens' experiences with pregnancy and parenting might be just what other teens need to hear to fully comprehend the weight their sexual decisions can have on their present and future realities.

A new teen pregnancy video out of Great Britain seems to have some folks' knickers in a twist. The cinema verite short depicts a teen girl giving birth on a field at school while classmates look on in horror/amusement. The video was developed by public health officials in a city north of London with high rates of teen pregnancy and it has been posted on YouTube and some social networking sites.

What do you think? Effective? Too shocking? Too graphic? No big deal? What's your take?

As our bloggers have noted in the past, unfortunately progress in reducing teen pregnancy rates has not been even among all racial and ethnic groups. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, as of 2004 Latina teens had the highest pregnancy and birth rates of any major racial or ethnic group.

Tomorrow, May 19th, at 10:00am at the Capitol Visitor Center, the National Campaign's Latino Initiative will partner with the Latino Leaders Network to raise awareness among policymakers, service providers, the media, and concerned citizens about these disparities and how they affect the Latino community. This Issue Hour will highlight a new poll commissioned by The National Campaign and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) that examines differences and similarities among key subgroups within the Latino community with regard to attitudes about teen pregnancy, sex, relationships, and goals and aspirations.

Click here to learn more about the event and RSVP to attend.

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.

We all go to plenty of meetings--some more interesting than others. One of the most energizing ones I've been to was a Roundtable last week that The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy hosted in conjunction with Healthy Teen Network, and with support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, on the topic of teen pregnancy prevention among youth in foster care. Teams of program leaders and practitioners in the fields of teen pregnancy prevention and child welfare from eight states (Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Virginia) rolled their sleeves up and went to work at an interactive roundtable where they developed concrete plans for how to reduce teen pregnancy among young people in and transitioning out of foster care through policy, program, and practice changes.

A highlight of the meeting was a panel with four young adults who had been in foster care and are currently involved with the Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative. Stay tuned for a video of this session that will be available on our website soon. A DVD featuring some of the state experts at the meeting will also be available in the coming months.

The more than half a million children in foster care are at significant risk for pregnancy. One study found that almost half of girls in foster care became pregnant at least once by age 19 and 71 % became pregnant at least once by age 21. This has serious consequences for teens and their families, as well as financial costs to the child welfare system. However, youth in foster care have been largely overlooked in terms of teen pregnancy prevention.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is working to raise awareness and spark action about the high rates of teen pregnancy among youth in foster care through research, technical assistance, and partnerships with organizations that focus on child welfare. Check back soon for updates about this project!

Last month the Obama administration proposed to rescind the "Provider Conscience Regulation" issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) just before President Bush left office. We expressed concern about the regulation when it was put forth last fall because of its potential to adversely affect access to contraceptive services, which in turn could exacerbate the nation's high rates of both teen pregnancy and unintended pregnancy.

The Administration has invited the public to comment on the proposed rescission and today is the final day to let your voice be heard. Read the Campaign's official comment and then submit your own.

Crash and Yasmin of mun2 explain the difference between getting pregnant and getting "knocked up" and share their thoughts on other pregnancy-related topics such as celebrity babies, teen and unplanned pregnancy, in vitro fertilization, and single parenthood, all in their own, special way. They're not exactly all-PC-all-the-time, but they are right on about some very important points.

To Name a Few:

• When it comes to pregnancy, planning is important.
• It's easier to get pregnant than you think (illustrated with a highly scientific visual aid!).
• Early parenthood can be hard on a relationship: (ie. "Seriously, learn to enjoy each other first before adding another human being to the mix").
• Parenthood is a serious commitment that requires maturity and "moolah."

Bonuses include the "pie chart of truth," a clip from an episode of their previous show, The Chicas Project, and advice for a fan. Excelente. Check out the video here.

So Bristol Palin and Levi Johnson have called off their engagement and broken up.

Let's put aside all the hubbub that has surrounded this story since the beginning -- the Red State/Blue State sniping, the I-told-you-so's about abstinence-only education, the small-minded jabs about small-town residents, and the fairy tale fantasies about happily ever after -- and think about what happens to the vast majority of teen parents and their children:

At the time of their child's birth, more than half of unmarried teen mothers say they are either "certain" or chances are "good" they will marry the biological father of their baby.   However, in 8 out of 10 cases, it doesn't happen.

This means the majority of children born to teens grow up separate from their fathers - which often leads to a lifetime of challenges and hardship.  Children who grow up in father-absent families are five times more likely to be poor than kids in two-parent families. They have double the risk of physical and emotional neglect and they are twice as likely to drop out of school. They are more likely to smoke, use drugs, and become obese. Boys have significantly higher odds of incarceration and girls are much more likely to become teen moms themselves.  Incidentally, the teen parents who do get married don't often stay married - marriages among teens are twice as likely to fail as marriages in which the woman is 25 or older.

Being a teenager is hard. Being a teenager with a broken heart is exceptionally hard. Being a teenager who is also a single parent is even harder than that. And being the child of that parent is probably the hardest thing of all.

So whether you are Team Bristol or one of those who hopes Levi lands his own reality show or someone who just wishes this story would go away already, say a prayer for young Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston, who is not yet 3 months old, and keep in mind what Bristol herself has said, "I think everyone should just wait ten years. ... Because it's so much easier if you're married and if you have a house and a career. ... I hope that people learn from my story and ... prevent teen pregnancy."

President Obama's proposed budget contains the following language:

"The budget supports State, community-based, and faith-based efforts to reduce teen pregnancy using evidence-based models. The program will fund models that stress the importance of abstinence while providing medically-accurate and age-appropriate information to youth who have already become sexually active."

Stay tuned, more in due course...

I want to take Bristol Palin up on her offer.

In an interview with Fox News—the first interview the new 18-year-old mother has given since the birth of her child—Bristol says she would "love...to be an advocate to prevent teen pregnancy..."

Bristol, please consider this a formal invitation. You have a powerful story to tell and we want to do all we can to help you tell that story. Teens often say that the most powerful messages they receive about the profound challenges of early pregnancy and parenthood are those they receive from teen mothers themselves.

Props to Bristol for coming forward and for talking publicly about a very private matter—I hope her message about the value of delaying pregnancy and parenthood is heard by many.

Bristol: You say you want to be a public advocate; that you want to help young people avoid teen pregnancy. Last night's interview was your formal transition from teen pregnancy symbol to teen pregnancy prevention advocate. Please let us know how we can help you in your new role.

We are two weeks in, and already it has been a busy 2009 in the world of teen and unplanned pregnancy prevention. For us policy nerds, it has been an even busier one as the 111th Congress convenes, and the ball is officially rolling on a number of pressing issues and ideas that would make the world a better place.

So, here I have compiled my very own list of things that get me out of bed every morning. Here's hoping Congress and the new Administration take note!

1. Last week, the federal government released data that confirmed the 3% increase in the teen birth rate between 2005 and 2006 (as originally reported in December 2007) and announced that some 26 states saw a significant increase in the rate for the same period. As for the others, only 3 states and the District of Columbia had statistically significant decreases, and 22 state rates were essentially unchanged. I don't know about you, but after 14 straight years of declines, this scares the pants off me. Or maybe it scares my pants on as the case may be. Wake up call, anyone?
   
   
2. Policymakers and advocates alike genuinely seem ready to move past the decades-long culture wars and to find common ground on abortion. Among the ways to do it: getting to the root of the issue and helping women avoid unplanned pregnancy in the first place. The Prevention First Act, which has already been introduced in the U.S. Senate and will be introduced in the House later this week, proposes several ways to achieve that goal, including increased access to birth control and making information about sex, pregnancy, and childbearing available to young people.
   
   
3. Young people of color are still falling through the cracks. Latina teens and African American teen girls are more likely than not to become pregnant before turning twenty. Exhibit A: The Dallas Morning News recently announced the first babies born in 2009 in the area, a New Year's Day tradition, which included the first baby born at Dallas' Parkland Memorial Hospital to a fifteen-year-old Latina.
   
   
4. Our health care system could use a little work. Okay, some would argue that it needs a complete overhaul. Regardless of what steps are taken, they should improve access to the services that help women and couples successfully plan families and prevent pregnancy. That's just plain old basic health care.
   
   
5. Studies continue to show that preventing unplanned pregnancies actually saves money. This just in from the "Duh" files. And in this economy, what better to invest in than a public health intervention that both improves the lives and health of women and families and relieves some of the crunch that state and federal governments are feeling.
   
   

This list is exciting, daunting, jaw-dropping, (insert adjective of your choice here)...but more than anything, it's a reminder of all the work that we have to do this year and the ENORMOUS opportunities that we will have to make a difference on the issues that we care most about. Be sure to check out the more comprehensive list of The National Campaign's work in the policy realm.

Let's get to work, people.

Continuing a tradition from last year, the British Journal of Medicine recently released a list of 6 medical myths that most people (even doctors) believe. In honor of their new tradition I'd like to add a few myths about teen and unplanned pregnancy to the list.  What myths have you heard from your friends and family?  Tell us about them in the comments field below.

6 Myths about Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy for the Holiday Season:

1. It won't happen to me.
   Nearly half of all pregnancies in the U.S. are unplanned, which suggests that having an unplanned pregnancy is a lot more common than many people realize.  More than 80% of teen pregnancies are unplanned and a full 70% of pregnancies to single women in their twenties are unplanned as well.
   
   
2. Parents don't matter.
   Teens consistently say that teens are the most influential when it comes to their decisions about sex.  Other research also indicates that parents play a huge role in the decisions that teens make, and a close relationship between teens and their parents decreases their risk for teen pregnancy.  Worried about talking to your kids about sex, love, and relationships?  The National Campaign has some tips to get you started.
    
3. A baby will make him stay.
   In fact among teen mothers, eight out of ten fathers don't marry the mother of their child.  These absent fathers pay less than $800 annually for child support, often because they are poor themselves. Children who live apart from their fathers are also five times more likely to be poor than children with both parents at home.
   
   Women who have an unplanned pregnancy and birth are also much less likely to either move in with their partner or get married compared to women who plan their pregnancy and birth.  In fact, less than half of women who have an unplanned birth are married by the time their child is 2 years old (an additional 17% are cohabiting).
    
4. Being in a serious relationship is a good reason to stop using birth control.
   People often get lax about contraception as a relationship gets more serious and feelings become more intimate.  But as the relationship heats up, it's time to be more careful, not less.  Remember, either abstaining from sex or using contraception each and every time you have sex is the best way to avoid an unplanned pregnancy.
      
5. Everybody's doing it.
   In fact, less than half (48%) of all high school student have ever had sex. Don't believe everything you hear. People lie, and exaggerate, and can talk a good game when it comes to sex. In the end, it doesn't matter who's telling the truth or not. The only truth that matters is what's best for you. Yeah, that sounds corny -- but it's true.
    
6. Because you've said "yes" once means you have to say "yes" every time.
   Just because you decided to have sex one time, or with one person, doesn't mean you have to have sex again, or with everyone.  Most teen girls (53%) and one-third of teen boys (33%) say they had mixed feelings about having sex the first time it happened.

People all over the country are getting together to discuss ways to improve our health care system, and we want to make sure that the issues we care about most are a part of this dialogue.

This is a priority for us. And not just because it's our job. It's because deciding whether and  when to become pregnant and have children is one of the most important decisions many of us will make in our lives. We think women, men, and families will do better if they have the opportunity to prevent pregnancy and plan families affordably, in consultation with the best medical professionals, and without barriers.

We've asked some of our friends to share some of the challenges they've faced seeking care, and we hope you'll share your stories by leaving comments on this blog post.

"I switched jobs and therefore my insurance plan changed. I went from paying $7 for a month's supply of birth control to more than 4 times as much for the exact same prescription."

"I was having trouble getting pregnant, and did some research on what might be causing my particular issues. I read about a hormone that might help, but my doctor at the time wasn't very familiar with it. He agreed to administer it, but wanted to test for it in my blood after a few weeks. This was impossible, because that particular hormone doesn't show up in your blood. I switched to an OBGYN who knew about the hormone and understood my issues, and shortly after receiving the treatment I was pregnant with my first daughter."

"I decided I wanted an IUD. I had been seeing an OBGYN at a hospital that doesn't do IUD's. I called four different doctors in the area, and no doctors do them. Finally I found a doctor a long way from my house who said she did them, so I made an appointment. I finally saw the woman and she gave me an exam then told me that she would not recommend an IUD --  because I hadn't had a baby, and because she had so little faith in her own ability to insert one properly. I was super excited that I'd taken off an afternoon to drive out to the middle of nowhere for that." 

"When I changed pills based on advice from my doctor to try anther type, the new ones ended up costing me over $50/month (with insurance paying about $5). On other pills, I'd paid $10 -- $15 month, with insurance paying the balance."

"I had been having reproductive health issues for years, and when doctors ruled out endometriosis, fibroids, and cancer, we decided that a hysterectomy would be the best course of action. Since I am done having children, I agreed. After a few more weeks of tests, exams, and follow-up visits, I received a bill from my insurance company for almost $1,000 -- all this on top of my $20 co-pay I was dishing out for every office visit. When I called my doctor to straighten this out, it was explained to me that on top of a $750 deductible for my plan, I have to pay 20% of all the costs beyond that. The good news is that I had met my high deductible for the year. The bad news: my surgery is scheduled for next year."

As our new leaders and the American public begin to think about how to address the inefficiencies in this nation's health care system, we have an opportunity to ensure that the issues we care about are front and center in this national discussion.

The new Administration wants to know what's important to you, and they're encouraging people throughout the country to host or attend community discussions on health reform over the next few weeks.

We want our elected leaders to know: Any changes to improve the health care system must include ways to help teens and young adults avoid too-early or unplanned pregnancy.

But how do we do it? We have some ideas, but we want to hear from you. We hope you'll take a few seconds to let us know your thoughts by leaving comments on this blog post, and we'll make sure that the new Administration gets the message loud and clear.

Now I hate to play favorites, but this is news that I absolutely have to share.

You might remember me raving about cheeseheads a couple of months ago.  Just to recap, people all over Milwaukee have made teen pregnancy prevention a priority, from the local newspaper to business leaders and dozens of non-profits.

The Teen Pregnancy Oversight Committee, with leadership from the United Way of Greater Milwaukee who is spearheading this effort, the Milwaukee City Health Department, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Urban Population Health, set a goal to reduce teen births in the city among 15- to 17-year-olds by 46 percent by 2015.

This week, Mayor Tom Barrett and Health Commissioner Bevan Baker reported the city's stunning first step toward this goal:  the teen birth rate in Milwaukee declined 10% between 2006 and 2007. That's from about 55 births per 1,000 teens to 50 per 1,000, the lowest rate since 1979.

My new favorite city has a long way to go to reach its 2015 goal, but for now this honorary cheesehead is basking in Milwaukee's success.

Read more about the decline and more about the United Way initiative.  Any thoughts about how Wisconsinites achieved this success?  Is your city seeing similar results?  Dying to tell us about your state or community's efforts?  Please share and discuss.

This past Friday, I had the privilege of heading up to Philadelphia to accept a Freddie Award for The National Campaign's "Too Young" educational film in the category of Adolescent Health.  For those of you who don't know, the Freddie Awards are also known as "the Oscars for healthcare media" and seek to encourage the development of cutting-edge health-related educational materials.  Surrounded by our fellow winners -- including heavyweights from places like Discovery Health Channel and HBO -- I felt like a small fish in a big pond and it was such an honor for our little film to be recognized with our very heavy, very naked statue of Hermes. For more information about the Freddies and to learn about some of the evening's other winners, check out http://www.TheFreddies.com.

If you haven't seen "Too Young" yet, what are you waiting for?  The entire film is just shy of five minutes long and it's embedded above, so you really have no excuse.  For more information, to order copies of the film, and to download a companion fact sheet and discussion guide, check out the "Too Young" section of our website.

If you've been paying attention to all to the news over the past year, you know that teen pregnancy happens in all kinds of families and all kinds of communities. Despite more than a decade of significant declines in teen pregnancy and birth rates, it is still the case that 3 in 10 girls will get pregnant at least once by age 20. But it is one of the few public health issues that is actually 100% preventable.  It has been our hope from the start that this film would help raise awareness about this important issue and get teens thinking about avoiding pregnancy and parenthood. Given the great response we've received, we are very proud of "Too Young" and the conversations it is generating nationwide.

Read our thank you's after the jump...

An important new study from the Rand Corporation is the first to directly link sexual content on TV to the likelihood of teens getting pregnant or causing a pregnancy. Primary finding from the study published in the journal Pediatrics? Teens who are drowning in sex-saturated TV are twice as likely as their peers who watch little sexy stuff on TV to get pregnant or cause a pregnancy by age 16.  So, will turning off the TV prevent teen pregnancy?  A few modest thoughts to consider and discuss:

• Research once again has caught up with common sense.  Of course TV helps shape the social script for teenagers.  We take it as a given, for example, that Hollywood fashion influences what people outside of Hollywood wear, why would it be any different when it comes to teen sexual behavior?
• Don't assume TV is the whole story.  The RAND study and others have noted that sexual content on TV has grown over the past 10-15 years. If the influence of TV on teen sexual behavior is so profound and so direct, why might it be that teen sexual behavior has become more responsible over the past 10-15 years, the same time period that sexual content on TV has gotten raunchier and more prevalent?  Put another way, teen sexual activity, pregnancy, and birth rates have all declined dramatically during the Lohan, Spears administration.
• Media influence versus other influences.  Ponder this...the influence of media probably grows as other important influences in a teens' life wanes. On the job parents, for example, can do much to help teens interpret what teens see, read, and hear.
• Turn that crap off is not an effective parenting strategy.  The National Campaign has long encouraged parents to use what is on television---both good and bad---as a conversation-starter.  Parents should...gasp...sit down with their teens, watch shows that their children want to watch, and discuss what they have seen.  "Do you think that was a responsible decision Dick?"  Do you think she was really ready to have sex Jane?"  "Is that what a respectful relationship looks like Sue?"  "Why didn't that character discuss contraception Tom?"
• Show us more consequences.  National Campaign public opinion polls make clear that teens (76%) and adults (72%) want the media to focus more on the consequences of sex.
• TV isn't the only influence.  For those alarmed by the findings of this report, here is  something else to fret about.  The RAND report only studied the influence of TV, not other mediums that teens consume in vast quantities...think text messaging, social networks, music, etc.

Two of my favorite things will be together in one place tonight -- a teen pregnancy prevention ad is scheduled to run during Gossip Girl!  (Actually it's three of my favorite things -- tonight's GG is directed by Vondie Curtis Hall -- an original Broadway cast member from my all-time favorite show, Dreamgirls, but I digress...)  Anyway, if you're not already watching Gossip Girl for the fashions, intrigue and hilarity, you should at least tune in tonight to see the PSA.  

It comes from our friends at the Candie's Foundation -- longtime allies in the fight to keep teens from getting pregnant.  Perhaps you saw their big print ad in today's New York Times.  It's always good to see some of the startling statistics associated with teen pregnancy laid out in black and white (and pink).  Such as the fact that 3 in 10 girls in the U.S. will get pregnant at least once before their 20th birthdays.  Or that fewer than half of teen moms ever graduate from high school.  It can happen to anyone -- any sexually active teenager who doesn't use protection, even one time, can get pregnant (or get someone pregnant).  It doesn't matter if you go to Constance Billiard or a big public high school, if you're the Queen B or a regular girl.  It doesn't even matter if your name is Chuck Bass.

xoxo

The 1997 book Kids Having Kids was the first real effort to examine, in deep detail, the consequences of teen pregnancy and childbearing.  An updated version of the landmark publication was released yesterday. 

Read a related Associated Press story about some of the volume's findings.

In December of last year, when data were released showing an increase in the teen birth rate for the first time since 1991, there was quiet a stir, and rightly so.  Between 2005 and 2006, the rate increased by 3%, from 40.5 to 41.9 births per 1,000 girls age 15 to 19.  This translated into roughly 20,000 more teen births in 2006 compared to 2005.  Everyone from parents to policy makers worried whether the progress we had been making in preventing teen pregnancy for the last 15 years had stalled, or, worse yet, slipped into reverse.  In another month or two, we expect to have data for another year of teen birth rates, and many fear the rate will have increased again. 

Is this a big deal?  You bet. 

If the rates go up again between 2006 and 2007, it will signal that we have turned a corner, and not for the better, and so the anticipation grows around the expected release of these new data and what they will signal.  But let me remind us of the obvious--another increase of, say, 3%, as alarming as that may be, would be dwarfed by how high the rate already is.  In 2006, this rate translated into roughly 435,000 births to teen girls age 15 to 19.  Whether 2007 shows another 20 or 30 thousand more teen births, or even 20 to 30 thousand fewer teen births than in 2006, we are looking at a staggering number of children being born to parents who are still children themselves. 

So, we needn't wait until the next round of data to assure ourselves that teen childbearing is still a crisis, and, if the teen birth rate happens to go down, we better not kid ourselves that the crisis is over.

Click the image for a non-Leo obstructed version of the Parade article

Parade is read by almost every living, breathing human being in the United States.  Or close to it.  Still, many of you may have been so distracted by the cover treatment on dishy Leonardo DiCaprio that you failed to note a story on teen pregnancy inside the magazine.

Specifically, the brief story highlights the recent increase in the teen birth rate and wonders why rates of early pregnancy and childbearing in the United States are so out of kilter compared to other countries.  The article also discusses the effectiveness of abstinence programs.

Take Action (Make your own whooping siren sound here and then explain to your colleagues, co-workers, friends and family why you are making such a ruckus.)  Parade is asking readers the following question: "Should abstinence-only sex ed continue?"  Let them know what you think by voting here.   The results of the online poll will be published in an upcoming issue of Parade.

Between 1991 and 2005, the teen birth rate decreased 34% to a record low.  Now that's a stat worth celebrating.  Between 2005 and 2006, however, the teen birth rate increased 3%—the first increase in 15 years.  Say it ain't so. 

In an effort to help us all understand this troubling shift, we've published a new paper written by Kristin Anderson Moore, Ph.D. of Child Trends.  Teen Births: Examining the Recent Increase investigates the available data on teen sexual activity and contraceptive use and offers some thoughts on what may have contributed to the increase in the teen birth rate.

Download your copy of the report now.  Questions about the research?  Concerns about the uptick?  Ideas on how to resume the downward trend?  Talk to us.

According to a report released last Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute, the number of abortions in the U.S. has continued to decline steadily since 1990. This decline has been the most dramatic among teen girls (younger than age 20). In fact, between 1989 and 2004, the abortion rate among teen girls decreased 53% (compared to 26% overall).

The proportion of abortions obtained by teen girls also dropped dramatically during the last three decades while the proportion of abortions to women age 20-24 has remained at roughly one-third since 1974. Furthermore, the majority of all abortions (57%) occur to women in their twenties. At the same time, 60% of all abortions occur to women who have already had at least one child.

Clearly unplanned pregnancy is not just a teen problem.

I had the privilege of spending the last couple of days in Milwaukee and Madison, WI where some extraordinary teen pregnancy prevention efforts are underway.  First, we celebrated with Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin  at its annual luncheon where our CEO Sarah Brown gave a rousing address about communicating the basics on relationships, sex, and childbearing with our kids.  PPWI operates 31 family planning and education centers throughout the state, many of which help parents and teens communicate about all the aforementioned icky stuff.

We also spent some time with the talented folks at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel whose editorial board has named teen pregnancy as one of its top agenda items for 2008.  Talk about raising the level of public discourse.  What better way to make people face the facts than to make them swallow the truth with their morning coffee?  And here's the truth:  In Milwaukee, 2,051 teens gave birth in 2006, both the teen pregnancy and teen birth rates increased between 2005 and 2006, and the city's teen birth rate is almost twice the national rate.  There is much work to do.

We also met the good people who are running Milwaukee's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative.  The local United Way is spearheading the efforts to reduce the city's teen pregnancy rate by 46 percent by 2015.  Not 45 percent.  Not 50.  46 percent.  The precision tells you they're for real.

I might have been in Milwaukee, but the idea of an entire city working together on a common goal made it feel more like Mayberry...and that's a good thing.  They mayor is on board, the health commissioner co-chairs the city-wide oversight committee on teen pregnancy prevention with the publisher of the local paper, and several non-profit and community organizations are working to fund and put on effective programs that help youth avoid too early pregnancy and childbearing.  I commend any community that can bring people together to tackle their common concerns - especially when it's one as tough and important as this one. 

So, let's see if I have this right: teen pregnancy is okay—"beautiful," in fact—as long as no abortion occurs and as long as there is a shotgun marriage. In addition, becoming a parent at 17 or 18 is preferable to a bit of accurate sex education and preferable to using birth control.

A full seven years ago, E.J. Dionne wrote, "It's better for unmarried teens to avoid premature sex than to use contraception, but it's better to use contraception than to get pregnant." I guess the revision we are asked to swallow is, "It's better to get married as a teen than to use contraception," even though 60% of teen marriages fail, and 80% do when the bride is pregnant.

Unless you've been living on Mars, you know that teen pregnancy has been much in the news lately. The high profile teen pregnancies--from Bristol Palin to Jamie Lynn Spears to a group of high school students in Gloucester, Mass--remind us all that teen pregnancy can happen anywhere and to anyone. It does: a stunning 29% of all girls in this country get pregnant at least once before they turn 20.

Even more stunning: if you are a Latino or African-American teen, you're more likely than not to experience a teen pregnancy--53% of Latina teens get pregnant at least once before they turn 20.  The figure is 51% for African Americans.  Native American teens also have higher than average birth rates (teen pregnancy data are not available).

As our nation approaches its annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, this is a perfect time to remember that Latino communities, and other communities of color, need additional support to address this pressing problem. Early pregnancy is tied directly to poverty and education--two issues of deep concern among Latino leaders, families, faith leaders, and yes--even community organizers. Over two-thirds (69%) of Latina teen moms drop out of high school.

The Communities of Color Teen Pregnancy Prevention Act (H.R. 468/S. 1790) currently pending in Congress would invest much-needed funds to help better understand these disparities and provide communities with the highest rates of teen pregnancy with new resources to address the problem.

Read more about racial and ethnic disparities in teen pregnancy.

Look at state-by-state teen birth rates in your state.

Learn more about the connection between teen pregnancy and education among Latino teens.

Bristol Palin is bringing out the best in people. They're tripping over themselves to offer support and even congratulations. Such an outpouring of empathy! Of caring! No doubt neither she nor her family would have asked to be in this situation. But they're in it, and the American people stand beside them in solidarity.

But after more than a decade of working to reduce teen pregnancy in the U.S. (a decade that saw a sharp decline in teen pregnancy and birth rates, by the way) one thing still surprises me: how is it possible that people still think that when you--gasp--dare to say that teen pregnancy is not OK, you are automatically condemning all teen mothers?

Most of the teen moms and dads I've met say some version of the same thing. They love their children deeply, but they wish they could have had that exact same child a little later in life, when they felt more adult and ready and able give their child their best. Eight in ten teen pregnancies are unplanned. Don't look at me. I didn't make that up. The teens themselves reported it.

Once again, we have a press-worthy pregnancy—17-year-old Bristol Palin. As one of my children used to say, "I have questions."

1. Why has this event not lead to a huge focus on the benefits of teens not getting pregnant in the first place? The best choice for teens is to delay sex (which apparently did not happen here), but the next best thing is to use contraception. Why is that not THE main topic? In my view, the plan that has been announced is LESS attractive—less desirable—than primary prevention.
   
   
2. Why is this pregnancy apparently okay—or at least off limits—just because a shotgun wedding is planned? Do we all really think that as long as teens get married there is no problem? Is that the best we can do?
   
   
3. Why is no one talking about the putative father who himself says he is not interested in kids? Babies and children need devoted fathers. Do we have one in the making here? When both parents actively seek and welcome a pregnancy, the future prospects of their children are much enhanced.
   

Forget for a moment all the important topics churned up by the Palin pregnancy story (topics like reproductive freedom, abstinence-only education, the family turmoil that often comes from too-early parenthood, the idea of teen marriage, the impact this may or may not have on voters and the GOP ticket, and oh, the future that awaits this and the other 400,000+ babies who will be born to teen moms this year) and think for a moment about poor Bristol Palin whose life as she knows it is pretty much over.

Not only has her mom had to publicly address her personal life (as a former teenage girl I cringe at the memory of my own mother discussing anything having to do with my social life) but pretty much everyone else in the country is talking about it too. She's going to marry her high school boyfriend (whose MySpace page reportedly said he doesn't want kids). She has to become a parent, to a living, breathing, human being who may indeed give her unconditional love but who will certainly require that same unconditional love by his or her parents. And she'll do it all in the public eye.

Like it or not Bristol Palin is now the poster child for teen pregnancy in the U.S. Jamie Lynn's a mother now, those Gloucester girls likely didn't have a pact at all, and Juno MacGuff is so last year. So now it's Bristol. And if there's a bright side to all this it's that it's now getting harder and harder to say that teen pregnancy happens to other people, to people from bad families, to people in poverty, to people in Hollywood, to people who live in public housing (although the Alaska governor's residence probably qualifies on a technicality), to people who aren't "like me."

Because teen pregnancy can happen to anyone (anyone having sex as a teenager that is).  It happens to nearly one-third of American girls (and those girls aren't pregnant by themselves). And it is totally preventable—either don't have sex or use protection consistently and carefully every single time. Which is actually the most important topic of all.

On Day 2 of Bristol Baby Watch '08, we at the Campaign have collected some (we think) important resources....

First and foremost, our fearless leader Sarah Brown on this morning's Today Show:

Next up, info galore!  Click here for our one-stop-shop of fact sheets and resources related to teen pregnancy and Bristol Palin. 

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy issued the following in response to the announcement that Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old daughter of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is pregnant:

• The teen pregnancy and birth rate have declined dramatically since the early 1990s (down 38% and 32% respectively) driven by decreases in sexual activity and increases in contraceptive use.
• Even so, recent data show that the declines in teen sex and improvements in contraceptive use have leveled off and that the teen birth rate is on the rise for the first time in 15 years.
• At present, 3 in 10 girls in the United States become pregnant by age 20.
• At present, half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned and about 8 in 10 pregnancies to teens are unplanned.
• The teen pregnancy and birth rate in Alaska is below the national average and, since the early 1990s, has declined more steeply than the national average.

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.

One of my colleagues recently brought to work what I consider to be the greatest Spider-Man team-up of all time.  In 1976, Marvel Comics and Planned Parenthood collaborated on a Spider-Man special on teen pregnancy. The villain, Prodigy, is an alien who wants teenagers to crank out babies so he can steal them and take them back to his home planet (Intellectia, of course!) for slave labor. To further his plans, the villain launches a campaign of misinformation to lull teenagers into having wanton unprotected sex.  Devious!!!

Of course, in the end Spider-Man hitches a ride on a helicopter, cracks the skulls of the Prodigy's goons, and exposes the Prodigy and his nefarious plan.  The day is saved and Spider-Man and Planned Parenthood teach everyone a good lesson about not taking sex advice from interstellar villains with dreams of galactic dominance.

The above plot summary just can't do this thing justice, so I found the entire issue on Andrew Farago's LiveJournal page. And if you really need to get your own copy, there may still be a few available on EBay.  Happy ready, True Believers!

In the today's installment of the Gloucester Pregnancy Pact debacle (you thought it was over?  HA), Joseph Sullivan resigns as principal of Gloucester High School.  In his resignation letter, Sullivan complains that:

the mayor held a press conference and publicly slandered my reputation, my integrity and my intelligence. Since then neither the superintendent nor any member of the School Committee has publicly come to my defense.

Evidently, we have one more adult who has focused their attention on the absolute WRONG part of the Gloucester story...this isn't about a pact or a media circus or Principal "My Name Is Mud."  It's about seventeen pregnant teenagers.  It's about a school that is in the midst of a real crisis.  And, most importantly, it's about priorities - these girls were all pregnant before Time magazine made them famous.  So why on earth didn't we care until their story was turned into tabloid fodder? 

Read all of Sullivan's resignation letter here for your full daily allowance of woe-is-me-ness.  Unfortunately you won't read anything about the teens themselves...but what do you expect?  They're more or less bit characters at this point.

UPDATE: it seems that the resignation letter on the Gloucester Times website has been password protected...we'll keep looking for a readable copy and repost when available. 

Episode 2 of the Baby Borrowers premiered last night (July 2) on NBC and was full of many more real life situations for the "parents" to deal with. 

After sleepless nights and busy days feeding, changing, and playing with their infants, two of the "moms" make unexpected requests to their boyfriends -- they want to go to work. And just as the pressure of maintaining a job, house, and family is really starting to build, the "parents" must say goodbye to their infants and get their first evaluation from the real moms and dads of their former babies.

What did you think of Episode 2?  If you missed it, visit the Baby Borrowers official site to watch clips and see interviews with the teen parents.  Then come back here and let us know  what you think on our brief online survey.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, you now know that several students from a high school in Gloucester, MA  apparently made a pact to become pregnant and raise their babies together. This news broke the very same day that 17-year old actress Jamie Lynn Spears gave birth to a baby girl.  Needless to say, these two events have  focused national attention on the issue of teen and unplanned pregnancy.

So, what do we think?  See below:

1.  Gloucester High Teens: selected press clips, resources for parents and educators, and other pertinent links, and a recent Pregnant Pause post on this issue

2.  Jamie Lynn Spears: The National Campaign statement, selected press clips, and resources for parents and educators

UPDATE:

Sarah Brown on the CBS Early Show, June 23rd

Also, check out The National Campaign's fearless leader Sarah Brown on the June 20th edition of The Today Show:

Keep an eye on TheNationalCampaign.org for up-to-date info on these and other stories.

On June 25th, NBC premieres its riveting new reality show, The Baby Borrowers.  Over six intense, heartwarming, and hilarious episodes we see teen couples who think they're ready to have children, care for real, live babies, then toddlers, then tweens, then teenagers and finally senior citizens.  It's life in fast forward as they try to negotiate the challenges of parenting along with maintaining their relationships.  Unlike other reality shows - no one gets voted off here, no one is competing for a prize - the drama is the journey itself and the rewards are lessons learned about adult life. Learn more about the show at http://www.nbc.com/The_Baby_Borrowers/.

The Campaign has been lucky to work with NBC around the launch of this show, and we've collaborated with them on discussion guides for parents and teens who watch together and want to talk about it.  Please take the time to check out The Baby Borrowers on June 25th at 8PM ET/PT.  And let us know what you think about it!

Spoiler alert: There wasn't a dry eye in the house when we watched the final episode.

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.

Authorities in Texas have removed 53 teen girls from a polygamist compound and they report that 31 of them are pregnant or have already had children.  That's 57% of the girls.  Creepy, dangerous, sad, shocking, awful - it seems like everyone has an opinion.  It also seems as if there are unlimited resources to deal with this problem.  Child Protective Services, the foster care system, law enforcement, the news media, the healthcare system, religious entities, groups like the ACLU - all these and more are concerned, engaged, watching, helping, hoping.

These girls and their children are important, and their fates and futures hang in the balance to be sure.  But what about the millions of other teenage girls in this country who are growing up in situations which lead them to teen pregnancy and childbearing?  There are communities all over the United States where more than half of girls get pregnant as teens.  Among Latina girls in this country, 53% get pregnant at least once as teens.  Among African American girls, 51%.  In fact, 30% of ALL teen girls in America get pregnant before age 20.  That means every state, every county, every community, every high school, and more and more junior high schools too.

Where is the outcry about these girls?  Where is the intervention?  Where is the government, the news media, the cultural intelligentsia?  Why are the little voices inside our heads that are asking so many questions about the FLDS girls - about their clothes, their lifestyles, their beliefs, their parents, their community - why are those voices so silent about the fates and futures of the girls elsewhere in this country?

One of those compound girls had a baby yesterday.  She delivered her son while child welfare officials, state troopers, reporters, and others waited outside the hospital maternity ward.  She is one of 750,000 teen girls who will have a baby this year.  Who is waiting for them?

Starr went to the clinic on Friday to have an abortion.  She's 16 and the situation is pretty bad.  She went by herself and despite putting on a brave face, she was terrified.  She can't have an abortion in Pennsylvania (where she lives) without her parents knowing so she rode a bike to the bus station and took the bus to a clinic in New Jersey.  Her parents don't even know she's had sex and they certainly don't know she's pregnant.  They've already forbidden her from seeing her boyfriend and her father even threatened to kill him.  As it turns out, she didn't go through with the abortion after all.  Moments before the procedure was to begin, her boyfriend showed up at the clinic...

Pretty dramatic stuff, huh?

Well it should be--it's a soap opera.  But "One Life to Live" is dealing with some very real-life issues in the story of 16-year-old Starr Manning's pregnancy.  And one thing that's been made quite clear to Starr, and by extension to her fans, is that once there's an unplanned pregnancy, none of the options are easy.

Just in time for the DVD release of Juno tomorrow, CDC's National Center for Health Statistics has released new teen pregnancy data.  Good news---teen pregnancy declined 5% between 2002 and 2004. 

Of course, this news may leave some scratching their heads and wondering, "didn't the CDC just say that teen pregnancy rates were increasing?"  Close but not quite.  In December 2007, NCHS reported a 3% increase in the teen birth rate, not the pregnancy rate. 

Still confused?  Read on and be enlightened.

Read a statement from NC CEO Sarah Brown here.   Read a data cheat sheet here.  Read the NCHS report here.

Over the years, Campaign surveys have offered up two striking and consistent conclusions: (1) teens consistently say that parents most influence their decisions about sex, and (2) parents freely admit that they know--in their souls--that they should talk to their kids about sex, love, relationships and values but that they don't know what to say or when to start the conversation. 

Help is on the way.

A new book, Like Whatever: The Insiders Guide to Raising Teens contains a terrific chapter on teens and sex authored by former Campaign family member Karen Troccoli.

For the Campaign's tips for parents, do that mouse-click thing here.

I love this article from Slate -- simply because it has the temerity to suggest that the well being of a child might be at least as important as the desires of an adult.  When it comes to getting pregnant and having a baby, it's NOT all about me (what I want, me, my life and me), it's all about we (what is best for a family?).  Emily: you are my new hero.  Be strong.