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Is it cool to be pregnant?
By Megan K. Scott
Associated Press
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News that 17 girls at a Massachusetts high school became pregnant this year is raising questions about whether pregnancy has become something alluring to teens.

Many teen pregnancies still take place against a backdrop of economic distress or a search for love, experts say -- that's been the case for years.

But counselors say they now are also concerned about a combination of factors that may make it easier for teens to become sexually active without fully understanding the potential consequences: Glamour shots of pregnant celebs are featured in magazines and on TV alongside increasingly sexualized fashions and images of younger girls.

Nationwide, the teen birth rate rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006, the most recent year with data available, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That was the first increase recorded since 1991, though federal officials said it might be a one-year statistical blip.

Some say teens' understanding of pregnancy and parenthood may be skewed by real-life celebrity pregnancies as well as some recent fictional movies.

While there have always been celebrities who had babies, today's teen girls absorb coverage of their favorite actresses and singers voraciously: A report issued by Experian Consumer Research found that 23 percent of teen girls surveyed in 2004 had read Us Weekly in the last six months, compared with 6 percent in 2000, for example.

Front and center in those celebrity magazines: Babies and their fashionable mamas.

Barely a week goes by without some kind of celebrity baby coverage -- speculation about "baby bumps"; coverage of swanky celebrity baby showers; and of course, loving pictures of the babies themselves, often with their adoring, perfectly styled moms.

Carol Weston, who writes an advice column for Girls' Life magazine, says the glamorous images of pregnant celebrities can inspire young girls to become mothers. Teens get the idea that pregnancy is fun, says Weston, author of "Girltalk: All the Stuff Your Sister Never Told You."

Kimberly Hughes, a 16-year-old from Glen Rock, N.J., who reads US Weekly, People and CosmoGIRL!, agrees.

"I like reading the stories. It's really interesting seeing the lives of celebrities. It seems to be so easy for them, but in reality, it's not like that for them at all," she says. Baby pictures in particular send a certain message, she says. "It's like 'look at what you can do if you have a baby. Look at these cool perks you get out of it.'"

Magazine editors say celebrity pregnancy has always been news.

"People has been covering and celebrating celebrity babies for over 34 years, from Cher and Greg Allman's son to Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony's twins," the magazine said in a statement. "Our readers have come to expect these kinds of intimate family moments in the pages of the magazine, and we plan to continue to deliver this inside access."

Us Weekly declined to comment.

Movies can also influence teens, Weston said. After "Juno," an Oscar-winning 2007 movie about a regular high school student who becomes pregnant, came out, Weston received lots of letters from teens who wanted to have babies, she said.

Weston said girls may not realize that most stories don't end like Juno's, who found a beautiful, rich woman to take care of her baby and still kept her boyfriend.

"It's not that pretty, especially if you have no degree, no job and no mate," she says.

The Hollywood endings suggest that the U.S. is not taking pregnancy seriously enough, says Bill Albert, spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

"To me, it just seems like another choice in life," he says. "Like, 'what color clothes am I going to wear on Friday? What movie am I going to go to? Should I have a baby?'"

Tierra Townsend, 18, of Tampa, Fla., who has a 1-year-old son, says there's no glamour to being a teen mom. She thought the baby's father was going to be there for her, but he is no longer part of her or his son's life. She never finished high school and is working at McDonald's to make ends meet.

"I would say to any young female who is trying to have a child at a young age, 'Don't,'" she says. "Stay in school, get a good education, save kids until later when you are married."

Sex also seems to be everywhere: The number of sexual scenes on television has nearly doubled since 1998, according to Sex on TV 4, a biennial study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. And there are plenty of children's dolls and characters -- not to mention teen stars -- who wear skimpy clothes or have exaggerated, sensual shapes.

Of course, no one thinks teens are running out to have babies because they saw a pretty, big-bellied woman in a magazine or a cartoon character with cleavage.

But for girls searching for direction or low on self-esteem or parental support, the combinations of these factors may make it easier for teens to have sex and figure the consequences won't be such a big deal. Girls from poor homes are especially vulnerable, experts say.

"When communities are stressed and families are stressed, it's very difficult for parents to be providing the kind of love and nurturing that adolescents need," says Ellen deLara, an assistant professor in Social Work at Syracuse. "When that happens, adolescents will try to come up with something that will meet their needs for love and support."

If the problem is pop culture, perhaps part of the answer is, too. A new NBC reality series, "The Baby Borrowers," features five couples, ages 18-20, tasked with taking care of babies, toddlers, pre-teens, teens and senior citizens. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy worked with NBC on the show and created a special discussion guide.

Most teens are certainly not longing to have babies, says Nadine Kaslow, a professor in the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University. Parents can use the images of pregnancy in pop culture, and the pregnancy outbreak in Gloucester, Mass., to talk to their children about their attitudes toward sex and pregnancy.

"Parents and schools really need to be open in talking about all sorts of topics including premarital sex, having babies and contraception," says Kaslow. "We need to really help kids think through this."



Talk about it



With a lot of attention on teen pregnancy these days, parents can use the news to talk about sex and pregnancy with their children. Here are some tips from experts:

• Have age-appropriate discussions about sex. Answer their questions openly and honestly.

• Talk about teen pregnancy. Ask your kids what they think about "Juno" and Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy, says Bill Albert, spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

• Make sure your teen knows you are there for her. Say something along the lines of "I love you and I really hope you'll wait until you get married or at least are older and more responsible. If you think about it, please come to me," says Dr. Nicole Karjane, an assistant professor in the Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Medicine.

• If your teen says she wants to have a baby, ask her why. Then you can get a sense of what she is missing -- love, attention, career goals, says Ellen deLara, assistant professor in the School of Social Work at Syracuse.

• Talk about how hard it is to raise a family. Tell her about the huge responsibility that comes with being a parent, says Karjane.

• Have her talk to other teen moms, who can share their experiences about how hard it is, says Karjane.

• Connect with a religious institution, whether a synagogue or a church, says deLara. She says that may give teens hope that their future is bright.

Take a look
Actresses Ellen Page, second from left, Olivia Thirlby, second from right, and Allison Janney, right, are shown in a scene from the film "Juno." The movie presented a happy ending for a pregnant high school student. (Fox Searchlight Pictures/DOANE GREGORY)
Angelina Jolie has shifted views on glamour and pregnancy. (Associated Press/EVAN AGOSTINI)
Teenage couples, from left, Jordan, Sasha, Morgan, Daton, Kelly, Austin, Alicea, Cory, Kelsey, Sean pose with toddlers who have been put in their care in the six-part reality TV series, "The Baby Borrowers," which debuted June 25. (NBC/TOMMY BAYNARD)
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Reader comments on this story - 12 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

The Peanut Gallery wrote on Jul 28, 2008 10:32 AM:

" To JMK who posted on Jul 27, 2008 9:12 PM:

Amen. Well said. "

aajz1164 wrote on Jul 28, 2008 9:21 AM:

" I agree that teenagers need to learn to make responsible choices and realize the consequences of such behavior - but everyone else needs to realize that this article shouldn't have been solely focused on the female. It takes two people to make a child, and yet all of this information is focused on the fact that girls from low income households get pregnant more often, etc. etc. What about the guys? It's time to share the blame. "

Meh wrote on Jul 28, 2008 6:46 AM:

" growining up '70s, teen pregnancy rates are actually lower than when you were in school in the 1970s. Things are just publicized and sensationalized more in order to stir up the BN Republican/Lurg/Albundy/Grandma/MRS./BJR types. "

ShirlyYouCan'tBeSerious wrote on Jul 27, 2008 11:58 PM:

" To: BN_Republican-HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!! That is so ridiculous I almost fell off my chair! "

growingup 70's wrote on Jul 27, 2008 9:31 PM:

" Are teenaged girls really that stupid now? Do they know how to say "no" or "where's the condom" ? (if they can't abstain). Used to be that the pregnant high schooler was considered a slut, but nowadays, these girls think it's cool to be a slut. "

JMK wrote on Jul 27, 2008 9:12 PM:

" To GEEZ, justmeagain and all the others on other articles... does BN Repub need to put his comments in tags for you to get a clue? Unless this is your first time on the Internet, you are the ones that need to wake up.

BN Repub... the same joke sort of loses it's appeal after the 300th repeat... maybe it's time to come up with something new? "

Cavewoman wrote on Jul 27, 2008 6:19 PM:

" Is it cool to be so selfish that you bring a baby into this world who will not have 2 loving parents, who can afford to take care of him? Each child born deserves to have both a mother and father love and raise him. Children and teens need to be taught that pregnancy is temporary, buy you're a parent for life. Doing the cool thing is never the right thing. "

GEEZ wrote on Jul 27, 2008 5:03 PM:

" To;BN_Republican: Sex is all part of life and god wanted us to recreate life..And think back to when you were young,DUH! Even though I think kids should be taught the education of sex, girls are becomming woman at an earlier age, hence the changing of time, yet again..Parents need to take more responsiblity for their children and start teaching them younger.. "

The Peanut Gallery wrote on Jul 23, 2008 2:57 PM:

" to justmeagain who wrote on Jul 22, 2008 6:03 PM:

" Re: BN rep...sounds good, but come back to earth and reality would ya...when you get there I would love to hear any other suggestions! "

It anyone should come back to 'earth and reality', you should. You wouldn't know smarmy sarcasm if it hit you between the eyes with a 12-pound sledge. "

downtoearth wrote on Jul 23, 2008 12:55 AM:

" Disacknowledging sex is like pretending the sun doesn't exist. Parents need to talk to their children instead of letting them learn it on their own from their friends, which is what will happen if you treat it like the plague as BN suggests. (As can be said about any destructive behaviour children will eventually come into contact with.) It is single minded religous extremism that causes youth to be confused and misguided. Living an honest and honorable life, regardless of who or what you worship, is worth more respect that blind rhetoric from a sidewalk pulpit. "

justmeagain wrote on Jul 22, 2008 6:03 PM:

" Re: BN rep...sounds good, but come back to earth and reality would ya...when you get there I would love to hear any other suggestions! "

BN_Republican wrote on Jul 22, 2008 7:10 AM:

" This is a wake up call to America from God. For too long, we have allowed sex to fill our society against His Will. It is time for us to disacknowledge sex. We must remove all traces of sexual knowledge from our society in order to protect our children from a lifetime of sin and an eternity in Hell. Any mention of sex should result in extreme ridicule and/or criminal sentencing. As part of pre-marriage counseling, Christian religious figures would be authorized to provide information on how to concieve a child, assuming that the child would be raised a Christian. These Godly measures would case an immediate drop in the teen pregnancy rate. God Bless America. "
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