teen pregnancy is not cool

but apparently, in gloucester massachusetts it is....

as posted in the times online (having difficulty w/ the link... sorry, you'll have to cut n paste it if you want to read the full article:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1815845,00.html)


Pregnancy Boom at Gloucester High
As summer vacation begins, 17 girls at Gloucester High School are expecting babies—more than four times the number of pregnancies the 1,200-student school had last year. Some adults dismissed the statistic as a blip. Others blamed hit movies like Juno and Knocked Up for glamorizing young unwed mothers. But principal Joseph Sullivan knows at least part of the reason there's been such a spike in teen pregnancies in this Massachusetts fishing town. School officials started looking into the matter as early as October after an unusual number of girls began filing into the school clinic to find out if they were pregnant. By May, several students had returned multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and on hearing the results, "some girls seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were," Sullivan says. All it took was a few simple questions before nearly half the expecting students, none older than 16, confessed to making a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Then the story got worse. "We found out one of the fathers is a 24-year-old homeless guy," the principal says, shaking his head.

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and apparently, for the first time in 15 years, we are seeing a rise in teen pregnancy in the usa.

ugh.

i don't jump in the bazillion threads we've got on here that argue about why teen parents are going to be just as good as older parents.

i'm not telling these young girls why age does matter, why education is important, and why they've just gone and made their lives much much more difficult by having sex, getting pregnant, and keeping the baby... b/c i've wanted them to find friendship and support on here...

maybe i should. i'm starting to feel like this site may even be contributing to the problem of glamourizing teen pregnancy.

what do you think?

I think that this site is amazingly helpful
Being that I will be a teen mommy myself people here are very helpful
Otherwise I wouldnt know what was happening with everything
BUT teens TTC 
Thats just freaking stupid
Why would you willingly make you and that childs life harder than they really need to be? I mean come on...
Thats just showing how immature you are and that you dont need a child
Get a freaking puppy

Oh and the fact that none of them are older than 16.. whats the age of the youngest then  
Gah thats horrible

What in their right minds?!?!?! 16 yr olds?! and 24 yr old homdless guys?! what is the world coming too. This reminds me of a maury episode i saw yesterday.... this almost makes me want to cry for each and every mother out there...

Quoting Mara:“ but apparently, in gloucester massachusetts it is.... as posted in the times online (having difficulty ... [snip!] ... i'm starting to feel like this site may even be contributing to the problem of glamourizing teen pregnancy. what do you think?”

Idk it's a hard one to debate because for some girls it really is an accident and its admirable of them when they keep the baby and finish school and manage to do good for themselves and their child. But for those who purposely get pregnant and often times claim it was an accident... they do not deserve a support system in my opinion.

Quoting Mara:“ but apparently, in gloucester massachusetts it is.... as posted in the times online (having difficulty ... [snip!] ... i'm starting to feel like this site may even be contributing to the problem of glamourizing teen pregnancy. what do you think?”

I think the article is VERY disgusting.

As far as BG glamourizing teen pregnancy, I'd have to strongly disagree. For the teens that DO get pregnant on accident, I am amazed at them stepping up and becoming mothers, which I have done myself. And I think we do a pretty good job of scaring off any 13-18 year old TTC. Pregnancy is a beautiful thing, but if you are not willing to make the commitment to be a MOTHER and provide a stable enviornment for the child, and yourself, then you shouldn't spread your legs.
And I see ALOT of people, including the teens on this site, preach the same thing....so no, I do not think that Baby-Gaga glamourizes and encourages teen pregnancy, but I do think that we are here to support those who got pregnant while on BC, or were raped, and the likes. Those who TTC at a young age, aren't really liked around here, haha.

I certainly don't think this site glamorizes having babies. I do think the environment is wrong for young girls. I think it gives a false sense of the world. They come in here and see a lot of other pregnant teens and it makes their situation seem ok. Society as a whole has become way too accepting of teen pregnancy.

Quoting Mara:“ but apparently, in gloucester massachusetts it is.... as posted in the times online (having difficulty ... [snip!] ... i'm starting to feel like this site may even be contributing to the problem of glamourizing teen pregnancy. what do you think?”

Hmm..there is a school here in Sydney that caters to teenage parents...I dont know if it condones the teens but it certainly help them get back to school and finish high school..and I think 90% of the students are all young mums and they range from 14 to 17.

SOme people look at the Principal (a male) as a hero for helping but some also think its like condoning teen pregnancies. Sigh.

Hmm thats a tough one... I dont think teen pregnancy is glamourous... n teen parenting is not easy... but as a teen parent this site has helped me... idk getting pregnant by a homeless guy is disgusting...

Quoting Mara:“ but apparently, in gloucester massachusetts it is.... as posted in the times online (having difficulty ... [snip!] ... i'm starting to feel like this site may even be contributing to the problem of glamourizing teen pregnancy. what do you think?”

I agree with you 150%. Every time I speak up against TTC as a teen or marrying as a teen, I feel like I am alone. There are just some times that age DOES matter. LIfe experience is not something to take lightly. I dont think poorly ofthe girls that keep their babies when they accidentally become pregnant, not at all. But the ones that TTC....that is a different story.

These girls just show howimmature they are when they make a pact with their friends to get pregnant and raise babies together at 16.

Quoting Sweetsaramae:“ I certainly don't think this site glamorizes having babies. I do think the environment is wrong for young ... [snip!] ... other pregnant teens and it makes their situation seem ok. Society as a whole has become way too accepting of teen pregnancy.”

but if you think about it, 50 years ago this was the norm.

I had my son at 17.
I don't think a lot of teens understand how hard raising a baby is.
Yeah, it may look like fun but at the end of the day, raising a kid takes a lot out of you.
I don't think the media is to blame.
They choose to have sex.
Making a pact to get pregnant and raise your children together has to be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.
It's people like that who, in my opinion, make teen mothers look bad.

Quoting Mara:“ but apparently, in gloucester massachusetts it is.... as posted in the times online (having difficulty ... [snip!] ... i'm starting to feel like this site may even be contributing to the problem of glamourizing teen pregnancy. what do you think?”

I think this story is ridiculous, but I dont think that BG is contributing to the glamourization if teen pregnancy. Most of the teens on here didnt try to get pregnany, it was an accident. I think that this site is amazingly helpful for us teens who werent trying, and any teen that does come on here talking about TTCing definatly gets an ear full of not so nice things.

This is definely a touchy subject, and I don't mean in ANY way to put anyone down by saying this.
I understand that stuff happends and you need to own up to what you did- unprotected sex etc. but to actually PLAN to have a baby while still in High School? COME ON!!! It may sound cute and fun to do it with your friends... but for christ's sake you have your WHOLE LIFE to have a baby.

If you're TTC and in HS you really need to consider the baby first, NOT YOURSELF!
Finish High School, go to college, make something of yourself that your future children can be proud of FIRST!

Not to say that a baby ruins your life but jesus, give yourself a chance to be young!!!

i think you put teen pregnancy & teen parenting on here for the right reason, i dont think you meant to glamorize it, But as teens sometimes they dont know how wrong it is, alot of teens nowadays are getting pregnant its like the "thing" now. & i do not know what happened to society but its almost normal to see a teen mother now a days! & i personally think it is ridiculous! i know i am a teen mother but im not for teens getting pregnant because i struggle alot with school & i get stressed out alot it IS hard work! i use more protection now because i just cant have any more kids!