******Diapers, and Bottles, and Teens! Oh my!******

           

With increasing numbers of teen pregnancies in America rising steadily over these past 6 years (2006-2011) we as a country need to find the root of this problem and quickly end it. America has been recorded by the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) as having over 750,000 teen pregnancies annually with 8 out of 10 being unplanned. (Ventura, M.D, 2011) Who is to blame for America being the leader in teen pregnancies in the industrialized world? I personally believe it’s the media’s fault. The media has glamorized and gave celebrity status to the idea of teen pregnancy in recent years. Since teenage girls are extremely prone to media influence as it is, showcasing teen pregnancy as a way to make money and gain celebrity status is only going to increase teen pregnancy figures. When teen girls see other teenagers on the cover of magazines simply for the fact that they are pregnant, they get the idea that, "I can do that. All i have to do is get pregnant." Through movies, reality TV shows, documentaries, social networking, and magazines the media has made teen pregnancy into a nationwide dilemma!

On September 8, 2007, 20^th century FOX premiered its indie film Juno showcasing the life of a teenage girl and her attempt at balancing the hardships of an unplanned pregnancy and the struggles of high school. Who would’ve thought this movie would lead to an epidemic of other teenage pregnancy documentaries, shows, and movies. Certainly not me!

After the success of Juno, MTV quickly joined the bandwagon and began its own collection of teen pregnancy documentaries. 16 and Pregnant, a reality show with the same premise as Juno, aired on June 11, 2008. The original purpose behind the show may have been to educate young girls about the struggles of teen pregnancy but it quickly strayed from that path. With a spin-off, Teen Mom, airing only six months after the original airing of 16 and Pregnant MTV began its glamorization of teen pregnancy. After two season of Teen Mom and three seasons of 16 and Pregnant (with a casting call for season 4 “hopefuls” currently in progress) MTV has sparked a wave of not so “unplanned” teen pregnancies in America.

                             Cover images of both MTV reality TV shows.

 MTV wasn’t the only channel to embrace the popularity on teen pregnancy. Lifetime and ABC Family also produced their own glorified examples of teen pregnancy. In July of 2008, actually only a month after 16 and Pregnant first aired, ABC Family aired The Secret life of an American Teenager. Going on its 4^th season in June of this year The Secret life of an American Teenager has gained worldwide success by dramatizing the struggles of teen pregnancy and gathering a large following of teens across America.

Last year Lifetime aired its true story of five girls in Gloucester, Massachusetts and their pact to get pregnant at the same time so their children can grow up together just like they did. This show, titled The Pregnancy Pact, showcases teen pregnancy at its worst. The real events of this “pregnancy pact” took place during the school year of 2007-2008 and actually involved 18 girls. The school and city gained nationwide media attention and probably can be considered the “mother’ (pun intended) of the teen pregnancy phenomenon. 

Although we can place as much blame as we want on the parents and teens themselves, without a doubt media has a large influence on the fact that America is leading in teen pregnancies. Worst part about all of this is that most of these girls hoping to get fame won't even get the opportunity. Most of these high school girls will now be stuck with the responsibility of a child and struggles they are definitely not ready for. Also even if they do get the celebrity status they wanted they usually end up regretting it or having other struggles in their life. Just like these covers suggest.

Well I guess I should end this. With all of this media attention, continuous production, and the success of these shows we as a nation should expect to see more and more of our teen population with children. At some point someone is going to have to put their foot down and put an end to this glorification of teen pregnancy!

What do you think is going to happen to our world when CHILDREN begin raising CHILDREN?


Please tell me how you feel on this topic! 
Honesty is always the best answer!

(First blog so cut me some slack. Please leave comments or suggestions for my next blog.)

Ventura, M.D, S.J. (2011, January 14). Adolescent pregnancy and childbirth --- united states, 1991--2008. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6001a23.htm?s_cid=su6001a23_x