What is the best way to help teen girls actively trying to conceive (get pregnant)?

Teen girls supposedly make pregnancy pact; 17 end up pregnant:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/06/20/cho.teen.pregnancy.pact.w...

I wish they would have interviewed some of the pregnant teens. Why are they purposely trying to get pregnant? Do they actual want to raise children at 17 or is this some kind of statement. This is certainly the oddest form of peer pressure I've ever heard of.

I hope the school decides to offer easier access to birth control and up the education of the effects of teen pregnancy. The child as well as the mother are more at risk at such a young age because most girls are not fully developed yet.

I just wish I understood why they made the pact and then I would have more to say. Knowing motivation is the only way to give advice for a solution.

TomorrowToday

This is a tough one. Most girls in these positions will do whatever they can to get what they want. My sister did and ended up pregnant by 16. Teenagers don't always listen, no matter how much you try to educate them. I think the only solution would be to spike their morning OJ with birth control pills.

What might some of the "Other Means of Prevention" be? I'm having trouble thinking of things on my own, so I'd love some feedback before I vote.

"Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." - Victor Hugo

Yup, I'm a music nerd.

I don't like the way this question is worded. The question really being asked is how to prevent teenage girls from trying to conceive. But I don't think they should be told not to get pregnant. Not saying that they should be told to go out and get pregnant either, but if they know all the risks and are willing to deal with the baby once they have it, why should you try to change their mind? I know a number of girls who had children when they were still teenagers, and they're wonderful mothers now, and wouldn't want to change things.

Now, if the reason they're trying to get pregnant is because they have self-esteem issues, they should probably be counseled for those issues (not for the pregnancy bit... just because they have low self-esteem. Presumably, if that's why they're trying to get pregnant, then you counsel them on self-esteem, they get better, and are then more willing to wait to get pregnant).

~C
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I think the girls need to learn from their mistakes. If grown-up's try to "hold their hands" then it only makes them want to rebel from adults even more. Every mistake has a learning curve for life, and everyone learns something, wether the choose to change the outcome is up to them. They'll figure out how dumb it is, and move along the way.

:-!!

Did I read this right?

Assuming we don't mean actually helping them to conceive - I don't necessarily viewing wanting to conceive a problem that needs to be helped. Hopefully they aren't being stupid about it and realize the responsibilities of raising a child.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"when you have nothing else to say, "Fwonk" is always the perfect thing."

"yeah well, fwonk"
--Devon

Fanaile Essence

I put counceling because That goes had in hand with education on an idividual basis. That was before I read the articles. They need to have a mandatory freshmen class like what we had. Career and family studies is what I think it was called. It was sex-ed plus all the stuff that comes after. We talked about getting pregnant in HS and the eefects of our actions.

I am pretty sure offering condoms and the pill at the school wont help stop the people from trying to get prego. These things work only if you take them. So until they come up with some sort of frequency device you can hide in a personas belt that prevents conception there is really no point. Education, wether group/school form, or individually/ counceled, or by parents is probably the best thing to do.

Is this some sort of a new way to rebel against parents? Maybe the parents said 'you will see when you are a parent' one to many times....

Where oh where did things go wrong that they would let the future go.
~T

All truths are easy to understand once discovered; The point is to discover them ~Galileo

I'd say counceling and education. But failing that, a good post conception education would be kicking their little pregnant asses out onto the street and letting them take accountability for their actions for a bit.

_____________________________________________________________
I am the people my mother warned me about.

http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tuffgong

TUFFGONG
Senior Executive Administrator™

Those teens are closing up the “gap” of (mis)understanding between generations, although in a fairly radical way, makes it yet another sign (fine example) something is boiling down beneath.

More situations and actions similar to these will soon become daily realities which will bring all to start thinking in mass, therefore not in terms of good and wrong only.

Teens are kicking ass, was about time too, lol

Education will not bring any solace, bit late for that, the “concept” of living like most amongst believe to know it, is starting to collapse upon its own structure.

Teens visions upon a future are clouded, more will act in various ways and eventually affect us all together with the importance they push forward.

Whether they can count upon acceptance or not, will make no difference in regard to the outcome of it all.

Time is flashing at high speed towards a new plane of reality, one which eventually will be(come) understood and supported by all, this will occur when the storm will calm down and fade away.

There is no stopping this, one might as well watch this with eyes wide shut!

http://www.loveearth.com/uk/film/

I chose counseling over education, though they both seem like a good choice. The reason I think counseling is more important is because, like the articles I've read say, self-esteem is definitely an issue here. There's something more going on than simply a lack of knowledge about the consequences of what they're doing. Most 17 year olds that I know who are well-adjusted and have a good home life don't want to get pregnant.

It might be useful to give these girls counseling anyway now that they're pregnant just so they don't pass the same misguided ideas on to their children.
-------------------------
Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. --Mahatma Gandhi

My Blog: http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/kablock
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There is no question aboutn it, teen girls who want to get pregnant really need counsoling. I mean, do they SERIOUSLY think they are ready to be parents? Even the most adult-like teen wouldn't be ready for a child at seventeen. If you ask me, we need a hell of a lot of counsolers to get through to these thick headed nimrods (sorry if I sound disrespectful, but it irritates me, because the preggers I know complain that they can't do anything or take care of what they WANT) because they won't think twice without forceful advice. A friend of mine got pregnant, and I'm like woman, you haven't held a job in God knows how long and you can't rely on your boyfriend.... whom CHEATS on her, or so I'm told. But whatever, I can't deal with that.

These girls seriously need counsoling. I mean, pacts to get pregnant at the same time? I've never heard something so... so... absurd!

I am who I am and who I am is someone unique.

It’s important to “step outside” of one’s personal bubble in order to comprehend what is taking place with those seventeen girls…..

This is actually magic which is manifesting itself, still, from all the comments I read, it is clear to figure out most amongst don’t grasp the reality around what is actually taking place.

It’s important to pounder “it” for a while, it might open up new ways of thinking, for all of us!

Those teens are sending a straight forward message, to at least try and read (think) “it” might bring up some understanding of the why involved!

http://www.loveearth.com/uk/film/

On my active threads list display, the parenthetical note gets split right next to your name, so it reads, (get Fallon pregnant).

8-}

http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman

Many high schools don't provide ANY sex education at all. When I came into high school as a freshman one of my best friends got pregnant and I sat next to a 5 month pregnant girl in one of my classes. By sophmore year another close friend was pregnant (which led to her not attending MIT, very sad), and I was seeing more pregnant people in one place than I ever had in my life. It was sad really. They even passed out a letter for us and our parents about how high teen pregnancy was and about classes and help that they could get! Instead of trying to help prevent it. I know people who were having sex in the bathrooms between class. I stopped being surprised. And after high school just about all my friends had kids. So I'm 21, with friends in the same age range who all have 2 or 3 year olds (some older), and there's a point when I just stopped being surprised. Sex education in elementary school was in 6th grade and 7th grade. They teach you about periods and show a weird cartoon about sex. Teach you body parts and STD's and off you go. Then the actual hormones really kick in while you're in high school and it all just flew out of their minds I guess. There should be condoms in the nurses office, free, or very cheap. Pamphlets, some classes, even if they aren't mandatory. Something though, right?

The article I read http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080625/ap_on_re_us/pregnancy_pact said that there was no pact. It is completely irrelevant though, seeing as how these young women are already pregnant.

When I was in high school, my best friend, at 16, got pregnant. Another friend of ours, Chris, thought it would be so cool if they were both pregnant together and could raise their kids together. She had it all planned out too. They would live with her aunt, and one could babysit while the other worked. It would be so cute- they could even dress their babies alike!

Well, Kelly ignored it, but Chris was pregnant within 2 months. They didn't go live with her aunt, and last I heard, Chris lost custody of her oldest son. The idea of teens wanting to raise kids together is not unheard of.

If there was a pact, or if girls were talking about how they wanted to join the trend or whatever happened, someone had to have overheard the conversations and administration probably should have stepped in. There wouldn't be much they could do, but good sex ed and educating about the costs of raising children (financial and opportunity) could end the trend.

-Sonja
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."