Pregnancy Tests for Students?

Students in Port Chester, N.Y. may soon be able to get pregnancy tests at school health centers. The clinics, which are in the village’s elementary, middle and high schools, will offer both pregnancy and STD tests, as well as offer counseling and referrals to students who test positive for pregnancy or infection. The clinics are run by Open Door Family Medical Centers and Port Chester is the only school district in Westchester County to host the clinics. Currently, the federally funded program gives immunizations and physicals, as well as mental, vision and hearing screenings. In addition to offering pregnancy and … Continue reading →

Teen Pregnancy on the Rise

Teen pregnancy rates rose in 2006 and 2007 after steadily declining between 1991 and 2005, according to a report released on Thursday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some experts say that teens are less educated about pregnancy prevention today than before due to an increase in abstinence education in schools. They say abstinence education has led to a rise in teen pregnancy because teens will have sex anyway and are becoming pregnant for lack of knowledge. I don’t believe this is true. According to this logic, not teaching teens about sex would prevent them from having … Continue reading →

16 and Pregnant

MTV’s 16 and Pregnant is a new show that follows the life of a teen throughout her pregnancy. Each episode depicts a different teen’s trials of dealing with relationships, high school, parents, jobs and becoming a parent. The show seems fairly accurate in documenting the problems that teen moms face. Many of the girls end up dropping out of high school or switching to an alternative high school because of the pressures they face from other students and struggling to make ends meet. They are oftentimes fighting an uphill battle to balance work, school and their new family. They are … Continue reading →

Health Risks Related to Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy continues to be a problem around the world, despite lower teen pregnancy rates. There are health risks specific to teen pregnancy that pregnant teens and parents should discuss with the doctor or midwife. In addition, teen mothers need to be educated about the risks and the importance of nutrition and prenatal care. According to the March of Dimes, teens are at a higher risk of preterm birth, compared to older mothers. The March of Dimes reports that between the years of 2002 to 2004, the preterm birth rate for women 20-29 years old was 11.7 percent. For women … Continue reading →

Let’s Talk About Teenage Pregnancy – Breaking the Big News

Okay let’s be perfectly real here – finding out your pregnant while single and still living with your parents is never a picnic. There are just as few parents of teens out there that will be instantly transformed into grandparents as there are teens out there that will instantly become super parents. It was probably hard enough for you to find out the big news yourself, but the horror isn’t over yet. Now, you will have to tell the other important people in your life. How will they react? What will they say or do? What exactly is the best … Continue reading →

Let’s Talk About Teenage Pregnancy – Breaking Through Stereotypes

We all have them: Little bits of prejudice that we don’t like to admit to. Nevertheless, they are there and they hurt. They have an impact on the way we view the world, whether we like it or not. There are many words for it – profiling, bias, stereotyping, ageism. Teenage moms are not immune to this any more than other soldiers of the mommy wars. But that doesn’t make it any more ethical for a person, another mom even, to assume that a woman’s age will determine how well she is able to mother her children. It is true … Continue reading →

Let’s Talk About Teenage Pregnancy – Introduction

I’m starting a new category in the pregnancy blog concerning teenage pregnancy, so I thought I would write a little introduction, as well as share my experience on the topic. I was living with my father, fresh out of high school and at the golden age of eighteen when I found myself pregnant for the first time. I was a very successful art student in high school, and I had just started taking random art classes at the local college, trying to determine what field to major in. I was quite certain that I wanted to pursue a career in … Continue reading →