Source: ShutterStock

In horrible school news today, two pregnant teens had their photos removed from their yearbook at a Michigan high school because administrators felt that – get this – the girls’ baby bumps were encouraging teen pregnancy. Um, I’m sorry, what?!

The students, from White Cloud High School, are obviously really upset about this seriously awful form of pregnancy shaming. Junior Deonna Harris and senior Kimberly Haney told WOOD-TV about how their photos were pulled from the high school yearbook because their baby bumps were visible. A pregnant stomach in a yearbook?! Oh, God, no! (*sarcasm*)

Deonna explained how a yearbook staff member pulled her aside one day to let her know that she had to re-take a photo of herself that had originally been planned to go in the yearbook because her pregnant belly was visible. The photo itself was completely innocent – it was just Deonna posing with a few of her friends outside of the school. Kimberly had a similar situation – since her and her boyfriend were voted most likely to get married, they took a picture of a fake proposal scene. And since her pregnant stomach was also visible, that photo was also pulled and Kimberly was asked to take another one that didn’t so obviously show that she was pregnant.

The ridiculous reasoning behind this decision? School administrators feel that “showing off” images of their pregnant students encourages teen pregnancy to other students. White Cloud Public Schools Superintendent Barry Seabrook told the AP that “It’s our feeling… that (the photos) could very well be a contrary message to (the state policy).” This means that the state of Michigan has an abstinence-only approach (that is obviously working out REALLY well for them – just saying) and they felt that showing that two of their students are pregnant goes against that approach.

Pregnancies not allowed in yearbook

I can’t even begin to understand this logic. So you’re telling me that other teens are going to see pictures of a pregnant high school girl and think, “OMG that looks so cool. I totally want to be pregnant now!” I mean, really? I seriously, seriously doubt that seeing a photo of a pregnant girl is going to encourage other teens to run out there and start making babies. I mean, come on. They probably already see these girls in person every single day! How is a yearbook image going to change anything?

The girls are obviously devastated about being told to retake pictures where their stomachs aren’t showing and both are refusing to do so. I don’t blame them at all. This whole situation sucks, to put it bluntly. These girls don’t deserve to be shamed in that way simply because they got pregnant at a young age. And no one will ever be able to convince me that images of them being pregnant are going to encourage other teens to do the same. It’s maybe one of the most ridiculous things I’ve ever heard and what this really sounds like to me is that the school just doesn’t want the pictures included in the yearbook because they’re worried about their image and nothing else.

If Michigan schools really want to keep their students from getting pregnant, maybe they should consider teaching them about safe sex and stop their abstinence-only approach. Telling teens not to have sex is not going to stop all of them from having sex. But informing them about the importance of condoms, birth control and other aspects of safe sex? That actually teaches them something very important that they need to know. Get it together, White Cloud High School.

What do you think about this story? Do you agree or disagree with the school’s decision? Do you think pictures of pregnant girls in the yearbook would encourage teen pregnancy? Tell me in the comments.

What your doctor isn’t telling you about your birth control options

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Source: ShutterStock

When I was asked to test out DoSomething.org’s new Pregnancy Text campaign, I surprisingly jumped at the chance. I was told that I would get a “phone baby” for a day who I would have to take care of… and I was actually pretty excited. It’s not like I want a baby right now or anything (I don’t – way too much work, although they are pretty cute), but I never really had the chance to do that whole egg baby project that it seems like everyone else got to do in middle school and I felt left out and so… here we are.

Here’s what I’m talking about: DoSomething.org is launching a brand new Pregnancy Text campaign in an attempt to show teens (or really anyone) what it’s really like to be a parent. It’s a one-day challenge over 12 hours and it basically gives you a phone baby that texts you with its needs and wants and whining throughout the day. Oh, and besides letting you know what it would be like to have a baby, this campaign also gives you the chance to win a $3,000 scholarship – all you need to do is recommend Pregnancy Text to six friends and you’re automatically entered.

Remember those egg babies I was talking about before? Yeah, this is basically the 2013 version of that. Instead of carrying around a very delicate egg all day without breaking it, you’re getting text messages throughout the day from your phone baby. What are they like? This is why I tested it out – to fill you guys in before you do the dirty work yourselves.

After signing up for the campaign, I got a text saying that my phone baby would wake me up in the morning. I honestly had no idea what was in store for me for the next 12 hours – would this be an app that came complete with crying baby noises and some sort of digital pooping? Would I have to do anything to keep my baby happy? Would I be constantly tethered to my phone all day? I prepared for my phone baby almost like I was preparing for a day babysitting a real baby. 

Real babies can’t be put on vibrate. | Source: ShutterStock

But actually, the campaign was much more simple than that. All that happened was… the baby texted me throughout the day. I got my first text (it started off with “WAHHH”) at 6:30 AM, which would have sucked, but I was awake already, so whatever. I got, in total, 12 texts from the baby. One of them said, “I don’t know how to tell you what I need, so I’m just going to keep screaming until you figure it out. WAHHHHH. Your move, Sherlock.” Another one said, “Oh, sorry. You thought I could hold it until you got the new diaper on? My B. Cleanup on aisle me!” This was a seriously sassy baby. 

The purpose of this campaign is to show teens what it’s like to have to take care of a real baby. But the thing is, I feel like this campaign didn’t fully show that. I get the point of the random text messages throughout the day – they show that babies need things at odd times, no matter what you’re doing. They need to be changed, they need to fed and sometimes they just cry for no reason at all. Basically, they need your attention. I totally got that from the texts. But, my phone didn’t really turn into a baby for the day. I actually kind of wish it were an app that involved actually responding to the baby demands in some way. Like, I wish it were more annoying. That’s a weird thing to say, right?

Minimal annoying factor and all, I still feel like it’s worth trying out. And per DoSomething.org, 50% of the people who did last year’s phone baby challenge said they’d be more likely to talk about sex with their parents, which is hugely important.

Would you ever try out this Pregnancy Text campaign? Have you ever had an egg baby? Would this persuade you against unprotected sex? Tell me in the comments! 

These are the worst teen pregnancy PSAs ever!

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As if being 16 and pregnant weren’t scary enough, imagine your parents forcing you to get an abortion. | Source: ShutterStock

Abortion is a touchy subject for a lot of reasons–we know just from reading the comments here! (And yes, we do read them, and we love that you guys are so passionate about your views. You’re awesome.) It’s evident from reading a lot of them that your parents probably influence how you feel about the subject, which is good–it means you’re talking about it!

But a lot of you disagree with your parents on abortion, which is great too. Except in the case of one girl from Texas, who is actually–get this–taking her parents to court. She thinks that the are forcing her to get an abortion against her will. Dude, how scary is that?

The girl in the case is 16 years old, and she’s two months along. The lawsuit says she wants to keep the baby, but that her parents are adamantly against it–and resorting to some really dirty tactics to get her to have an abortion. In the girl’s lawsuit, it says that her mom “invited the paternal grandparents to a bar for further discussion, where she suggested that she might slip her an abortion pill through deception.”

Uh, how messed up and horrifying is that?

The suit also says that her dad said that “he was going to take her to have an abortion and that the decision was his, end of story.” Pops, just because you helped make her uterus doesn’t mean it’s yours.

The girl’s lawyer told reporters, “We were asking judge to stop them physically forcing her to have an abortion. She is legally protected. They cannot drag her to get an abortion, force an abortion on our client.” The girl was granted a temporary restraining order from the judge in order to save the baby’s life.

Here’s why this is screwed up. Even if you agree with abortion, it should be your choice. The girl’s lawyer pointed this out, saying, “What Roe established is minors have the choice. And when they do make the choice, folks are shocked that they want to carry the baby.”

Here’s the thing, though. The girl’s lawyer is being provided to her by a staunch anti-abortion group, which may also be influencing her decision–because you know that even if they genuinely want to help her, which is commendable, that they’re after the publicity that will ultimately come with it, too.

If everyone would just hear this girl out and let her make up her own mind and give her unbiased information, what could be the biggest decision of her life would be made a lot less traumatically. Instead, everyone with what may be ulterior motives is jumping in and trying to sway her one way or the other–when it’s her body, her choice and eventually, her baby.

Whether or not you agree with abortion, you can probably agree that this is a crappy situation for her to be stuck in. Here’s hoping she makes the best choice not for her parents, not for a pro-life lobby, not for a pro-choice lobby, but for herself.

Do you think the girl should have taken her parents to court over having an abortion? Do you think she should have an abortion or keep the baby? Do you think the anti-abortion group paying for her lawyer is trying to get publicity from the case? Do you think her parents had good intentions when they tried getting her to have an abortion, or that they were just being scary? Tell us in the comments!

These abortion facts may surprise you!

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When condoms fail, free birth control can come in handy in preventing pregnancy–and abortion. | Source: Shutterstock

In news that will shock no one with a triple-digit IQ, a new study says that free birth control leads to way fewer abortions. Surprise!

The study tracked 9,000 women in the St. Louis area, a lot of whom were uninsured or poor (or, in many cases, both). The women were given a choice of pretty much whatever birth control method they wanted at no cost to them. Sweet deal, right?

It turns out that when price isn’t an issue, women and girls tend to spring for the most effective birth control options, which are usually hormonal implants. That leads to fewer unplanned pregnancies, which, in turn, leads to fewer abortions. The reason more women don’t go for hormonal implants to begin with? They’re pricey, and a lot of women and girls struggle with the upfront costs and copays to get them (even though years of birth control pills pretty much add to the same amount, pills don’t present a giant lump sum all at once). Additionally, a lot of young women don’t realize they’re an option, because docs don’t always mention them, either because they assume that implants and intrauterine devices (IUDs) aren’t for young women (which was a common belief until recently), or because docs assume women would rather just snag the pill.

The free birth control had a huge effect on teen pregnancy rates. There were only about 6 births for every 1,000 women in the study, while the national rate in 2010 was about 34 to every 1,000. Not coincidentally, there were a lot lower abortion rates as a result: There were between 4 and 7 abortions for every 1,000 women in the free birth control study, as opposed to the national rate, which is around 20 to every 1,000.

The moral of the story? Give women access to free birth control and there won’t need to be so much of a pro-choice or pro-life argument. This is something everyone should be able to agree on: Pro-lifers will be preventing abortions by preventing unplanned pregnancies, and pro-choicers are preventing the very pregnancies they want to protect the right to terminate. Because the fact is, no one wants an abortion. It’s not something people do for fun, for sport, or for a hobby–it’s something someone does because they’re in a bad situation.

Those bad situations can be avoided by providing resources and funding to finance free birth control to those who need it the most. Now, some of you may argue that you should have to pay for someone else’s birth control, but hear us out: Doing so will save us all money in the long run, because birth control is a lot cheaper to fund than the necessary childcare, prenatal care, healthcare, and welfare programs to raise unplanned children (and telling people not to have sex doesn’t work). Often women and girls in lower income brackets don’t have the necessary education or funds to prevent pregnancy and nab contraception, and these are the women often most likely to seek out abortions. If we prevent pregnancies, we’ll prevent unwanted abortions, and maybe eventually phase out the need for a lot of them–because at the end of the day, every abortion is, on some level, unwanted.

Do you think free birth control should be available to everyone? Do you think free birth control will lower abortion rates on a national scale? Do you think free birth control would eventually phase out the need for abortion entirely? Tell us in the comments!

Find out how you can get free birth control!

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Depending on the result of her pregnancy test, she may get expelled from Delhi Charter School in Louisiana. WTF?! | Source

What’s worse is that the school in question, Delhi Charter School, in Delhi, Louisiana, is a publicly funded school. That means your parents’ tax dollars (or yours, if you work!) are paying to support discrimination against pregnant teenagers, or even just any girl who stands up for the right to not be forced into a pregnancy test in order to save her chance at an education.

Take a gander at the actual inane policy from the student handbook:

“If an administrator or teacher suspects a student is pregnant, a parent conference will be held. The school reserves the right to require any female student to take a pregnancy test to confirm whether or not the suspected student is in fact pregnant. The school further reserves the right to refer the suspected student to a physician of its choice. If the test indicates that the student is pregnant, the student will not be permitted to attend classes on the campus of Delhi Charter School.

If a student is determined to be pregnant and wishes to continue to attend Delhi Charter School, the student will be required to pursue a course of home study that will be provided by the school  . . .  Any student who is suspected of being pregnant and who refuses to submit to a pregnancy test shall be treated as a pregnant student and will be offered home study opportunities. If home study opportunities are not acceptable, the student will be counseled to seek other educational opportunities.

Thankfully, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is all over this and ready to defend not only pregnant teenagers at the school, but also every girl’s right to refuse to take a pregnancy test. “The pregnancy policy violates the rights of every girl at Delhi Charter School,” the ACLU wrote furiously. “Every girl is at risk of being subject to intrusive medical testing, and possibly forced out of school, for reasons that have nothing to do with her education.” Can we get an amen?

The ACLU also points out that not only are the school’s actions and attitudes toward pregnant teenagers generally effed up, but they may also be unconstitutional–aka illegal. They noted that the pregnancy test policy “violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and the Equal Protection Clause and the Due Process Clauses of the U.S. constitution.” That basically means that the school is engaging in sex discrimination, and Title IX banned that. Further, the pregnancy test policy may also violate the 14th amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law (so men and women are treated equally!) as well as due process and the right to procreate.

The school’s pregnancy test policy may be an effort for the school to try to discourage teen pregnancy (which is already way down), but essentially slut shaming pregnant teenagers isn’t going to solve the problem. Educating girls and guys on safe sex and birth control is statistically proven to work a lot better than promoting abstinence exclusively. And what’s more, 70 percent of pregnant teenagers and teen moms don’t finish school as it is. If Delhi Charter School had its way, that number would soar up to 100 percent, further increasing not only the education gap, but also the eventual income gap between pregnant teenagers and their peers. As if these girls didn’t have enough to deal with, right?

While we’re stoked that the ACLU is doing their darnedest to take care of the pregnancy test policy, can we please talk about how sexist and effed up this is? First of all, pregnant teenagers don’t result from a bored girl with a turkey baster. It takes two. Why are pregnant teenagers–women and girls–being persecuted, but the presumed fathers of their unborn babies are free to study unscathed? In addition, what if the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest? Isn’t the act punishment enough? When they came up with this pregnancy test policy, these school administrators showed that they are at best extremely ignorant and short sighted, if not outright sadistic.

Pregnant teenagers have enough to worry about besides expulsion. | Source

And let’s be real: Even–perhaps especially–if you’re not pregnant, how humiliating would it be to be forced to take a pregnancy test just because you’re a little bloated from lunch? All of this is absolutely ludicrous.

We’re glad there’s an uproar here, because there needs to be one. Slut shaming and expelling pregnant teenagers for “failing” a pregnancy test won’t make teen pregnancy go away. Education, information, and a stop to discrimination and rampant sexism within policies and politics, however, may well do the trick.

Do you think the pregnancy test policy is a good one? Do you think the pregnancy test policy discriminates against pregnant teenagers? Do you think being forced to take a pregnancy test isn’t a big deal? Do you think pregnant teenagers influence their peers? Do you think the pregnancy test policy will deter teen pregnancy? Tell us in the comments!

Here’s What One Teen Mom Thinks We Need

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Sex education is getting cut in a lot of schools. Is yours one of them? | Source

Fewer schools are teaching students everything they need to know in sex education, especially about HIV, which is super dangerous–because, as you know, HIV leads to AIDS. HIV and other STDs, in addition to teen pregnancy, are really risky, and if you’re not getting a full, comprehensive course in sex education–on everything from abstinence to condoms to LGBTQ issues–you’re probably going to be even more at risk for these dangers, because you won’t have all the info you need to prevent them and have safe, satisfying relationships.

What’s more infuriating and baffling about the lack of funding for sex education? The consequences of a lack of sex ed are a lot more expensive than simply teaching students how to make informed decisions about their own sexual health. The tax dollars that go toward public assistance for those with unplanned pregnancies, as well as the medical bills for those who contract sexually transmitted diseases, far outweigh the costs of teaching students how to use condoms, birth control, and maturity in sex education classes.

The lack of HIV education in sex education isn’t just because of less funding, though–it’s also because of fundamentals. A lot of conservative communities and school districts provide abstinence-only sex education, which was been proven time and again to not be very successful in terms of encouraging students to be safe once they do decide to have sex. Additionally, because of stigmas associated with HIV (many conservative groups still assume that it’s a “gay only” disease), a lot of schools don’t teach about it at all. WTF?!

What does work? Giving you all the necessary information about sex, STDs, birth control, and disease and pregnancy protection possible. When you have knowledge, you have power to make your own informed decisions for what’s best for you. You can’t do that if you don’t know what all of your options are.

On the bright side, students are taking a lot more responsibility and a lot more precautions in their sex lives despite the hindrances to sex education. The Center for Disease Control says that fewer than half of high school students have had sex, and that those who have had sex generally have fewer partners–and that 60 percent of those who were sexually active used condoms. That may explain the plummeting teen pregnancy rate, too!

Good job, girls–even though your schools may not giving you the best sex education, you’re still informed enough yourselves to make good decisions and stay safe.

Has your school been affected by the budget cuts for sex education classes? Does your school still offer sex education? Do you think sex education classes should be abstinence only or more comprehensive? Tell us in the comments!

What’s The Deal With Teen Pregnancy?

This won't be cute after five minutes. Seriously. | Source: Shutterstock

Babies are pretty cool. They’re usually happy to see you, they’ll always love you, and they’re super cute! But that doesn’t mean having a baby right now is a good idea. In fact, as a teen, it’s normally a pretty bad idea.

First off, babies are freakin’ expensive. We’re  gonna throw some numbers at you: 80 percent of unwed teen mothers have to go on welfare to support themselves and their babies. Having a baby makes going to school and/or work a lot tougher. Plus, it’s harder to get a good job considering only one-third of teen moms get a high school diploma. And with the economy being so rough that people with college degrees often work minimum wage jobs, you can’t even imagine how hard it’d be to get work with limited availability and limited education. And continuing on with your education is tough too–only 1.5% of teen moms go on to get a college degree. It’s a pretty vicious cycle, and it’s one best avoided completely.

Then there’s the emotional toll having a baby will take on you. You can pretty much say “peace out” to hanging out with your friends, going to the movies on a whim, or taking a spontaneous weekend road trip with your girls, because you’re going to need to hire a sitter–which usually costs money that most teen parents don’t have. It may be harder for you and your friends to relate to one another, because when they’re talking about who’s wearing what dress to prom, you’ll likely be stressing about onesies and Desitin.

And don’t even think that having a baby will keep your boyfriend around. In fact, stats show that he’ll probably bounce–8 out of 10 guys who get a teen girl preggers don’t marry her.

Additionally, you can bet having a kid–or even just announcing that you’re pregnant–will cause a big strain on your relationship with your parents. Your having a kid likely isn’t their fault–but it will inevitably become, at least in part, their problem. And that’s not really fair.

This won't be cute after five minutes. Seriously. | Source: Shutterstock

Oh, and dude, let’s not even get started on how gross diapers are. Do you really want to be responsible for something that poops up its own back? I sure don’t…yet!

Don’t believe us? Well, you can take a dry run at parenthood and see for yourself. You and your pals can test out DoSomething.org’s The Pregnancy Text for a day and see how having a rugrat of your own affects you. You’ll get text messages throughout the day that mimic taking care of a kid. It’s a wake up call for sure–and it’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the drama a real baby would bring you. What we love about this program is that it’s geared to girls and guys. So many teen pregnancy campaigns only target girls and we all know, boys make babies happen just as much as girls do. In addition to a hard taste of parenthood, participating will enter you to win a $2,000 scholarship to college. Teen pregnancy awareness and money for school, thanks DoSomething.org!

Having a kid when you’re still one yourself limits so many fun and exciting opportunities that you’d otherwise have. You have your whole life to get pregnant and start a family. It’s worth the wait to enjoy your youth while you can–and thankfully, a lot of teens are catching on, because the U.S. pregnancy rate is the lowest it’s been since 1940!

If you’re looking for someone who will always be happy to see you and drool on you (and that won’t talk back in its teenage years), your best bet now is to get a puppy–and use protection.

Have you ever thought about having a baby? Would you want to be a teen mom despite all the risks and hardships? Tell us in the comments!

Abstinence is the safest sex--but it's not always the most likely to happen. | Source: Shutterstock

Roosevelt High School in East L.A. is located in what experts actually call a “pregnancy hotspot,” because teen pregnancy occurs is two to three times more likely than elsewhere. With that in mind, you’d think that people would be stoked to have a Planned Parenthood sponsored clinic in Roosevelt High. Though a lot of you aren’t having sex, plenty of you are, so it’s important to have access to contraception, be it condoms, birth control, or, ideally, both. The clinic provides not only access to contraception, but also information–and considering a survey was released recently implying that teens weren’t too informed about safe sex, that may be the most important part of their work.

However, opponents to the program are pissed that the clinic is “normalizing” teen sex instead of promoting abstinence. But here’s a news flash: If enough teens are getting pregnant to make your high school a “pregnancy hotspot,” teen sex probably is pretty normal. That makes it more important than ever to go over the risks of unsafe sex, because people need to know how to protect themselves. While reps for the program say that they do go over abstinence, they recognize and understand that while abstinence is the only 100 percent safe sex, it’s also clearly not very likely. However, if students know about the risks involved with sex–pregnancy, STDs, emotional complications–they may actually be more likely to abstain on their own. And if they’re not, at least they know how to protect themselves.

Perhaps the opponents of the program will stop complaining once they see that it’s working. The year before Planned Parenthood’s clinic came to Roosevelt High, there were 32 pregnancies on campus. The next year? There were three.

More of one may mean less of the other. | Source: Shutterstock

While those numbers are admittedly gradually going up, they’re still far below what they were before the program began. Whether the drop can be attributed to teens having more safe sex or less sex in general, we think Roosevelt High is on the right track. The U.S. teen pregnancy rate is the lowest it’s ever been since 1940, and that doesn’t happen by accident. It happens by making informed and intelligent decisions, whether you choose to have sex or not.

Do you think having Planned Parenthood in schools is a good idea? Do you think having Planned Parenthood in schools encourages teens to have sex? Do you think abstinence-only education is a better bet? Tell us in the comments!

Want To Know More About The Best Birth Control? Yes, You DO!

How much do you know about sex and how to keep it safe? | Source: Shutterstock

Stupid. Dumb. Uninformed. That’s what some experts think you are when it comes to sex. I can see your eye-roll now. Don’t think I can’t. But really, how much do you know about sex? If one survey is any indication, not much.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy called over 1,000 teens (and another 1,000+ adults) and their findings were pretty worrisome. A whopping 42% of teens they surveyed think that “it doesn’t matter whether you use birth control or not, when it is your time to get pregnant, it will happen.” Uh, really? It’s not like Storkzilla swoops down from a tree and VOILA–you’re pregnant! There are things like condoms and birth control pills that are scientifically proven to prevent pregnancy, people!

Anyway, this apparent widespread belief in Storkzilla is freaking us out, guys. While we have no idea about anyone the the campaign called other than their age range, it’s not a good sign that so many participants were so passive about their sexual health. Chances are if you use birth control correctly and responsibly, you won’t get pregnant. “Your time to get pregnant” will come a lot sooner if you ignore precautions like contraceptives and condoms. You guys are smarter than this!

Despite claiming to know about sex, a lot of people don't know how to use condoms! | Source: Shutterstock

As a matter of fact, most of the respondents even admitted themselves that they’re smarter than that: 86% of those surveyed said they had all the info necessary to prevent an unplanned pregnancy (that’s what we love to hear!). The bad news? Way more than half of the same group said they know next to nothing about how to use male condoms, which are a huge (or magnum sized, if you will) weapon in your arsenal of STD and pregnancy prevention tools. Those numbers do not add up, ladies–and may explain why the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the developed world.

A silver lining? Despite these findings, teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. are the lowest they’ve been since 1940 (good job, girls). But this survey suggests that a whole lot of work still needs to be done before a lot of us know about sex as much as we think we do.

Do you have sex ed in your school? How much do you think you know about sex? Do you think you and your friends need to know more about sex? Tell us in the comments!

Want To Talk To Your Dude About Condoms? Here’s How

Despite the popularity of shows like Teen Mom, the teen pregnancy rate is way down--but can still be lower! | Source: Shutterstock

The U.S. teen pregnancy rates are at an all-time low. There’s been a 44% drop in teen moms between 1991 and 2010, bringing us to the lowest number since 1946! Good job, girls!

What’s behind the decline? Experts suggest that better use of two contraceptive methods–like having your guy wear a condom even though you’re on the pill–contributed to the drop.

There’s still a lot that needs to be done, though. The United States still has the highest teen pregnancy rates–meaning the most teens giving birth–out of all the developed countries in the world.

Why is this happening? For one, birth control is expensive, especially if your insurance doesn’t cover it. Moreover, a lot of girls, including Jamie Lynn Spears, are too scared to ask for birth control. They’re afraid of being judged or that their parents will find out, which is understandable. But please remember that being safe and responsible is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about! Think of it this way: Wouldn’t it be easier to explain that you’re on the Pill than it would be to drop the “my eggo is preggo” bomb on your mom?

This is the one time you're probably hoping for something negative. | Source: Shutterstock

Recent studies show that some girls think parenthood is the only thing that will bring them happiness, because they think they don’t have much else going for them. Of course they’re wrong–you’re all brilliant and beautiful in your own ways, and we wish sooo much that more of you could see that! One expert put it this way: “If a young woman sees little chance of improving her life by investing in her education and career skills, or by marriage, she is more likely to choose the security, immediate gratification and happiness of parenthood.” These gals see parenting as the only way they’ll achieve anything, and that’s a frightening and heartbreaking idea, especially when you consider that less than half of teen moms will achieve a high school diploma by the time they’re 22. Without an education, it’s going to be harder for these girls to find jobs to support their kids.

Hopefully, more girls will realize how awesome and amazing they are–and how much they have going for themselves–so we can get this number down even lower next year.

What do you think is the best way to prevent teen pregnancy? What do you think is the biggest contributing factor to teen pregnancy? Are you a teen mom? How do you deal? Let us know in the comments!

Need To Get Your Guy To Wear A Condom? Here’s How!