Welcome to the Teen Pregnancy Advisor!
It seems that everywhere you turn these days there is talk of teen pregnancy. Earlier this year, 17 year-old teen star and ’tween’ idol Jamie Lynn Spears announced that she was pregnant and went on to have her baby. Juno was among the most talked about movies and ABC Family produced an original series called The Secret Life of the American Teenager - both addressing the topic of teen pregnancy.
Within the past week - since John McCain’s announcement of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate - teen pregnancy has again been in the news and exposed us to the many different attitudes people hold toward pregnant teens (and their families).
While most of the stories mentioned have been about teens who choose to have their babies - whether to raise with their family or have adopted - many teens who are pregnant want to know more about their alternatives. Some will look to abortion; others will look more closely at adoption.
One thing is certain: pregnant teens - and young, expectant fathers - are going to have questions.
The goals of this site are to address those questions so teens will be able
- to understand their options and figure out how and what to tell their parents,
- to help teens recognize the consequences of unprotected sex (as well as the possibilities of pregnancy and STD transmission even when teens are using condoms and other birth control), and
- to provide parents with the information they need to talk with their kids and to make sure that their message is getting through.
It is also meant to provide clear information about what pregnancy is like, how society views teen pregnancy and to help teens gain access to the resources they may need.