Comments on: Babies Having Babies

By: AM

AM — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:34:41 +0000

Periwinkle’s comments sound right on to me. Social status. Or PERCEIVED social status. When I taught high school students, I came upon a pregnant teen in the bathroom. She was stroking her very large belly and talking to another girl. Soon, the other girl interrupted and said, “OH, I want one, too. I want one so bad.” The scene still haunts me. I think young girls WANT and NEED love and acceptance (just like all other humans). They know that they can get in from a child. What child does not LOVE and ACCEPT and NEED a mother? The idealism of raising a child seems to bring any rational discernment to a complete hault. In fact, how many teenage mothers practice “rational discernment” or reflection on a daily basis? What can schools and teachers do to promote a healthy life, not just a “good education?” I think they can do a lot more than just sex ed. and “character education” seminars!

By: periwinkletwinkle

periwinkletwinkle — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 04:24:53 +0000

All of this young pregnancy, especially with the supposed rise of availability in not only contraceptives but contraceptive education, IS ridiculous. I have a 23-year old friend who is about 4 months pregnant with a “surprise” baby, too. In my Health, Healing and Culture Anthropology class, I am doing a paper on teenage pregnancy and why so many adolescent girls become young mothers. Turns out, after a lot of research, I found out that in some races (yes, in the United States!), bearing children is a sign of social status. Some girls are even getting pregnant intentionally for fear that they are sterile.

By: ewbarr09

ewbarr09 — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 01:48:26 +0000

I often find it very upsetting when I learn of past friends getting pregnant at young ages, especially when they are unplanned. I believe that many young women are currently uneducated about birth control and the seriousness that comes along with unprotected sex. That is when female educators, like ourselves can help present this information to young women in our middle and high schools.