Teen Pregnancy Prevention

Does the school have a role in trying to prevent adolescent pregnancy? Or, should schools simply concentrate on insuring graduation in those who get pregnant?

• Many teens get pregnant if they donıt abstain from having sexual relations or fail to use contraceptives.
  
• Parents are effective at controlling their childrenıs sexual behavior when they clearly and firmly communicate their options over time.

Sadly, many sex education programs (whether based on abstinence or on using contraceptives) are ineffective. Many schools simply insert a 2-3 week unit on sex education into a health or physical education class taught by an inexperienced teacher, then expect students to transfer information from these lectures to real life situations.

American researchers estimate that about 54 percent of sexually active teens now use condoms regularly, beginning with their first sexual experience. Further, birthrates are lower in countries where teens have easy access to contraceptives and where teens who use contraceptives are considered to be responsible (not promiscuous).

Think it over?

Around the country, educators are looking for ways to evoke second thoughts in adolescents contemplating sexual intercourse. In one approach, using a commercial product called Baby Think It Over, students spend a week taking care of a computerized doll the size of a newborn. When the simulated babyıs internal computer activates, it cries until its mom or dad inserts a key and holds it in place for ten minutes. The experience is close to the real thing­a type of hands-on learning. However, most teen pregnancy prevention experts agree that simply handing out pretend babies is not enough. They say schools need to do more if they are to get at the deeper problems affecting attitudes toward sex and pregnancy. Studies on the root causes of teenage pregnancy in different regions of the country and among various socioeconomic and ethnic groups tell the same story: Teens who are hopeful about their futures and have high aspirations are more likely to avoid becoming pregnant.

(Black S. Facts of life. American School Board J August 1998, pp. 33-35)

COMMENT: As Marion Wright Edelman, director of the Childrens Defense Fund, says, "The best contraceptive is a real future."