What about the Baby?

I decided that we have talked about the mother and the father enough.  What about the actual Baby?  In the show 16 & Pregnant I feel as if they do not do a great job of actually highlighting the baby.  Most episodes you do not even remember what the babies name is.  I also think that the show deals more with portraying the issues and the effects it has on the teen parents and even their parents and does not show the complete effects that the arguing has on the baby itself.  In the article The Children of Teen Parents it talks about how the baby can actually be effected by having teen parents.  The article talks about how there is a higher rate of low weight pregnancies to teen moms and how the baby has a chance of not being able to succeed as well as babies born by mothers age 20 or older.  It mentions that only 77% of children of teen parents graduate high school compared to 89% of the comparison group.
The one episode that I think of that kind of deals more then the baby and I think should deal even more with the baby is Janelle's episode.  I felt as if she was not a very good mom and her own mother saw that she was abandoning her little boy and the mom and her boyfriend had to step in and take care of the baby boy.
These are the questions I would like to ask then:
Do you think 16 & Pregnant shows the effects of the actions the parents have one the babies?
Do you think babies born to teen mothers have an even start to life?

-Sam F.

Boyfriends of Pregnant Teenage Girls

I want to change things up and talk about the boyfriends of these pregnant teenage girls. Here is an article from The New York Times which talks about the relationship between Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin. Basically Levi left Bristol and I don't know the story behind why he left her and now he is fighting for custody of son Tripp. He didn't like Bristol family much and talked bad about them. After he left her he was unhappy and angry. He wanted to make thing right so he apologizes to the family and he hoped that the Palins would “forgive my youthful indiscretion." is what he said.
After reading this article it made me think about all the media and tv shows about teenage pregnany and how most of the guys leave their girlfriends and don't come back. But there are a few that do come back and want to be part of the babys life. Those guys either grew up or realized that its time to be responsible. I want to know what was going through Levi head when his son was born because guys don't talk about there feelings becuase they want to act tough.
My Question: Why do you think some boyfriends leave there girlfriends and don't come back. If the boyfriend leaves then decides to come back later what changed their mind? Should he even get another chance to be part of the babys life again? Could is sometimes be better for the baby to grow up without a father? why or why not?

-Jamie B.

Teen Pregnancy: Different Experiences

Going with Ami's theme of reading articles and such, I'm going to discuss this one from Star Magazine. 

Oprah was recently interviewed by Piers Morgan about her formative years. In the interview, she reveals quite a bit; she talks about her sexual abuse, her broken family, and her teen pregnancy. She became pregnant when she was 14, and (it's mentioned elsewhere in the interview) she tried drinking detergent and thought about committing suicide. She attempted to hide the pregnancy, but stress made her prematurely deliver the baby, and the baby died.

Oprah was relieved, and saw it as a second chance. She says of loosing the baby, "I wouldn't have been able to be head of the student council. I wouldn't have been able to be speaking champion in forensics. I wouldn't have been able to be Miss fire prevention. I wouldn't have been chosen as one of the two teenagers in the state of Tennessee to go to the White House conference on youth. None of those things would have happened. The entire trajectory of my life would have been different." 

What I think is notable about the interview is Oprah being completely open and honest about her experience. She doesn't try and say, I was happy about this. She doesn't say, With hard work and determination, I could've had the baby and been successful like I am now. There isn't much discussion about these feelings in shows like 16 and pregnant; that is, the feelings of wanting to get rid of a pregnancy so bad, you would risk your life. Babies/pregnancy, I think at least, are always cast in a happy light; women might not expect to have them, but they end up being happy anyways.

The questions I want to ask are: Why do you think shows/media in general ignore these very real, raw emotions about pregnancy? Do you think it really is a matter of hard work and determination to overcome something so big as a child when you aren't ready? What would be the benefits of more people, especially prominent figures, telling stories such as these? Feel free to add any other reactions. 

The Secret's Out: Teen Pregnancy in the Media

An interesting article from the Huffington Post addresses the topic of teen pregnancy and media in a very realistic way. The author, Dr. Peggy Drexler, discusses a friend she had growing up who disappeared when she became pregnant and reappeared after the birth of her child. During Dr. Drexler's generation, this was how teen pregnancy was handled. It was swept under the rug and kept as a secret that very few outside of the young woman's immediate family would know about.

Recently, teen sexuality, including pregnancy, have surfaced in media in a whole new way. Movies like Juno and shows like MTV's 16 & Pregnant have presented pregnant teens in very different ways. Juno had a happy ending with the baby mom and dad happily in love, and the baby was adopted by a "nice" family. Meanwhile, 16 & Pregnant has been much more realistic in its representations. An NPR clip describes the show as a form of birth control in a sense, and Dr. Drexler from the Huff Post article agrees. Teenagers see the real life consequences of pregnancy because of the show and realize that contraception is important. Simply preaching abstinence in schools and media is not effective, and Dr. Drexler realizes this. Teen sexuality has surfaced and will not be going away any time soon. Still, some researchers say that shows like 16 & Pregnant and Teen Mom glamorize sex.
Question that this article raises for me: Does MTV and other media's representations of teen pregnancy encourage or discourage most teens to have sex and use contraception?

-Ami J.