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Imagine your daughter and her seven friends came over and you knew that one of them would definitely be pregnant. If your daughter went to Robeson High School in Chicago, this would be the case: of 800 girls, 115 of them are pregnant or have had a child. The one in seven rate is astounding, and there are hundreds of factors that may contribute to the school's pregnancy numbers.
These factors include a lack of access to sexual health education and pregnancy prevention and a lack of access to reproductive health resources. The school's students are largely from poor communities of color where teenage pregnancies can be high. The Principal of Robeson adds that absentee fathers may also be a factor.
At least Robeson is a school in which young women are not being thrown out or transferred to other schools. Principal Morrow notes, "We're looking at how we can get them to the next phase, how can we still get them thinking about graduation?"
So often we may be quick to blame or judge the pregnant girls in the situation, their parents, or other individuals. But Robeson's numbers are a product of a much larger institutional problem - poor reproductive health education in low-income communities. Educational classes and centers need to be set up that normalize and encourage the use of birth control methods and distribute condoms. A teen health center is being built across the street, which is a step in the right direction. But funding needs to be poured into the creation and maintenance of centers such as these so that teenage pregnancy rates go down. The health of young women of color need to be addressed directly so that they aren't struggling to raise children or give birth while trying to graduate from high school.
Add a Comment128 Comments
Just because you are married and have kids doesn't mean you won't be getting divorced in a year. You'll probably say that you love each other and will be togather forever, but psychologically you change most from the time your about eighteen to twenty-six, so there's no telling what will happen.
January 25, 2010 - 8:11pmThis Comment
(It cut me off.)
October 24, 2009 - 4:53pmI hate to point it out, but...you're one of them. You knew you could have a baby if you had sex and you GOT that baby. So HOW are you different from any teen parent on the planet?! You just *thought* you were ready to be a teen mother, but in the long run you will regret your decision. You have all your life to make babies, but you only have seven years to be a teenager.
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I will not regret my dessicion, I love my husband and my daughter more then anything in the world. Are you that closed minded that you think just because I had a child at 17 I wont love her for the rest of my life? Im some how unfit to provide love for her? I dont concern myself with being a teen, im a wife and mom. It wont be easy for my husband or myself but standing together by our little girls side I know we will make it.
Excuse me for saying but you yourself seem to be regretting your childhood.
Its my choice not to go out get drunk, get high, party. I PREFER a family lifestyle.
I have a wonderful life ahead of me that god granted me with! I get to grow old with my husband, and see my children's children marry.
I hope you have a great weekend, and I pray to god he opens your heart just a little more to except others.
October 24, 2009 - 5:19pmThis Comment
I'm glad you were able to handle the decision and even more grateful that your husband was willing to take responsibility for his actions as well and try to create a familial unit. I would never say that a younger mother in all circumstances is going to hate or regret the child she created, and I applaud your family values. I am not trying attack the individual here, but my question is, if you could do it all over again, would you still want to have the child you do now and make those same choices? If there was a community of women that were making similar choices as you did, regardless of potential family care, would you recommend your life choice to them?
December 20, 2009 - 11:03amThis Comment
I say more power to you. Having a baby is certainly not the end of your life. Anyone who tells you that you will regret your decision to have the baby is a fool. You're probably right with your assessment that the author of that comment regrets something about their own situation. My mother started having kids at the age of 18 - dropping out of college to do so. Now, all three of us (her children) are successful in our careers and happily carving out our own families and lives.
October 26, 2009 - 2:04amBe strong.
It's good to know that there are still people out there willing to commit to their responsibilities.
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I like how both of you brilliant teenage mothers misspelled several words. :D Way to challenge the stereotypes!
"But unfortunately there are teens out there that even KNOWING what could happen, do it regaurdless and that is careless and iresponsable on their part."
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October 24, 2009 - 4:50pmThis Comment
I'm sorry, I don't care who you are, where you are from, poor, rich, whatever... you know what can happen to you if you have sex. PERIOD. So the fact that there is a supposed lack of sex education or what not is a joke... we all have brains, we all have penis's and vaginas. We're not stupid. Or are we. Seriously. Come on now.
October 23, 2009 - 11:00amThis Comment
And there inlies your typical Democratic response. "...funding needs to be poured into...". This is the problem with America. We think throwing money at the issue always seems to be the answer. Let me give my 2 cents. This all boils down to personal responsibility. The teens want to have sex and nothing will stop that. This is bred through TV and especially in the rap culture. Pouring money into a clinic that hands out birth control is not the answer. The culture is the problem and only the people involved in the culture can stop it.
October 23, 2009 - 10:34amThis Comment
I agree with most of what you say, but I have to say that "especially in rap culture" is a load of crap. Almost all the music on the radio is about sex no matter the genre. I admit that sometimes the language in rap music is more graphic, but the message is the same.
October 26, 2009 - 1:52amThis Comment
I totally agree, but if I may, sexually explicit lyrics, or music videos aren't just coming from the rap genre of music. You can see it in pop music especially take note on some of christina agulerias videos, brittney spears even backstreet boys... even in country music you have videos that show people having sex in a more romantic round a bout way, but it's still there quite visually and still pretty vivid. Same with most movies, I've not seen a movie lately that doesn't have some sort of sexual manorism or sex scene in it. Either way, I agree... but it's not just primarily found in the rap genre, it's everywhere now a days.
October 23, 2009 - 11:04amThis Comment