(CNN) -- The revelation that Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old daughter of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is five months pregnant puts teen pregnancy squarely in the spotlight again this summer.
Jamie Lynn Spears, left, and Bristol Palin, holding her brother Trig, have both experienced pregnancy as teens.





Amid ripples of publicity,17-year old television star (and sister of Britney) Jamie Lynn Spears gave birth in June to a daughter, Maddie Briann. That same month, pregnancies of numerous students at Gloucester High School in Massachusetts were discovered, causing a huge stir in the community and across the country.
The overall teen birth rate rose slightly in 2006 after steadily declining since 1991, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report shows the birth rate for teenagers ages 15-19 rose 3 percent between 2005 and 2006.
That translates to 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006, a decline of 34 percent from the all-time high of 61.8 births per 1,000 in 1991.
"It's way too early to know if this is the start of a new trend," Stephanie Ventura, head of the Reproductive Statistics Branch at CDC, said in a prepared statement. "But given the long-term progress we've witnessed, this change is notable."
Many people question the newsworthiness of Bristol Palin's pregnancy. Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, the son of a teenage mother himself, declared it a private matter and said families, especially children, should be strictly off limits.
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Others believe that the younger Palin's pregnancy and its implications should be discussed publicly and openly, saying family values is a central part of the Republican platform and Sarah Palin, a self described pro-life feminist, supported abstinence-only programs during her 2006 gubernatorial race.
Abstinence-only programs, which received a boost in federal funding during the last decade, have been shown not to be effective at keeping teens from having sex, according to a congressional study supervised by Mathematica Policy Research Inc. Released last year, the study tracked 2000 children from elementary and middle school through high school and found children who were in abstinence-only programs were no more or less likely to engage in sex than their counterparts who had received more comprehensive sexual education. iReporters: Teenage pregnancy deserves attention
"From a data perspective we know that there are plenty of attempts to evaluate abstinence-only sex education and none of them have shown that it actually decreases levels of sexual activity or substantially delays sexual activity," says Rachel Jones, Ph.D., a senior research associate at the Guttmacher Institute, a think tank that focuses on sexual and reproductive health. Jones was not involved in the congressional report. "It really is the comprehensive programs that are shown...to have a positive impact on teen behaviors."
But Valerie Huber, the executive director of the National Abstinence Education Association, disputes the conclusions drawn from the congressional study.
"I think it is very important to understand that the Mathematica study was conducted when abstinence education was in its infancy. Those programs knew what they wanted to teach but not necessarily the best approach to get the best results," Huber explains.
A better approach, she says, includes reinforcing the abstinence message throughout the years.
"If you look at abstinence programs today, an increasing number of them begin early and continue throughout high school, because we know with the sex-saturated culture that our teens are living in there needs to be a healthy message for abstaining from that sexual activity and skills to go along with that. That is why we are now seeing studies coming out showing that abstinence education is indeed successful," she says, noting recent research.
Dr. Yolanda Wimberly, an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Morehouse School of Medicine and the medical director for the Center for Excellence in Sexual Health, works on the front lines of this debate, in an adolescent clinic.
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She says educators need to be specific and explicit when teaching teenagers about sex in order to dispel myths, to get kids thinking about the real-world consequences of unintended pregnancies and STDs and to talk them through their options.
"Those people for whom abstinence is not a choice or a desire, you have to give them options because everybody can't fit into one mold," she says. "Do I want my patients to be abstinent? Yes, I would love for all of them to be abstinent, but I also have to... be practical, and practically speaking some of them, they're not going to be."
And even those who intend not to have sex can and do change their minds, sometimes unexpectedly. "I have girls who tell me 'Dr. Wimberly, I'll be abstinent.' Then they come back and they've had [sex], and it wasn't something that they planned, and they're upset with themselves that it happened."
Wimberly says young people must be given the tools to deal with any situation they might encounter. iReport: Were you married at a young age? Tell us
"At least give them the information and the resources to know that if you change your mind or if something happens, this is what you need to do," she said. "With abstinence-only education, I think what happens is that we don't give those people those alternatives so that if they change their mind they don't really know what it is that they should be doing."

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40 years ago, being a late teen mom...18, 19, wasn't all that unusual.

But it was a different time. You were expected to be mature at that age.

Nowadays, we extend adolescence into the mid 20's and sometimes beyond.

Most teens can't take care of themselves. We don't ask them to. And they see a baby as a toy.

And in ten years, when that child really needs a parent, the parent wants to play. "I never HAD my chance to be a teenager...so I'm taking it now."

I don't think it's the best idea.

End of sweeping generalization.

It happens and life goes on. It is really not mine or anyone else's concern about what teenager is having a baby. I am sure she will be the best mother that she can be.

As long as it isn't my teenager...

I've talked to my kid about these pregnant teens, she thinks they're the dumbest people on earth. She's more interested in getting an education than boys. Praise the lord, how did I get so lucky?!

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"I'm sorry to hear your hard drive is crap" - George the Dell Tech Support guy

She's obviously inherited her mother's good sense!

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Teen pregnancies are very common. Not too long ago people were marrying at 14, and having loads of kids.

But it's a new day. People are expected to be able to fend for themselves. And more middle aged people are bearing their first child.

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"Government isn't the solution to our problems. Government is the problem." - Ronald Reagan
"Time you can never get back but money you can always make." - My Wife

You didn't "get lucky", you did your job right and it's paying off.

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In a perfect world I would agree with this, but in the one we happen to inhabit, it really does end up affecting all of us. I sincerely hope that teen mothers will always have their child's best interest at heart, however, as someone who daily sees the effect of children having children having children it usually doesn't work that way. Parenting seems to be the latest lost art. Some people are very mature at 16, 18, 21, but many are not and have a very difficult time making good choices for themselves let alone for other people. We all hear about the 4 y.o. that is hit by a car when he is out playing on the street at midnight, the 10 y.o. who is bringing candy and soda to school for lunch, the parents who are physically assaulting school teachers and admininstrators because they haven't learned to control their tempers-and the children watch and learn. I have had young girls come to me, both when pregnant or after having their baby, and as we get talking many of them say, "I really wish my mom had talked to me like this."
I'm certainly not saying that teen parenting is leading to the downfall of society, and I'm not saying that a teen parent can't be a wonderful parent and a successful adult, but what I am saying is that they are joining the game with much more stacked against them than the non-parenting teen and ultimately, one way or another these are individuals who will impact our society, for better or worse.

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Thanks for the memories, even though they weren't so great.

I agree. I was mainly just speaking about the Palin girl and not so much in general.

(I had written more to my original post but it mysteriously disappeared)

Well my wife was 19 when she had our daughter and (crosses fingers ) she has all her limbs and only broke one arm and got 5 stitches (brothers fault ) in 17 yrs so it can be done ..

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Countdown until Obama leaves office



The Next POTUS

Insert comic relief here:

Chris Rock: If a kid calls his grandma "Mommy" and his mommy "Pam", he's going to jail!



When I heard Chris Rock do this routine I urinated continuously for an hour.

"The kid's mom is at the club at 2 am on a Wednesday night. I said, 'Excuse me...but what are you doing out at 2 am on a Wednesday? Is it your birthday?"

You know what, kids have sex and get pregnant and I think the only thing that really matters here is- TAKE CARE OF THEM. Period. Feed them, clothe them, bathe them, educate them, you get my drift. Dedicate yourself and do your best. Do I think having a kid at a young age is the best idea? No. Are teenagers really ready to be the ideal parent? Probably not. But its 2008, and shit happens... the bottem line is that regardless what age you think you're ready to be a parent, if it happens and you don't get an abortion or give it up- take it seriously and give the kid what they deserve. If she does all this, what is even the issue?

There is none. Particularly when you come from a family with human and financial resources.

But I think the point is...should this become a trend?

I don't think having babies will be the trend. Having sex will always be the trend.

Who's Parents were married on 2/2/61 ??

Who was born 8/4/61 ??


.


You got it..



.


Barack Hussein Obama

without a raincoat, babies WILL be the trend!

Just say no!

Wrap it up, man. Just wrap it up.

Not if she's on top. You know how it works.

Age is just a number- it means next to nothing. Maturity level and maternal bonding are the keys. I have known girls who were 17 with a baby who excelled beyond measure, I have also known others who sucked as mothers at 40. It's all in your heart, the desire to love, nuture, protect and provide not your age.

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