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This summer, MTV started airing a new show called “16 and Pregnant.” Each of the 6 episodes follows a different teenage girl from mid-pregnancy to a few months after the baby is born. I don’t usually recommend MTV shows, but this one I do. I think its honesty can teach a lot. Here is a list of 10 things I’ve learned from watching the show. Although most of these points are common sense things, watching this show really drives the points home.
1) It sucks to be 16 and pregnant.
2) Teenage boys are not mature enough to be responsible fathers.
3) When you’re 16 or 17, moving in with your boyfriend and/or getting engaged is a bad idea that will not work out the way you want it to.
4) Caring for a baby is exhausting.
5) Family support is important. You’re not gonna like that your daughter is pregnant, but she needs you more than ever now.
6) If you’re a teen mom and the guy you’re with doesn’t want to help take care of the baby, get rid of the guy. Immediately. There is no healthy future in this relationship.
7) When you have a baby, it (needs to) become more important than anything else.
8) Giving a baby up for adoption isn’t as easy as some abortion opponents would have you believe.
9) Do no go 4-wheeling when you are 38 weeks pregnant.
10) When your boyfriend has over 200 unexcused absences from school, that is a bad sign.
This show does not glorify or romanticize teen pregnancy in any way. I don’t see how any teenager could watch this and say, “That’s what I want for me.” It never intends to work as a scare tactic to its audience, but it does show the stress, sacrifice, and exhaustion that is involved with teen pregnancy and motherhood.
If you’ve seen the show, what do you think of it?
~Samantha
My other issue here is how disempowering and not woman centered the maternity care was that the girls' received (and to add, the lack of breastfeeding). The constant inductions for no clear reason, the lack of skin-to-skin contact for mom and baby, the coached pushing, etc - the assumption that the girls' can't speak for themselves and need everything done for them.
And with that, as much as teen pregnancy shouldn't be glorified, I do think their should be support for the girls. Parenting is hard at any age.