Tr3s Gets Real About Teen Pregnancy

By Wendaline Perez

Teens across the country are so eager to become reality TV stars that they're trying to get pregnant for a chance to be on MTV's 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom, according to Popeater.com. If that's true, that's a startling revelation.

According to a recent study by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 82 percent of teens who have watched 16 and Pregnant said it helps them better understand the challenges of teen pregnancy and parenthood; 15 percent said they believe the show glamorizes teen pregnancy. And nearly 7 in 10 teen boys and 8 in 10 teen girls agree that "when a TV show or character I like deals with teen pregnancy, it makes me think more about my own risk of becoming pregnant or causing a pregnancy and how to avoid it."

Pregnancy isn't glamorous. It's hard, especially for teen parents, and it's even harder on their babies. In fact, babies born to teen parents are more likely to grow up in poverty and suffer from health problems, abuse, neglect and educational disparities. Expecting parents should be mentally, emotionally and financially prepared for such a big task — for the baby's sake and for their own. According to the National Campaign, 52 percent of Hispanic females get pregnant at least once before turning 20; 54 percent of those females don't graduate from high school.

That's why Tr3s has partnered with the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy to get real about teen pregnancy in the Latino community. For the next two weeks, beginning Monday, we are proud to air the "Life As We Know It" campaign, a series of public service announcements featuring videos about the reality of teen pregnancy — and teen parenthood — created by and for Hispanic teens. Please join us next week, as these teens sound off about their challenges and their goals.

To learn more about preventing pregnancy, visit stayteen.org.

Image Source: [MTV]

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Tags 16 and Pregnant, Life As We Know It, MTV, National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnan, PSAs, Teen Mom