[amyfk]

I also found this story to be very sad. And almost unbelievable(but anything is possible today)!
I am wondering not only where are the parents, but what is the curriculum in school?
Although its too late for these particular girls, there should be sex ed and school and in addition to this, part of the sex ed curriculum should deal with the ramifications of unplanned pregnancy by teenagers. If young girls know of the emotional, financial, educational, etc. responsiblities that parenthood brings with it, then I would hope they would think twice and maybe do more age appropriate things for teenagers(like hanging out at the mall or going to movies instead.). Sad.

Amy K, NJ

[Oceans]

Aclee.. Love you... but in no way did I say you should round these babies up.

I said you should look at your own babies and THINK about what you will do to prevent this. This was an accident waiting to happen IMO..

[mdesi]

Originally Posted by alinev

What amazes me most is the apparent lack of parent, or educator knowledge. How were they left with so little adult supervison?????

I am not sure why the educators are responsible. I have worked in high schools, and I have yet to hear of a child conceived at school. Teachers cannot and should not be expected to babysit the teens when they are not at school. Teachers have about 120-200 student contacts per day. Why is it their responsiblity to keep these girls, who made a pact to each other, from getting pregnant?

[Linny]

I saw this segment on Good Morning America.....and it made me sick. Very sick. I agree with Oceans in wondering 'WHAT were they thinking?" Obviously, they WEREN'T thinking about the baby they were hoping to get! Talk about egocentric individuals!!!!!
Personally, I'd also have to question their commitment to parenting. With this kind of immaturity it makes me wonder. Let's hope they 'grow-up' to SOME extent....and FAST!

And, in thinking there'll be follow-up stories....why not? Isn't this what these girls wanted in the first place? Aren't they wanting attention and sensationalism to their lives and babies?!?!?!?!
I"m not 'sad' for these girls.....I'm sick.
I'm 'sad' for these babies being born to such immature girls.

Sincerely,

Linny

[MamaS]

Regarding the responsibility of schools: the school they attend offers FREE ON-SITE DAYCARE so they can return to HS and live like regular teenagers half the day. And since this is an economically depressed area they will be eligible for WIC, medicare and other government subsidies. Teenage mothers may fall short in the emotional and physical aspects of parenting, but it sounds like the financial aspects may improve.
And several of the girls interviewed did mention their admiration for Jamie Lun Spears!

[cbrink7]

What scares me most is the imaturity of these children raising the children. I read that all of the girls were 16 or under. I have a brother that is 15 (will be 16 in Decmeber), and to think of him as a parents makes me cringe! He is in no way ready or capable to be a parent, and some of these girls I assume are even younger than he is! If a girl decides with her other 16 and below friends to become pregnant I can only imagine her level of maturity and insight, and I fear for these children (both the pregnant girls and their unborn babies).

It saddens me that they believe that whatever is missing from their lives will be filled with a baby. What a hard "job" these newborn babies have to fill the voids of their mothers ...Also, to think that some may (just an assumtion on my part from things I have heard in the media) they are using these babies as accessories/or for a status symbol because the media has portrayed stars getting pregnant as glamorous is so sad.

I do hope for the sake of everyone involved that there is a lot of support for everyone involved (no matter what their choice may be).

[JustPeachy]

Oh, sure, they will have WIC and onsite childcare and all the other subsidies. All at the taxpayers' expense. I'm not against having a social safety net, but in a case like this, where these girls were just so terribly irresponsible to make this decision, premeditated, with absolutely no consideration as to how they would handle it, I'm not too keen on having to pay for it. Sorry if that's harsh, but it's just how I feel. I'd much rather have put my tax dollars toward prevention. Perhaps a "Baby Think it Over" program would have been more appropriate and have had more of an impact, than these girls attempting to "raise" the real children they are creating. They are in for a rude awakening, for sure. Two weeks with a Baby Think it Over doll, and they would have probably thought of another pact that didn't involve an actual baby. Maybe a pact to get through High School and apply to college together. Maybe a pact to leave their small town and venture out in the world together. Maybe a pact to join the Peace Corps. But a pact to get pregnant together?? What on earth were they thinking??!!?

I also wonder if they lied about their ages to the guys they slept with. My guess is they did or at least some of them did. Now they will be listed as sex offenders. Great. I honestly don't know too many folks, especially teens/young adults who ask for an ID before having sex. IDs can be faked as well. So these clueless guys were duped and oopsed big time, and now they will be considered sexual predators with kids to support. I just think it's incredibly wrong and sad.

[aclee]

Originally Posted by Oceans

Aclee.. Love you... but in no way did I say you should round these babies up.

I said you should look at your own babies and THINK about what you will do to prevent this. This was an accident waiting to happen IMO..

I was joking! This situation is so personally upsetting to me, and is literally less than an hour from my doorstep...It was more me poking fun at myself with my save the world mentality. Honestly, even I was offered adoption of any of these babies, it's not a situation I would want to get involved in. Anyway, these girls seem determined to be mothers, so I don't really think that anyone rounding up these babies will change that. They know how to get pregnant, and seem willing to go to whatever lengths they need to do so.

I can see this as an issue getting worse and worse as teen mothers are continuous thought of as cool. I know from direct experience that DSS in this area is swamped with neglect issues and families that are struggling. Not so much severe abuse and child removal issues, just families that are not making it and with out the resources to care for their children. Those are even harder sometimes, since the children end up in and out of foster care.

As far as my own child. Sex was talked about openly in our home. I still recall the 1st serious boyfriend I had and trying to figure out how I could ask my step mom to take me to planned parenthood to get on BC. I knew it was what she wanted me to do, but asking...that's tough. Then I got a note in my room one day, less than a week later saying she had made me an appointment to go, and would pick me up at school the next day. No matter how much you talk about BC with your kids, you still have to be proactive and make sure it gets into their hands and that they WANT to use it. I think these girls could have wadded through BC that was knee high everyday and it wouldn't have made a difference...that's what scary. Not only do you have to raise a responsible child that understands these thing, but also one that is strong enough not to follow a group of friends, whose home life you have no control over.

When I was a manager for about 5 years in high school and college I had a lot of younger kids working for me. It's not quite the same as a parental situation, but I think they have to know they can come to you with anything, even after they have done it...Open door and all that. Open communication about ALL things, is just as important as they knowing about how babies are made. To me THIS is actually an issue of peer pressure over an issue of under educated children. AND issues at home for some of these girl clearly, maybe not all of them though.

[binkybear]

I don't think a single one of these girls wanted to be "mothers". I don't think they are even at that level of maturity to fully comprehend the word and all that it entails. They wanted to be like the images on tv, they wanted to be seen, they wanted a horrible distorted image of what having a baby is. They idolize starlets who have babies and look glamorous while walking with a $1000 stroller and a nanny in tail and they all wanted that...not necessarily being a "mother".

I'm most sickened by what is making children have this total disconnect from "reality". The reality they see everyday is scripted, edited, airbrushed and force fed to them. They have little if nothing to balance it out or keep them focused on what actual real life is all about. The parents are sadly out of touch with their girls, especially if they think the school should have prevented this situation.

Get a tattoo or a piercing if you want to be in a club, you don't create a human life! After typing that sentence out I realized that those things probably aren't extreme enough for today. Tattoos and piercings are so blasé. I cringe at the thought that this, now media-ized, will become a trend. Much like other "pacts" that have hit the news outlets.

[Oceans]

I don’t think that all the girls were part of the “pact”. I could be wrong. What message do we send tho when we pat our selves on the back because we help young girls by putting daycare in their schools? The parenting girls know the realities; the other girls see a “no consequences” situation and a sweet little baby. Parenting teens need a HS education, no doubt. Pregnancy is the number one reason for girls dropping out. That said, I am not comfortable integrating daycares into our schools – I don’t think that’s the answer.

It’s also sad that they saw no opportunities for their future. I’m fairly sure Mass has several colleges and the availability of student loans. No one was bothering to motivate these girls to provide a future for them selves instead of one being laid on their doorstep.

As far as the school culpability… They were the ones who noticed the rise in pg testing back in October a trend that apparently continues today seeing how they administered 150 pregnancy tests by May. What’s that about 20+ a month? Something wrong? A red flag maybe? Or is that a comfortable number… Would you want to know if you had a teen in that HS? If the schools are taking it upon themselves to provide these services then they have to take some responsibility as well.

It makes no sense that we will legislate HPV vaccinations for school girls, provide pg testing in anonymity, not to mention free on site day care but we (society, not us) don’t want to offer anything more than abstinence counseling. Not even a condom. Mind boggling. But that would only have solved half of this problem.

Maybe it’s time to start offering a 21st century version of the home economics course again. But instead of focusing on nutrition, we focus on family responsibility and planning. I don’t know and it’s a darn shame these girls aren’t getting the message at home. I feel a bit hypocritical since I was pg at 16 (birth at 17) but I sure as heck didn’t take it as lightly – or have it as a goal.

ETA: As I read this, I blame the girls mostly but the BOYS have equal culpability and need the same education. At the very least it will be an 18 year plus financial commitment.

[Linny]

Maybe it’s time to start offering a 21st century version of the home economics course again. But instead of focusing on nutrition, we focus on family responsibility and planning. --Oceans

AMEN!

Several years ago, a friend of mine spoke to a nearby high school home-ec teacher suggesting there be a course about this (above) which would include mothers (and others according to the topics). For instance, those who became pregnant during their teen years--married or not----released for adoption---or not, etc....and talk about all the challenges involved with decisions teens often make, but seldom think about, KWIM?

There was no response to this suggestion; yet I feel this is exactly what's needed across ALL high schools. Those who've BTDT are the best to speak to these issues.

Sincerely,

Linny

[lahdh4]

I can do is shake my head as this is less then 40 minutes from me.
Really don't have any words but some of it, if it is true really scares me.

[mdesi]

Originally Posted by Oceans

As far as the school culpability… They were the ones who noticed the rise in pg testing back in October a trend that apparently continues today seeing how they administered 150 pregnancy tests by May. What’s that about 20+ a month? Something wrong? A red flag maybe? Or is that a comfortable number… Would you want to know if you had a teen in that HS? If the schools are taking it upon themselves to provide these services then they have to take some responsibility as well.

We have no idea if the school did notify the parents or not. We have no idea how much counseling the school gave these girls. To reveal that would in a news article would violate both HIIPA and FERPA. Talk about the legal ramifications. Therefore, any speculation as to what role the school had to play in this is just that. Speculation.

No! It is NOT the school's fault that these girls CHOSE to develop a pact to get pregnant. I have worked with teens most of my adult life. I have counseled girls as young as 13 that either were pregnant or wanted to get pregnant. Teens are peculiar breed of humans. They have adult like bodies that function reproductively like an adult. However, they do not readily see, or even understand, the long term consequences of their actions. Teens have always been that way. However, now we have more safeguards in place in which people do not easily feel the effects of their actions. We have created a world in which there is so much freedom at an earlier age, and we have asked for less responsibility for a longer period of time.

[Oceans]

I disagree that notifying parents (all parents) the school is noticing an alarming trend in the number of pregnancy tests would be a violations of HIPAA or FERPA. Not name the girls (of course) but notify parents of the trend so they can talk to their kids. The pregnancy rate jumped 4X this year. And no, I don't know that they didn't do that but in all the coverage, it's never come out either...

From a common sense prespective, I find it interesting that schools will conduct pregnancy tests and provide on-site daycare but not birth control. Only (estimated) half of these girls were involved in the pact. The most of the others likely follow the teenage trend of "unplanned". So, my issue (and opinion) with this school is that they were openly supporting girls who were parenting but not taking a stance against prevention.

I'm not an expert on HIPPA but do minors have a right to confidentiality when it comes to their medical records? Aren't their parents considered a Personal Representative and as such have the right to be informed? Or is confidentiality a policy (i.e. unless asked, don't tell). If my DD went for a preganacy test 2 or 3 months in a row I sure as heck would want to know about it.

[mdesi]

I'm no expert on HIIPA, either, but with FERPA they do have to notify the parents. With FERPA, they would NOT release information regarding conversations in a public forum. I can assure you that in Massachusetts, of all places, had the school released any mention of conversations held with parents, there would be a lawsuit filed before the ink on the magazine was dried.

Why is everyone so bent on placing the blame on the school? The girls and boys/men were the ones that created this situation. The politicians created this situation by the way in which they measure a school's drop out rate for funding and rating purposes. The school is trying to keep these girls in school, so that 1.) these ladies have a chance at being able to support their children and 2.) to keep the school's drop out numbers lower.

BTW- I NEVER said that notifying the parents was a violation of HIIPA. (Not sure if you read what I said correctly.) Reporting medical conversations to the press might be. . . I know for sure that releasing parent/student/school conversations to the press is a violation of FERPA.