Did you know that teen moms are more likely to drop out of school, they have a greater chance of remaining single parents, and that children born from unplanned pregnancies face a range of developmental risks? It is sad that today you see teenagers getting pregnant so early and risking both their future and that of the child. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, states that there are "750,000 teen pregnancies annually. Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 81 percent are to unmarried teens."

            There are many ways that pregnancy can be prevented, but when the time comes to put that knowledge to practice, teens forgot it and pregnancies happen. A good way to help teenagers really understand the importance of contraception is to show them how having a baby will change their life.

            A television series that accomplishes this is a reality show called “Teen Mom,” which airs on MTV. “Teen Mom” shows us the struggles of four teens. Before getting pregnant, these girls were normal teenagers like any other; they went partying with their friends, and having fun. But after getting pregnant things changed.

            Now the girls stay home to take care of their child and the house as well. Now they have no time to go out with their friends because responsibilities are greater. The worse thing that happened is that they weren’t able to finish high school and get their diploma.  When regrets are heard from them, it’s too late; it cannot be undone. Maci, one of the teen moms on the show said, “I thought me and my friends would go to college together, but now they’re gone and I was left behind.”

            Most of them still had a hard time accepting that their lives were changed. What seems to hurt them the most is that they no longer fit in with their teenager group. Another issue that they had was their lack of experience taking care of a baby. For example, they had to breastfeed almost all the time (which got them really mad), change diapers constantly (and spend money buying dippers), wake up at night when the baby was crying, and bring the baby to the hospital for check ups.

            They had to act like real parents and leave the fun for another time, if there was enough time to do so.