In fact, Hamblen County girls ages 15-17 have the fourth-highest pregnancy rate in the state, according to a recently published study by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. Angel Mapleton, foster care coordinator with the Knoxville-based Florence Crittenton Agency, which serves pregnant teens, says she continues to receive a large number of referrals from Hamblen County. The Hamblen County school system no longer has separate classes for pregnant teens. He says Hamblen County school administrators and teachers do everything in their power to help ensure pregnant teens do not leave school permanently. read more

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The Gaston County Health Department’s Teen Outreach Program was recently awarded the 2007 Science Matters award from the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Coalition of North Carolina. The award is given every year to a program that uses science-based practices to provide effective teen pregnancy prevention services. The program is held after school at the West Gastonia Boys Club, a strategic location because west Gastonia consistently has some of the county’s highest teen pregnancy rates. The teens participate in sessions and community service activities to learn to live healthy, safe and productive lives during their teenage years. Participants to make decisions about staying in school, choosing good friends, having healthy relationships, handling common peer pressures and avoiding risky behavior, including early sexual activity. read more

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China has strict controls over the internet Nearly half of all teenage pregnancies in the wealthy Chinese city of Shanghai have been blamed on increased access to the internet. A doctor who runs a helpline for pregnant teenagers in the city reports that many of the girls said they had met the boys they had sex with online. It is concerned about people having access to internet sites that might be deemed harmful to the morals of the Communist state, our correspondent adds. She said that 46% of more than 20,000 teenage girls who had called during that time said they had sex with boys they met on the internet. read more

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