But even though friends and media portrayals may be more accepting of teen pregnancy today than in the past, the “baby bump” still generates a wide range of reactions when the mother-to-be is a teenager. Sarah Brown, CEO of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, is concerned about the message girls will get from Juno , which she believes is unrealistic. We have large numbers of teen mothers, whereas in an earlier time, we had large numbers of married teen mothers. Studies also suggest that children of teenage mothers have lower math, reading and vocabulary test scores than children of older mothers, and that when children of teen mothers become adolescents themselves, they have lower odds of completing high school. Pop culture professor Gary Hoppenstand of Michigan State University disagrees with those who suggest Juno makes teen pregnancy seem cool. read more

Technorati Tags: teen, pregnancy, mothers, juno, , baby, pregnancy news