Teen pregnancy shows: Promoting or discouraging pregnancy?

PHOENIX - Doctor visits, higher grocery bills, packages of diapers, strollers and car seats— these are just a few items on the checklist of things to prepare for when having a new baby.

Each item by itself may not seem like much, but add all of them together and this checklist can be pretty costly, especially when you’re 16 years old.

Teenagers have a hard enough time supporting themselves financially, let alone supporting a baby, but each year, tens of thousands of girls become teen moms for better or worse.

As is the case with most societal trends, leave it to reality television to create a show about it.

Programs like “ 16 and pregnant ” and “ Teen Mom ” follow around teenage girls and their boyfriends as they walk through the journey of pregnancy and it has America watching.

During the 2010 Olympic Games, “16 and Pregnant” did best among young women, averaging a 5.3 rating among girls and women 12-34 and a stunning 8.0 with women 18-24.

Shows like “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” have people watching and talking, but is that a good or bad thing for our teenagers?

According to Life & Style Magazine , “Teen Mom” stars make $60,000 to $65,000 per season. That’s not nearly as much as some reality shows, but certainly more than their high school classmates, pregnant or otherwise are making. That leaves some to believe that these shows are actually promoting teen pregnancy as a good thing, where girls can turn a profit out of their situation.

“The media here is being extremely irresponsible by glamorizing teen pregnancy...we can look forward to a reality show in about 18 years based on these children growing up fatherless, as the cause of mommy’s fame,” says Los Angeles-based psychologist Nancy B. Irwin.

The Parents Television Council is also concerned with the potential impact turning teen moms into magazine cover girls could have on young readers.

“Putting the stars of these reality shows on a magazine cover puts them on the same plane as any actress, singer, or other celebrity,” said the organization’s Director of Communications and Public Education, Melissa Henson. “It is sending the message to girls that if you get pregnant as a result of being sexually active; you could end up on TV or a magazine cover.”

As convincing as those arguments may be, statistics don’t necessarily back them up. According to the Centers for Disease Control , teen pregnancy rates are reaching all-time lows. In 2009, around 410,000 teenage girls, ages 15 to 19, gave birth in the United States. That's a 37 percent decrease from the teen birth rate in 1991. Then, 61.8 births per every 1,000 females was a teen pregnancy. The rate has now dropped to 39.1 births per 1,000 women.

While some people argue the reality shows are glamorizing teen pregnancy, others say it’s portraying a dead serious image of teen pregnancy, while providing talking points for parents to have with their children.

Parenting expert and author of “ 35 Things Your Teen Won’t Tell You, So I Will ” Ellen Rittberg says, “If you don't watch the show with your teen son or daughter, they will likely be watching it with peers or alone. If you have been skittish about talking about sex with your female teen, regard this as a chance to use a far-more interactive technique.”

So which is it...promoting teen pregnancy or providing a window of opportunity for parents to talk about sex with their kids?

It could be both, but regardless of your stance, one statistic still goes without an answer: Why does the United States, according to a United Nations report, have a teen pregnancy rate nearly nine times higher than the majority of other developed nations?