Low pregnancy rates among teenagers show more teens are saying sex can wait.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the national teen pregnancy rate dropped 22 percent since 1991.
For every 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, there were 48.7 births in 2000.
Factors for lower pregnancy rates include more awareness of HIV, AIDS and other STDs, effective contraceptives and education, said Joy Whitten, a community specialist at Planned Parenthood of Mid-Michigan, 300 N. Clippert St. in Lansing.
“Research shows when they have the information, they don’t have sex,” she said. “It’s delayed or they’re making responsible choices.”
Whitten said a school’s sex education program plays a crucial role in disseminating information.
Schools in Michigan emphasize abstinence as the best method to prevent HIV, other STDs and pregnancy. The decision to adopt an abstinence-based or abstinence-only program is made locally at the district level by school boards, based on the recommendations of sex education advisory committees representing teachers, parents and community members, said Laurie Bechhofer, a health education consultant with Michigan’s Department of Education.
“Ideally, a research-based school curriculum will be part of a more comprehensive teen pregnancy prevention program that involves parents and the community at large,” she said. “This problem of teen pregnancy is too difficult to expect schools to solve alone.”
Whitten said some programs, like Baby Think It Over, in which a doll acts as an infant simulator, are curbing rates. The doll cries randomly 24 hours a day, requiring students to care for it by inserting a care key in its back. An electronic monitor records neglect and rough handling.
The Lansing School District participates in the Human Growth and Development Series, a comprehensive sexual health course through the Willow Plaza Teen Services, 306 W. Willow St. in Lansing, said Jami Witbeck, the coordinator of the adolescent health education program.
The program is run by mostly college students and covers self-esteem, decision-making, relationships, contraceptives and STDs.
Anjeanette Gindratt, a health studies senior who works as a peer counselor for the program, said sex education has changed since she was in high school.
Gindratt said her education didn’t include contraceptive use or prevention. Gindratt said she learned about the issues from her mom.
“Schools can only do so much,” she said. “Parents need to be educated on the issues so teens can feel comfortable to talk to their parents.”
