16 and Pregnant?

So, I must admit that I found myself sucked into this awful/awesome new show on MTV this weekend called 16 and Pregnant. I don't even know what to say about it overall, but at first while I was horrified that this was on television, after watching it (or embarrassingly watching 3 episodes back to back), I can see both the good - because there definitely was some positive aspects and the horrifyingly bad as well. For whatever the reasons may be, although I like to blame George Bush and abstinence only education, teen pregnancy is on the rise. This show depicts a variety of sixteen year olds from the time they realize they are pregnant until a few months or weeks after giving birth. On the episodes I saw, the girls come from mostly religious families, which is the central reasons they do not have abortions. I was saddened to see that the three girls did not have a choice in the matter. Their parents made the decision for them based on religion. This is not to say that the girls would not have made the same choice, but at least it would have been their choice. However, this is sadly the facts of life sometimes and I think the show depicts it realistically. Also, the show does not gloss over the hard facts of not only pregnancy and childbirth, but actually having a baby as well. It was remarkable to me how detached from their bodies the girls seemed while they were actually pregnant - like it wasn't actually happening to them. Once the babies arrived however, it was a whole different story. The girls love their babies, but are pretty much miserable and their teen years are over. It offers a different perspective than I think many girls in urban areas see where having a baby as a teenager is not that uncommon.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but I honestly think the show would be good to show to a health class as it would convince teenagers to practice safe sex. It depicts the hard and cold realities of teenage parenthood and it is not fun. On the other hand, I felt sort of uncomfortable watching it, like a voyeur or something and kept thinking that the girls were being exploited. Such is the nature of reality television though, I suppose. If the show can convince teenagers to use birth control it is a good thing, but it is a sad day when we need to rely on MTV for sex ed information. I guess it is better than nothing though!