Transcript for the Piece Audio version of Teen Pregnancy Part 1 - A Community Crisis
MORE TEENAGERS IN HOLYOKE AND SPRINGFIELD GET PREGNANT THAN IN ANY OTHER TOWN OR CITY IN MASSACHUSETTS. THE TEEN BIRTH RATES IN THOSE URBAN AREAS HAD BEEN GOING DOWN OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, BUT AS OF FEBRUARY, THEY'RE BACK AT NUMBER ONE AND TWO IN THE STATE. IN THE FIRST OF A THREE-PART SERIES, WFCR'S KAREN BROWN TALKS TO SOME FRONTLINE PROVIDERS ABOUT WHY SO MANY YOUNG PEOPLE IN OUR REGION ARE HAVING BABIES.
ANNE TESCHNER SEES TEEN PREGNANCY STATISTICS IN 3-D. SHE RUNS THE CARE CENTER FOR TEENAGE MOTHERS IN HOLYOKE, WHERE, THIS YEAR, MORE YOUNG MOTHERS THAN EVER ARE WALKING THROUGH THE DOORS. LAST YEAR, MORE THAN 20 PERCENT OF ALL BIRTHS IN HOLYOKE WERE TO MOTHERS BETWEEN 15 AND 19 YEARS OLD. TO UNDERSTAND WHY, TESCHNER THINKS POLICY MAKERS NEED TO LOOK BEYOND TEENAGE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR -- AND TOWARDS THE SOCIAL IMPACT OF POVERTY.
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Title: PREG - ANNE AX - need a reason
Description: PREG - ANNE AX - need a reason
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TESCHNER CONSIDERS EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY THE KEY TO PREVENTING EARLY PARENTHOOD. SHE RUNS A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO GIVE TEEN MOTHERS A CHANCE AT COLLEGE, OR AT LEAST A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA. SHE SAYS MANY OF HER CLIENTS -- ALL OF THEM LOW-INCOME -- WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN PREGNANT IF THEY'D BEEN GIVEN MORE SUPPORT IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL. AND SHE THINKS THE REASON POOR COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARE SEEING MORE TEEN MOTHERS THAN EQUALLY POOR CITIES IN EASTERN MASSACHUSETTS ALSO COMES DOWN TO EDUCATION.
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Title: PREG - anne ax - more education in boston1
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[one of the major differences between a boston and a worcester and holyoke and spirngifeld, is that there are clear avenues for educational advancement for students in the boston area, that don't exist here yet.0:09:44.9 ]
TESCHNER SAYS THE THREE COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS ARE NOT EASY TO GET TO, AND SHE DOESN'T SEE ENOUGH ACTIVE RECRUITMENT OF POOR STUDENTS FROM URBAN AREAS. CARE CENTER EDUCATION DIRECTOR ANNA RODRIQUEZ ALSO POINTS TO A WORRISOME HIGH SCHOOL DROP-OUT RATE -- ESPECIALLY IN HOLYOKE, WHERE IT'S ESTIMATED AT 50 PERCENT. RODRIQUEZ SAYS MOST CARE CENTER CLIENTS DIDN'T LEAVE SCHOOL BECAUSE THEY GOT PREGNANT; IT WAS THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
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Title: PREG - ANNA ax - ONLY AFTER DROPPING
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[it was after dropping out of school and having all this time on their hands, and no structure in their lives.... that they then entered into the behaviors that caused them to get pregnant.0:16:21.7]
IN THE LATE 1990S, THERE WAS A STATE-FUNDED COALITION IN HOLYOKE DESIGNED TO PREVENT PREGNANCY -- ORGANIZATIONS WORKED TOGETHER TO KEEP TEENAGERS IN SCHOOL, AND BUSY AFTER SCHOOL WITH PROJECTS LIKE THEATER, MUSIC AND ART.. BUT OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS, THE STATE CUT FUNDING FOR THE COALITION. MAKING MATTERS WORSE, SAYS ANNE TESCHNER, WAS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S MOVE IN 2005 TO RESTRICT MOST FEDERAL FUNDING TO ABSTINENCE-ONLY SEX-EDUCATION -- AN APPROACH TESCHNER SAYS HAS BEEN PROVEN USELESS.
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Title: PREG - anne ax - young pp sexual
Description: PREG - anne ax - young pp sexual
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[young pp are by nature sexual, 0:32:22.7 and need to understand more clearly what that means in their lives and what it means in their bodies. throughout history, young pp are sexually active, and probably that sort of biological imperative is something we could never stop.]
YOU WON'T GET AN ARGUMENT FROM MARY FAGO. SHE RUNS THE STATE-FUNDED TEEN CLINICS IN THE HOLYOKE SCHOOLS, WHERE SHE FREQUENTLY HAS TO TELL TEENAGE GIRLS THEIR PREGNANCY TEST CAME OUT POSITIVE.
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Title: PREG AX - Fago - don't like birth control
Description: Mary Fago raw
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[some of them really don't like birth control. some of them truly don't, arent' aware they can get pregnant. they're surprised they got pregnant, even tho they've been having sex without birth control. some of them 0:06:00.5 actively think it's be OK if they got pregnant, bc their boyfriends would really like it. and some of them don't have another plan, and they're doing really poorly in school, and-- so they drift into a relationship that might lead to pregnancy, and they're not unhappy to see that happen.0:06:20.3]
AS FOR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM'S RESPONSIBILITY, FAGO SAYS ADMINISTRATORS HAVE TRIED TO ADDRESS TEEN PREGNANCY.
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Title: PREG AX - Fago - hard priority
Description: Mary Fago raw
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[cut: i think it's very hard for schools to think of pregnancy prevention as a priority right now. i think there's so many pressures on schools, MCAS being one, that preg prevention, it's difficult for them to make it a big priority. .... 0:01:25.0 we did however get the OK from the school committee about three years ago to give out condoms, and that was a very big change for them. and the most helpful thing it did was begin to open up the conversation with students about sexuality.]
ALTHOUGH STUDENTS CAN LEARN ABOUT CONTRACEPTION WHEN THEY VISIT THE SCHOOL CLINIC, THERE IS NO SEX EDUCATION IN THE REGULAR HIGH SCHOOL CURRICULUM. THERE IS ONLY ONE SEMESTER OF HEALTH EDUCATION THROUGHOUT THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS, AND ADMINISTRATORS SAY IT INCLUDES VIRTUALLY NO INFORMATION ABOUT BIRTH CONTROL. NURSE MARY FAGO WOULD LIKE TO SEE STUDENTS COUNSEL EACH OTHER IN PREGNANCY PREVENTION. TWO YEARS AGO, SHE SAYS, THE CITY GOT A PRIVATE GRANT TO TRAIN HOLYOKE TEENAGERS IN PEER-TO-PEER COUNSELING , BUT THE PROGRAM WAS NOT SUPPORTED BY THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND EVENTUALLY FADED OUT.
FOR WFCR AND WNNZ, I'M KAREN BROWN.
OUTCUE: COMING UP TOMORROW, A NEW EFFORT IN SPRINGFIELD, MASS.... TO GET TEENS TALKING ABOUT PREGNANCY PREVENTION WITH EACH OTHER.
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