OK, ok. As an avid music fan, I am the first to decry the shameful lack of actual music-based programming that MTV plays nowadays. I’m also no supporter of reality shows. But, I have to say that as someone who’s intensely interested in female and reproductive health, MTV’s docu/reality series “16 and Pregnant” is actually quite a valuable show.

Apparently they’ve been showing all the episodes in the series in a marathon this weekend, due to the upcoming season finale, complete with a reunion of all the teenaged mothers and hosted by the inescapable Dr. Drew.  

The series has been criticized by some in the media as glamorizing teen pregnancy–and I have to wonder–are they watching the same show I’m watching?

The teen mothers on the show come from various walks of life, but all share one important thing in common–none of them are ready to even entertain the idea of seriously being parents. All are ill-equipped, not just monetarily, but emotionally, to deal with bringing home a baby. One was concerned that breastfeeding the baby would make her boobs sag. (“No,” the nurse replies. “Breastfeeding doesn’t make your boobs sag–pregnancy basically does that.” Uh oh.) Some of the teenaged mothers struggle alone–some have more family support or support than their boyfriends than others. But none of them lead glamorous lives during or after their pregnances. They lose hours of sleep at night, give up their high school lives, and stay at home for months at a time, not seeing their friends, while living their new life as a young mom.

If I had seen this show at 16, I wouldn’t have envied any one of them, or thought, “Hey, that’s a terrific idea. I’ll get pregnant.” My priorities at 16 were going to the beach every weekend with my friends–an activity that would’ve been somewhat hampered if I’d had to find a babysitter, whom I could hardly pay from my meager wages as a gift store clerk, every time I wanted to go out.

It was especially surprising to me, considering how ill-prepared these young girls are, that only ONE of the six girls opts not to keep her baby–instead deciding with her boyfriend to give her up for adoption. (If so inclined, you can watch the full episode here.)

The maturity of the couple, Catelynn & Tyler, both sixteen, and actually step-brother and sister (they were dating before their parents got married, OK?), gives me hope for the next generation.

Both teenagers have had difficult lives, growing up in their small town in Michigan. Tyler’s father was incarcerated for 10 years while he was younger; Catelynn’s mom, when she finds out that her daughter is planning to give the baby up for adoption, becomes incredibly nasty and unsupportive, even going so far as to buy Catelynn a crib and some stuffed animals in an effort to manipulate her emotionally into keeping the baby.

Amazingly, Tyler and Catelynn handled the entire situation with grace–from the outset they discussed what was best for the baby, and completely unselfishly decided they just couldn’t provide the kind of life for their daughter that another older, more financially stable couple could. Both teens reflected on their own family backgrounds, and decided that a child of theirs would be better off somewhere away from the painful childhoods they had both lived.

The emotional maturity that both Catelynn and Tyler showed in this episode honestly moved me to tears, especially considering how screwed up their own families were. To me, they are a perfect example of everything done right in a teenage pregnancy, and I really applaud MTV for giving an honest representation of what teenage pregnancy really looks like.

While I’m not advocating teenage pregnancy, I do realize that these things are going to happen. People have been knockin’ boots for years–an abstinence-only education isn’t going to change that. The best way to keep young women happy and healthy is to educate them–and “16 and Pregnant” does a very good job of not sugar-coating any of the proceedings of having a baby as a teen.

I can only hope that other teenaged mothers, faced with the decision that Catelynn and the other girls on the show faced, can take her as an example of how to come into your own as a woman, and handle their pregnancies with the same type of maturity.

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