Update from Bea

From: beatrice t.

To: debbie

Sent: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 4:56 pm

Subject: Hi

Hope you are doing great. I am doing better as the days go by. Its been the hardest journey of my life and am proud I took it. Having Baraka showed me a different view on all the mothers out there. I have learn't to give more respect to my mother because its not easy raising a baby, let alone 6 babies. I am taking Baraka home to my parents in Africa so that I can come back and build a life for him. I know its going to be hard but I have got to make a sacrifice so that one day I will not look back and regret that I was not able to give him the best.

Thank you so much for giving me a chance to stay in Lois Lodge. I will never forget the kindness you showed me. If you have any vacancy for a job at Lois Lodge I would love to work there. I would really like to come back and live at the aftercare house if you would take me back. But, if there will be a mother and her baby who need a place to stay then I will gladly step back to let them stay because I know how much help the place was for me.

Thank you again for the love you showed me.

God bless you
bea

Jamie Lynn Spears

It's been about a month since Jamie Lynn Spears announced her pregnancy to the world but the press coverage has yet to die down. Read the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy's take on the issue below:

1776 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20036
TheNationalCampaign.org

In response to the news that Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old star of the Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 is pregnant, Bill Albert, Deputy Director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy encouraged parents and teens to consider the following:

• The Spears pregnancy provides parents with a teachable moment and serves as a perfect opportunity to discuss with their kids the important topics of sex, love, relationships.

• That Spears is a celebrity with a “good girl” image underscores that teen pregnancy can happen to anyone. In fact, one in three girls in the United States gets pregnant by age 20.

• Spears is 16 and her boyfriend is 19 years old. While an age difference of three years means little in an adult relationship, age differences of even two or three years can be significant in teen relationships. Teens who are in relationships with partners three or more years older are far more likely to report that sex was unwanted, are far less likely to use contraception, and far more likely to get pregnant than those teens who are in relationships with someone their age or
slightly older.

• That Spears was shocked that she was pregnant suggests that she wasn’t ready to have sex. Anyone who has sex can get pregnant and if you don’t know that you probably shouldn’t be having sex. Zoey 101 needs sex education 101.

• Jamie herself now says that she thinks that it is better to wait to have sex—a sentiment that is shared by most sexually experienced teens. In fact, 60% of sexually experienced teens say they “wish they had waited longer” to have sex.

“We hope that Jamie’s pregnancy encourages her young fans to think carefully about sex and contraception, the possibility of pregnancy, and the lifelong challenges of being a parent,” said Albert.

Super Nanny

Supernanny is searching the country for families who want help. And they would like your help in getting the word out to teen moms. ABC’s hit parenting show Supernanny is looking for young mothers between the ages of 15 and 19 who are interested in having America’s #1 nanny, Jo Frost, spend a couple of weeks with them for their very own episode. People have a range of views on what it’s like to be a teen mom. This is an opportunity for one young lady to tell her own story while getting hands-on advice and parenting tools from Supernanny.To apply to be on the show or for more information, visit http://www.supernanny.com/ or call 877-NANNY-TIME.

Check out Seventeen Magazine's February Edition

Check out the February issue of Seventeen -- on newsstands now -- for a what is reportedly a must-read story on the real reasons so many teens are still getting pregnant.

They've asked teens across the country to talk openly about their own experiences with getting pregnant when they didn't intend to -- and they have solid advice on what you can do to prevent it.

Most importantly, they want teens to take action: Seventeen has teamed up with the Candie's Foundation to launch the "What's Your Plan A?" video contest. The contest encourages teens to show them "what life dream is keeping you from getting pregnant," and they could win $1,000 and a fabulous trip to NYC, including a ticket to the Candie's Foundation Event To Prevent. Find out more at www.seventeen.com/psa or http://www.candiesfoundation.org/.

FACT: 70% of teen girls say that having a plan for the future would help prevent unplanned pregnancy.

FACT: 48% of teen girls think it might be possible they'll become pregnant in the next five years.

FACT: 67% of teen girls have friends who are or became pregnant as teenagers.

FACT: 2 out of 3 teen girls are more worried about STDs than an unplanned pregnancy

SOURCE: Seventeen/ Candie's Foundation survey, February 2008 issue

Risk Factors for First Premarital Intercourse

Summary: Change in Family Situation and Being Born Out of Wedlock Increases the Risk of First Premarital Intercourse

Findings show that experiencing more family transitions and being born out of wedlock place women at an increased risk for first premarital intercourse.

Theorists and researchers have argued for years that interactions between parents and children during childhood have long-lasting effects and that the type of family a child is raised in may affect behaviors later in life. This particular study sought to investigate the relationship between childhood living arrangements and the risk of first premarital intercourse. Three theoretical perspectives were examined through the study, two of which were found to be consistent with the results: socialization perspective, and instability and change perspective. The socialization perspective states that women who grow up in non-intact families during their childhood are socialized to view sex outside of marriage differently than women who are raised in intact families. Instability and change perspective states that young women who experience greater instability and change in family situations are subject to social and psychological stresses that increase the risk of intercourse. The 1995 National Survey of Family Growth was used for the study, and a total sample of 6,046 women was investigated. Findings showed that experiencing more transitions and being born out of wedlock increase the risk of first premarital sex. For Black women, each transition in childhood living arrangements increased the risk of premarital intercourse by 14%-21%, and the risk of premarital intercourse at each age was 34%-38% greater for Black women born out of wedlock. For White women, the risk of first premarital intercourse was 23%-41% higher for each change in family living arrangements. Additionally, White women born out of wedlock have a higher risk of first premarital intercourse (55% to 134%) than those not born out of wedlock.1

1Childhood Living Arrangements and Risk of Premarital Intercourse, Journal of Family Issues, Vol. 24, No. 2, October 2003, 867-894.