Nine Months From Now Will it Still Be Funny?

Do you think it is cool to be pregnant?

Many shows and movies right now give off the impression that it is all for laughs and jokes and the occasional challenge when you are pregnant. A few of these movies and shows are 16 and pregnant, teen mom and knocked up. 16 and Pregnant is a show about teens who are pregnant and how they handle life before the baby is born, teen mom is an extension showing the lives of a few of the teen mothers.

Originally, it was argued that teen mom and 16 and pregnant were shows that helped to spread awareness to teens around the world about the risks surrounding teen pregnancy. These shows were used as advocates for abstinence in the past although, things have recently changed.

These shows have turned into scandals all over the media, on

magazines, online and on television. Every time you leave the grocery store you see Amber or Macy's names all over the covers of magazines. If you think about it though, do you actually know Macy or Amber's last name, do you see how the father's of their children live their lives every day?

Yes, you get to see the problems and drama between the stars of the show but, does everyone realize that these problems can be avoided, some teens may feel differently. These shows and movies can be dangerous for teens because they may have a different interpretation. They may read pregnancy as the source of all problems and never wish to have children, or some may believe that becoming pregnant may help their chances of becoming famous. It may just seem like another popularity contest, who they've slept with, who the father of their child is and if MTV will be calling them to ask to film their drama filled lives. Is that what really happens though, that you magically get a call and get on television, think back to how many people are on these shows, maybe 4 or 5 sets of parents, and how many of them do you see struggling to keep their relationship a happy or civil one, or how often do you see them fight.

So what is so funny about a couple who end up having a child because of a drunken night at a club, or an abusive girlfriend, or constantly being reminded of the child you gave away. Is it a confidence bust that your life is not actually that bad because you could not go to that concert, or is it a refresher for why you take precautions when it comes to the opposite sex. What ever your reasoning is, remember there is always more than one side to things and that even if you laugh now, if the situations were reversed it would not be as funny.

Teenage abortion rates, by age of women at end of pregnancy, women aged 15 to 19, Canada, 1974 to 1997

Data sources: References 5,6,7; Health Statistics Division; Canadian Vital Statistics Data Base; Canadian Institute for Health Information