The numbers are daunting. Nearly one-third of all teen girls in the United States become pregnant at least once by the time they are twenty years old, and one-half of all pregnancies nationwide are unplanned. It’s statistics like those that this spring prompted The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a Hewlett grantee, to launch Pregnant Pause, a blog with the self-described goal of stimulating conversation, debate-whatever it takes-to get teens and young people talking and thinking about reproductive issues.
Pregnant Pause engages those who care about teens and young adults as well teens and young adults themselves in topics they care about, from politics to pop culture. Recent posts include discussions of a sixteen-year-old soap opera character’s decision to have an abortion, the New York Times’ recent “discovery” of virginity, and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s hearing on abstinence education programs.
A diverse team of National Campaign staff maintains the blog. And, while not teenagers anymore themselves, these staffers are still young enough at heart to understand what’s relevant to young people and the decisions they face.