18 year old Christen Callahan, a teen mom from Gloucester, met with MomLogic.com recently to discuss the pact that 17 girls from Gloucester High made -- to get pregnant and raise their babies together. Christen names celebrity teen mom Jamie-Lynn Spears, and the movie Juno as inspiration. Furthermore, she told the online publication that her mother never discussed sex with her. She figured things out for herself, and became pregnant.
ML: Did you know anything about the pregnancy pact?
Christen: I didn't know there was an official pact, but I kind of figured that there was something going on because there was a specific group of friends who all got pregnant at the same time.
ML: Why do you think this is happening?
Christen: I think Juno and Jamie Lynn Spears certainly play a part in it. A lot of people look up to celebrities, and I definitely think it's an influence. But I really don't know if that's the main reason the pregnancy pact is going on in my town. It certainly didn't have anything to do with my own pregnancy. My daughter, who's 3, was unplanned, and I got pregnant at 14.
ML: What's your advice to other teens who want to get pregnant?
Christen: Before you have a child, you really need to think about it, because you literally have to give up everything. You can't go out anymore. You lose your friends and your social life. I am crazy in love with my daughter and wouldn't change having her for the world, but it is such a huge commitment. These girls have no idea.
ML: Do you think the on-site daycare center at Gloucester High School promotes teen pregnancy?
Christen: I think in a way it does. It's there and it's readily available, so it's just easy for the teen moms to just leave their kids there. It kind of seems like there's not really a consequence to getting pregnant, if that makes sense. However, the on-site daycare center was a really good thing for me personally, because I was able to continue my education and even graduate early because my daughter was cared for there.
ML: Is there anything you wish your mom would have told you before you got pregnant?
Christen: If anything, maybe my mom could have talked to me more about the consequences. She never had "the talk" with me about the birds and the bees. I just kind of figured it all out on my own.
Join Strollerderby Readers as they weigh in on this very topic with Amy's article: "Teens Make Pregnancy Pact -- Wha???"
Source
