Teenage Pregnancy | Teen Ink

Teenage Pregnancy

March 28, 2012
By jennifer27 PLATINUM, Sunnyside, Washington
jennifer27 PLATINUM, Sunnyside, Washington
20 articles 0 photos 2 comments

In 2011 Gaby Rodriguez a 17-year-old straight A student in Toppenish High School faked her pregnancy for a senior project a culminating assessment required for graduation. 

She faked her pregnancy for 6 ½ months. Only a handful of people like her mother Juana Rodriguez, her boyfriend Jorge Orozco and her principal Trevor Greene among them knew she was pretending to be pregnant for her senior project.

She faked it to the whole school and family members. She started by wearing baggy clothes and eventually a fashioned fake baby belly made out of wire mesh and cotton quilt batting. Gaby would worry when people would ask to touch her baby bump. It wasn’t because she was shy or embarrassed. It was because it was a fake belly. 

People knew she became pregnant on homecoming that was October and her due date was July 27 of 2011. 

Before taking off her fake belly, she asked several student and teachers to read from 3x5 cards that people actually said about her during the course of the experiment. 

Her best friend Saida Cortes a 17-year-old senior read card number 3 that said, “Her attitude is changing and it might be because of the baby or she was always this annoying and I never realized it” 

Then Gaby Rodriguez said “Alot of rumors were just that I was irresponsible. No college… It was bound to happen. I knew she was going to get pregnant. Doesn’t she know she just ruined her life.” 

After that Gaby Rodriguez took off her fake baby belly there were nervous giggles and a loud “whaaaaat?!” from the audience. She said, “I’m fighting against those stereotypes and rumors because the reality is I’m not pregnant”.


-Why do teens get pregnant?

Some teen’s get pregnant because the protection fails or the just don’t use protection. Other teens get pregnant to save a relationship and Sherea Gillman says that if you are going to do that get ready to raise the baby alone both emotionally and financially. Other teen’s have babies because they want to be treated like an adult and get the respect they want but they don’t know that a baby changes you life forever. Every year a million teens became pregnant. 500,000 live through birth that is ages 15 to 19 and 11,000 ages 14 and under. 400,000 do abortion and 13,000 have miscarriage (lose their baby). La’Keisha Turner says some teens come from trouble families and think a baby will help them escape. 


-What happens to some teens that get pregnant?

About 40,000 teens drop out of school because the get pregnant. Each year teen mom’s likely get stuck in jobs with low paying or be unemployed. A baby changes your life forever. You have more responsibilities. 


-Do teens keep their babies?

In the United States, approximately 31 million teen girls and they estimated that 1 million of those teen girls will get pregnant. At least half of those teen girls that get pregnant will keep their babies. 


-how many teen mom’s have abortion, miscarriage (lose their baby), adoption or unplanned pregnancy?

As I said earlier every year a million of teen, girls become pregnant. 500,000 live through birth that is ages 15 to 19. 11,000 are ages 14 and under. 400,000 do abortion. 13,000 have miscarriage (lose their baby). From the teen girls that live through birth in the United States. 85% are unplanned pregnancies. 25% pregnancies are yearly. 25% of teen mothers have 2 kids with in 2 year of their first baby.


-Do their boyfriends stay with them to help them? 

Most boyfriends don’t. Out of 100%, 20% get married with the teen mother. 80% pay at least less than $800.00 for child support.


This is some of the information on teen pregnancy. There is still alot more you don’t know about. If your going to get pregnant think about every thing your going to go through and if you are you should finish school first and get a good job. 


                 


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 2 comments.


on Jul. 10 2012 at 3:51 pm
jennifer27 PLATINUM, Sunnyside, Washington
20 articles 0 photos 2 comments
it wasnt me who did the project a friend from school told me about it and i looked it up and it seemed interesting so i put some of it in my writing asinment for school. you can look up more about gaby brodriguez she made a book called the pregnancy project  and i think shes also making a movie about it. 

on Apr. 2 2012 at 9:26 pm
beautifulspirit PLATINUM, Alpharetta, Georgia
35 articles 0 photos 1398 comments

Favorite Quote:
The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.<br /> --Eleanor Roosevelt

This article was very informative and quite interesting. I've always wondered about this sort of experiment---the way the people can change around "the pregnant girl." How society rejects you and turns you into an outcast, isolated and alone. This must have been an excellent project.