Wow, 2008 is really turning into the Year of the Pregnant Teen. First the girls from Gloucester, then Jamie Lynn Spears, and now Bristol Palin, daughter of Republican VIP Candidate Sarah Palin. While I think it’s great that the parents of many of these high-profile pregnant teens are supportive of their daughters, I am a bit freaked out by how these young girls seem so anxious to be mothers. I guess they weren’t paying attention to the message of The Baby Borrowers.

I have heard of people blaming the movie Juno for giving kids the idea that being pregnant at a young age is cool, but who knows if that is the singular cause of this alarming trend. It does seem like teenagers have a very glamorized image of pregnancy and motherhood and almost no information of why pregnancy is so much more dangerous and difficult for young adults. So here is a rundown of some of the issues teens parents have to face:

• Babies born to teen mothers have an increased chance of health risks. Teen dads also have babies with more health problems that babies with older dads.
• Only around 50% of teen mothers go on to graduate high school. Child poverty is closely linked to teen pregnancy because teenage high school dropouts generally have lower-income jobs.
• Children of teenage parents tend to do worse in school and on developmental tests, and are more likely to drop out of school.

So while pregnant teenage girls may be dreaming about dressing their babies up like little dolls in designer baby clothes, the reality is that most of them don’t have a Governor mom or their own show on Nickelodeon, and will barely be able to afford feeding and diapering their kid. Not a happy future.

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy offers some tips for helping children avoid teen pregnancy, because a little prevention is better for everyone.