16 and Pregnant - Final Draft

16 and Pregnant: More Than Just Reality TV 

16 and Pregnant first premiered on MTV in December of 2009. The show is based on pregnant teens from all walks of life who are willing to give the nation an insight to the reality of being sixteen and pregnant. The show takes its viewers "through the daily struggles young people experience while they are either expecting or raising a child" (Theida 1). Each episode is dedicated to 1 girl, who throughout the episode, transforms from being an ordinary teenager to a mother with crucial responsibilities. Often times pregnancy is glamourized and viewed as an ideal, pure and perfect situation and although it is a beautiful thing, it comes with a lot of struggle and sometimes heartache. 16 and Pregnant demonstrates all of the realities that occur when becoming a mother at such a young age. 

16 and Pregnant is viewable by every age group but as Dockterman suggests, is geared towards teenagers, in specific, pregnant teens (1). Pregnant teens are generally criticized and sometimes even told by family and peers that their life is "over before it even started," or that they'll never get the chance to have fun based on the consequences of their actions. Chelsea Houska, a participant on the show, attended her high school's homecoming football game. During this episode, she was filmed in the student section cheering on her team, laughing with all of her friends, and afterwards went out for pizza with them. Chelsea was living the life of a normal teenager. Seeing young, expecting mothers maintaining a social life may very well provide a sense of hope for another teenager undergoing the same circumstances. 

Teens who have unprotected sex neglect to realize how much effort goes into raising a child but studies conducted by Professor Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine concluded that since the first airing of 16 and Pregnant, the teen birth rate decreased by 5.7% which equals out to about 20,000 fewer teen births per year (1). Maci Bookout, a cast member of 16 and Pregnant, was filmed waking up in the middle of the night to attend to her crying son. After changing his diaper, feeding him, and attempting to give him his binky, his screaming would not come to a halt. Maci still had to attend school the next morning despite having to stay up for the majority of the night. Seeing that episode would cause most sexually active teens to use proper forms of contraception or even abstain from sex as a whole. Teens who tuned into 16 and Pregnant realized that adding a baby to the mix would make daily tasks, such as going to school, much more difficult than it would normally be. 





The original cast of 16 and Pregnant

16 and Pregnant isn't just about the personal lives of pregnant teens. It teaches a life lesson to its viewers in nearly every episode. In season 1 episode 6, Catelynn Lowell gave birth to a baby girl who ultimately in the end, she gave up for adoption. Despite being disowned by her own family for the choice she made and reconsidering keeping the baby multiple times due to her own guilt, Catelynn still stood by what she believed was right. The life lesson demonstrated in this episode is that sometimes the easiest thing to do isn't always the right thing to do. The fact that the viewer can take something away from every episode and apply it to their own life is very important.  



Catelynn, her boyfriend Tyler, and their daughter Carly before the adoption.

16 and Pregnant makes for good entertainment, yes. Most importantly though, it provides a sense of hope for those undergoing the same or similar circumstances, causes a decrease in the yearly amount of teen births, and teaches important life lessons.

Works Cited

Dockterman, Eliana. "MTV's 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom: Prevent or Promote Teen Pregnancy." Time. Time. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.

Melissa S., Kearney, and Levine Phillip B. "Media Influences On Social Outcomes: The Impact Of MTV'S 16 and Pregnant On Teen Childbearing." (2014): BASE. Web. 14 Feb. 2017.

Thieda, Stevie. "Shows Such as ‘Teen Mom’ Provide Life Lessons." OU News Bureau. 04 Apr. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.