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Jessica Nelms

Sixteen-year-old Tabitha Land, right, enjoys a visit from her 13-month-old daughter Alexandria Foster and Tabitha's mother, Tina Land, during a break at work. Tabitha is a single teenage mother that works full-time at Subway on Hwy 123 in Seneca.

For the first time in 15 years, teenage pregnancies are up in the United States, and South Carolina is not immune. While the reasons are varied, so are the avenues to address the problem.

But experts do agree on at least one thing — teen pregnancies impact society as a whole, not just the individuals or their immediate families.

"It's why women don't finish their education, why they’re unemployable, why they need financial assistance from non-profit organizations, why there is abuse," said Carol Burdette of the United Way of Anderson County. "Those are reasons why we should work toward preventing as many as possible."

Marly Ellenburg, executive director of the Foothills Pregnancy Care Center in Seneca, said the Golden Corner experienced 130 teenage pregnancies in 2005 that resulted in more than two million dollars in taxpayer cost. Of the 200 visits her center receives from clients on a monthly basis, 25 percent come from teens.

"Medicaid covers every doctor’s appointment, prescriptions and the childbirth experience, and the fact that teenagers are not fully developed places them more at risk for premature births and low birth weights," Ellenburg said.

National statistics from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta state that the birth rate for girls ages 15 to 19 rose from 40.5 births per 1,000 in 2005 to 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006. During the 14 years of declining rates, teen births had dropped 34 percent from a peak of 61.8 births per 1,000 in 1991.

The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reports even higher numbers when it comes to teen pregnancies. Since 2004, the Palmetto State witnessed an increase from 33.1 per 1,000 to 35.9 per 1,000, or eight percent, and that nearly two-thirds of all teen pregnancies involved 18- and 19-year-olds. Even more disconcerting is that 27 percent of teen pregnancies were repeat occurrences.

Many factors

Experts say reasons for the jump include low self-esteem, low-income backgrounds, poor choices and glamorized media coverage, such as that given to pregnant teen star Jamie Lynn Spears of Zoey 101, a hit television show on the Nickelodeon network (consisting of children and teen programming), and movies such as "Juno," about a pregnant teen who puts her baby up for adoption.

"We have several 14- and 15-year-old mothers, and there is a definite lack of shock," Ellenburg said. "It's becoming commonplace."

Cayci Banks, director of communications for the South Carolina Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, believes complacency set in during the nearly decade-and-a-half of decline.

"We really believe it is in correlation to a lack of investment in our young people," Banks said. "There must be more involvement from society in the lives of young people."

Abstinence First

Identifying the underlying factors regarding teen pregnancy is one thing, developing solutions to reduce the problem is another. While most experts agree education is the key, where they get that information is often a bone of contention.

"As a society, we have to be concerned over finding approaches that work," Banks said.

That approach, Banks believes, is a comprehensive, age-appropriate "abstinence first" message combined with medically accurate, age appropriate information regarding birth control.

One local non-profit organization, Impact, has been recognized for its "abstinence first" efforts. Founded in 1988 as the Anderson-Oconee Council on Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Impact was recognized in 2005 for having the top teen pregnancy prevention program in the state.

Impact Executive Director Staci Thompson said she feels young people need to be more fully educated regarding teenage pregnancy. While schools have traditionally expressed reluctance to offer "abstinence plus" programs, due, in part, to the controversy surrounding them, Thompson said Impact has made its way into several high schools through service learning.

At Seneca High School and Hanna High School, Thompson said approximately 20 students voluntarily engage in a nine-month service-learning program in their local communities. For example, Thompson said students collect gift items for group children's homes, gift cards to present residents of assisted living facilities on Valentine's Day and participate in the March of Dimes Walk America campaign among other things.

The program also includes information concerning the consequences of being sexually active and the need for protection. At the alternative schools in both Oconee and Anderson, Thompson said "Making Proud Choices" is one of the programs offered.

As a result, Thompson said she has noticed a positive change in attitude and awareness of the problem by teens.

Middle School Initiative

Burdette said the United Way of Anderson County began partnering with Impact shortly after a local Women’s Leadership Initiative targeted the reduction of teen pregnancy as their key goal.

"We asked what their weakest link was in providing education to the community, and they said the schools," Burdette said.

As a result, Burdette said a meeting was held with all five of the Anderson School District superintendents, seeking a Teen Pregnancy Prevention Specialist at each of the 10 middle schools at a cost of $40,000 to $50,000 per school. But Burdette said the only school to positively respond was Starr-Iva Middle in Anderson School District 3, which, at that time, had the highest number of pregnancies among the five school districts.

"We use scientific-based information to help sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students build self-esteem, make better decisions, delay sexual initiation and ultimately learn more about sex education," Burdette said. "There have been no complaints from parents in the community or from the faith-based community."

During the past two years, Burdette said zero pregnancies have been reported in District 3 and that the middle school specialist has prepared students for the transition into high school.

"Our ultimate goal is to have this program in every middle school in Anderson County," she said.

While Burdette admits that abstinence only is the preferred goal, she adds that a number of teens choose to engage in premarital sex.

"It is important that we help these students set goals so they understand that a teen pregnancy will impede their ability to reach their goals," she said.

Burdette said meetings are again taking place with the other four Anderson County superintendents "to gauge interest while we work on grant applications."

"We're getting a very warm reception because these school districts have watched the progress being made in District 3 and know it can make a difference in their school district," she said.

Abstinence Only

Ellenburg is an advocate of "abstinence only," a view she feels is supported with information both from a biblical and a scientific perspective.

"Not only is there an increase in teen pregnancies, but STD's (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) are also on the rise," Ellenburg said.

According to the Pregnancy Care Center director, STDs infect one in four teenagers.

"No protection is 100 percent, and those who go that route are playing Russian roulette with a partially loaded gun," Ellenburg said. "There is still the potential risk, not only of getting pregnant but also of contracting HIV. We each have one life, and is it worth that potential risk of diverting from the best life we could possibly have?"

The problem with the "Abstinence First" program, Ellenburg explains, is the defeatist attitude she feels it portrays to teens.

"It's like, 'we know you’re going to fail', instead of instructing them on self-control and self-discipline and being positive that you can get this accomplished," she said. "In my opinion, the other idea is treating them like animals."

Ellenburg said her agency works to enable teen moms to strengthen and formulate parenting skills, but adds that their youth and lack of maturity increase the possibility of those individuals becoming angry or frustrated with their children.

"We’ve got to not only instruct them in science and math, but also about relationships," Ellenburg said. "Abstinence will help them stay focused in life and create a more well-rounded person."

Health Education

The Oconee and Pickens County school districts deal with the issue in several ways. Dianne England, assistant superintendent for Oconee County, said health education courses begin as early as fourth grade as male and female students are taught hygiene and gender differences. England added that parents are given the option to review the material used and allowed to choose whether or not they wish their child to participate.

At the middle school level, England said abstinence is the only thing taught.

"Boys and girls are separated, and they do not go into birth control at this level," England said.

At the high school level, England said students are taught abstinence as 100 percent sure proof as well as birth control.

In Pickens County, Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services Brenda Turner said X-Alt, the school district’s teen pregnancy prevention program, focuses on success in school.

"The X-Alt program, in combination with the district’s comprehensive health education program works to provide abstinence-based instruction as mandated by the Comprehensive Health Education Act," Turner said. "Contraception is introduced only in the context of future family planning."

For more information on teenage pregnancy and programs designed to address the problem, individuals can contact Thompson at (864) 260-5632, or www.aoimpact.org; Burdette, (864) 226-3438 or Ellenburg, (864) 882-8796.