While the number of teens who abstain from sexual activity is rising, so are teen births.

Saturday, August 21, 1999

While the number of teens who abstain from sexual activity is rising, so are teen births.

As a result, families started by teens account for 44 percent of all welfare dollars.

According to figures compiled by the Freeborn County Family Services Collaborative, 55 percent of 12th-grade females report abstinence from sexual activity, up from 42 percent in 1997. Senior class males who abstained was up to 48 percent in 1998. In 1997, only 37 percent of 12th-grade males reported that they abstain from sex.

However, 1998 also saw the number of births to teens double. Albert Lea Medical Center reported that, in 1997, 10 births, 2.2 percent, were to adolescents, ages 13 to 17. In 1998, there were 21 teens in the same age group who gave birth at the ALMC.

The figures reported by ALMC do not necessarily reflect the number of Freeborn County girls who become pregnant, only the number of teens who gave birth at the hospital. Those figures might include girls from outside the county as well.

So while fewer teens are having sex, more are having babies.

Jenny Hanson, coordinator of Pregnancy, Responsibility Includes Dependable Education and &uot;Families Talk About Sex,&uot; said the collaborative doesn’t have a definitive explanation for the gap.

It is possible the teens who are having sex are not using contraceptives, some speculate. However, the Minnesota Student Survey, which reported the number of teens who abstain, did not compile figures regarding teens who are sexually active and their use of contraceptives.

Hoping to bring the number of teen pregnancies back down, Hanson thinks the &uot;Families Talk About Sex&uot; program may be the best way to reduce the growing numbers.

In addition to the sobering statistics on teen pregnancy, Hanson thinks showing the community just how much the problem costs will encourage more support for the collaborative’s efforts.

The Minnesota Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention and Parenting released a study earlier this week that showed 44 percent of all welfare dollars, about $12 million a month, are spent on families started with a teen birth. In Freeborn County, 48 percent of Minnesota Family Investment Program’s expenditures, formerly know as AFDC, were for females who gave birth before age 20.

&uot;I think that’s a big number,&uot; said Hanson. &uot;I see this as a need to expand the (sex awareness) programs.&uot;

She’s been encouraging area businesses to offer seminars to employees who need help talking to their children about sex.

&uot;If their their employee is the mother of a teen mother, then there’s a great chance that she will have to take time off of work to help raise the baby,&uot; Hanson said, adding that such situations will cost the business money.

Hanson wants to work with area businesses and churches in providing an opportunity for &uot;Families Talk About Sex&uot; facilitators to meet with parents.

&uot;We all get together and basically have a conversation about how to talk to kids about sex,&uot; Hanson said.

The program is a tool to help parents talk to their children about sex and share their beliefs and values.

It also includes videos that focus on different age levels, from preschool on up.

&uot;This is helping to promote the family aspect of teaching about sexuality,&uot; Hanson said. &uot;If they weren’t comfortable talking to their preschool children about body parts, they’re probably going to be really lost when they have to talk to their teen.&uot;

Although teens do receive sexual education during high school health classes and through the PRIDE program, Hanson said it is still important for parents to talk to their children about sexuality, because parents are able to instill beliefs and ideals.

The focus of PRIDE is abstinence, though contraceptives are discussed if the children raise questions.

In Albert Lea, PRIDE is taught in the eight grade; likewise for Glenville-Emmons. In Alden, the program is taught in tenth grade.

Because the program is only taught to most area teens in the eight grade, Hanson thinks the ideas need to be reinforced several years later, either in further health class lessons or through family discussion.

&uot;For some eighth-graders, sexual activity is the furthest thing from their mind. But a lot changes by the time they get to tenth grade. They need that reinforcement somewhere,&uot; Hanson said.

While the curriculum for PRIDE will not change this upcoming school year, Hanson said the student peer group will begin to produce a newsletter available for all high school students.

&uot;It will just be basic information. One topic might be how much money is spent the first year on a baby. Or it may have information on how (sexually transmitted) diseases affect them,&uot; she said.

Although she thinks PRIDE is successful in the county, she realizes the need to reduce teen pregnancy and hopes the community sees the need as well.

&uot;There are benefits to help prevent teen pregnancy,&uot; Hanson said. &uot;They’re probably not going to be a part of the work force, and who knows what kind of cycle they will follow.&uot;