Preventing Teen Pregnancy: Start Early

Teen pregnancy is on the rise for the first time in 15 years. Some are wondering if the celebrity baby boom among young stars in Hollywood is playing a role. Fans may look up to new moms like Nicole Richie and Halle Berry, but the estimated 750,000 pregnant teens across the country can't afford the nannies and designer baby clothes the celebrity moms have.

Sarah Brown, from the National Campaign To Prevent Teen And Unplanned Pregnancy told The Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen that parents have to help kids filter out the images they see in the media, by beginning the conversation early in their child's life.

"The celebrity glitz and the coolness of it all can be confusing to young girls," she said. "They may think that maybe they can have a bit of Hollywood, too, if they have a little bump. Parents have to be the filter, they have to sit down with sons and daughters and say 'you don't live in Hollywood and you're not going to raise your child in Hollywood. ... It's fun to read about, but it's not you.'"

Brown said that reality sets in when the teen mother's education has been interrupted, and she realizes that the child's father is no longer around after the first few months.

"I think they hope sometimes (the men will stay). They engage in magical thinking," she said. "Parents need constantly over the 18 years to be talking about the seriousness of pregnancy, the importance of education, and the simple fact that babies need adult parents."

The conversation has to begin early with both girls and boys.

"It's an 18-year conversation. It's not one awkward Tuesday night at the kitchen table," said Brown. "It's a long conversation about respect for relationships, about what children need, not just what adolescents want. It's fathers as well as mothers and it's for boys as well as girls."

According to Brown, happily ever after rarely happens for teenagers who have children out of wedlock.

"They are likely to remain single parents," Brown said. "Even if they do get married they probably will not have a stable marriage. They're probably not going to have a very good job because they haven't been able to complete their education. In this economy with oil prices apparently going higher and higher, the need for education, two and four years and beyond has never been greater. So anything that gets in the way of that risks poverty. And that means the child is raised in a tough environment."