Jan 02, 2008 (Contra Costa Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Eighteen-year-old Chelsea Thompson sleeps in the dining room of her cousin's home.
Some days it is a struggle to get out of bed, but she says her 6-month-old son has changed her life for the better.
"He saved me. I grew up as soon as I became a parent," she said. "I get my strength from him."
The national teen birth rate risen for the first time in 14 years, and Thompson is among a growing number of adolescents who carry their babies to term and raise them on their own.
Six Contra Costa County communities have teen birth rates that are significantly higher than the county average, according to a recent study by Contra Costa Health Services.
More than half of those are in East County, including Pittsburg, Bay Point, Antioch and Oakley.
Oakley saw a teen birth rate of 32.8 of 1,000 from 2002-04, and Antioch's rate was 31.9 births per 1,000 teens during the same period, according to the county study.
The incidence of teen births in Pittsburg and Bay Point was 56.8 per 1,000.In December, national studies found that teen births rose 3 percent from 2005 to 2006. The last time the United States saw such a sharp increase was 1991.
Thompson says she doesn't think this is happening because girls lack sexual education or access to birth control.
The teen said she went to a clinic to get birth control and found out she was seven weeks pregnant -- by a boyfriend who had told her he was unable to father children.
The couple broke up seven months
into the pregnancy. He lives in Texas and has never met his child.
"There is plenty of information out there about birth control, but we just didn't listen to it," Thompson said.
While trying to finish high school through the Liberty Union High School District's independent study program, Thompson also attends a special class for teens who are pregnant or raising children.
Some of her classmates say their boyfriends told them they were sterile. Others insist that birth control pills make them sick, and they dislike needles or injections.
Angela Poirier, 17, says she would advise other teens to abstainor use birth control. Sexually active teens also should be sure they are ready to become parents, she adds.Although Poirier considered abortion, she chose to keep her newborn. Like many teens, she says adoption was never an option.
"I didn't really want to kill a living thing, and I didn't want to put another child out there without a parent," Poirier said. "I think that more teens are having their babies because it is them getting pregnant and it is not the baby's fault."
Planned Parenthood Regional Director Robin Poppino-Kuntz says there is insufficient access to birth control and sexual health information for teens these days.
Within the Liberty district's high schools, freshmen are taught sexual education in a semesterlong health class that also covers nutrition and other health issues.
Attitudes toward adoption haven't changed in recent years, Poppino-Kuntz adds.
"Almost nobody wants to look at adoption as an option," she said. "Usually we see about half and half -- half of pregnant teens choosing parenting and the other half opting for abortion."
Birthright, a crisis pregnancy clinic in downtown Brentwood, has a dozen teens, on average, stop by each month for counseling and free pregnancy tests.
Many are 17- and 18-year-olds from Antioch, Oakley and Discovery Bay, co-director Deena Foley said.
Most have parents who oppose abortion and premarital sex, so they feel they don't have anyone with whom they can discuss their options, she added.
"I've been where they have been. I know what it is like to struggle," said Foley, once a teenage mother herself.
In Contra Costa County, girls in the 15- to 19-year-old age bracket accounted for 2,510 births from 2002 to 2004.
The county's teen birth rate is 23.8 per 1,000 teens, which is lower than the statewide average of 39.6.
More than half of these births were to Latinas, who hold the highest teen birth rate and largest percentage of teen births, according to the county study.
"Many of the Latino girls we see are devout Catholics. They have many concerns about abortion," Foley said.
Oakley's St. Anthony Catholic Church said it has seen only a few pregnant teens in its congregation. Joann Mass, the business manager, said teen pregnancy doesn't seem to have as much of a stigma as in the past and that teens' parents are more supportive of their daughters now.
Latinos are the largest ethnic group in which the birth rate continues to rise, according to Susan Philliber, a senior partner at New York's Philliber Research Associates.
Latino families that recently immigrated to the United States don't typically talk to their children about sex or contraception, so young people usually get wrong information from their peers, Philliber says.
"Once she gets pregnant, the family embraces her. The Latino family structure is strong and the father is more likely to be involved," she said. "It is unthinkable in newly immigrant homes that a female teen would use contraception."
Latinos comprise one-fourth of Oakley's growing population. Some community groups have identified teen pregnancy as an ongoing problem in the small city.
Overall, Latinas have a higher rate of unplanned pregnancies because they come from lower-income families, Poppino-Kuntz says.
"You have to consider social class and economic background. Abortion is still prevalent on American college campuses," Philliber said. "What happens is that the poorest girls are carrying babies to term while other girls often have abortions."
Girls growing up in affluent homes are more career-oriented and less willing to raise children out of wedlock, she said.
At first, relatives and other adults tried to persuade 16-year-old Jacqui Zelaya to have an abortion or give her baby up for adoption.
She later moved from Los Angeles to live with her sister in Brentwood. Zelaya says people's attitudes changed when she learned through an ultrasound that she was carrying a boy.
Today, her family adores 7-month-old Jayden, and Zelaya is determined to care for him.
"I couldn't give him up," she said. "You don't know what that child will become. (He) could be the next president."
Zelaya and Jayden's father broke up during the pregnancy. He still lives in Los Angeles but remains involved in his son's life.
On the other hand, Vanessa Morales waited until she was five months pregnant to tell her parents, who have supported her financially and emotionally since.
The 16-year-old gave birth Dec. 2. A few weeks prior, Morales was eagerly anticipating motherhood.
"I'm not scared. I'm just really excited," Morales said. "Some people think if you have a baby at this age, your life is over. If you have enough support, it will be OK."
The East County resident plans to get a restaurant job shortly after giving birth and start beauty school next summer. Morales' ultimate goal is to open her own salon.
The county study showed a direct relationship between teen births and poverty, lack of parenting education and family planning, and previous pregnancies.
Teen parents often find it tougher to continue their education, find productive work and become self-sufficient, according to the study.
Meanwhile, there are the daily challenges of motherhood: Now it takes Poirier longer to get ready for the day, and she must squeeze homework into an already hectic schedule.
She lives with her parents and wants to continue her education after high school once Sophie is in day care. The baby's 15-year-old father is no longer involved in their lives, but the county may pursue some type of support from him for Sophie's medical expenses.
"She is a reminder of him. I wish he was in my life and her life," Poirier said.
After enduring a traumatic childhood, Thompson says her top priority is to raise her son with love. She doesn't have a job, but she is working toward her high school diploma. She has hopes of becoming a secretary or kindergarten teacher.
Although she tries to stay focused, depression sometimes overwhelms her.
"Babies are very dependent," Thompson said. "I keep telling myself it is going to get easier.
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