A Prolific Problem - Part II: The Causes
By Anne Marie Kyzer Staff Writer

(Editor's note: The Causes is the second story in a threepart series entitled A Prolific Problem in which staff writer Anne Marie Kyzer examines the growing rate of births to teenagers and unmarried mothers in Burke County.)

Parents, talk to your children. And better yet, set a good example.

That's the message from several teenage mothers in Burke County.

Amid the alarming rise in births to teens and unmarried mothers, local doctors, health program leaders and even the young mothers themselves say the issue boils down to good parenting.

They call it a generational cycle that produces young parents unprepared to raise their children. In a time when teens are beginning to have sex at earlier ages, local sentiment mirrors that of several national studies that say teens need and want to hear about the issue from their parents.

Almost half of all high-school aged teens have had sexual intercourse, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Many start in middle school.

"I was out running the streets and following the crowd," a 28- year-old Burke County mother of seven children says. "If my grandmother had told me about (the consequences), I would probably be different."

The young mother, who became pregnant first when she was 14, said she hopes her children will learn from her experience. "I fault myself for having (my daughter) at a young age. I was a baby having a baby," she says bluntly, adding that she wants a different life for her four daughters and three sons.

She's currently working toward her GED in the Even Start program, which encourages family literacy by providing training and child care.

Other teen mothers say their parents were either addicted to drugs or alcohol and weren't around to monitor their behavior, much less talk to them about sex.

Another mother enrolled in Even Start said she grew up watching her mother "partying and on drugs." The 19-year-old gave birth to her first child nine weeks ago.

One thing most young parents have in common is a lack of education about sex, pregnancy, parenting and the highly controversial topic of birth control.

Schools and many com- munity organizations are not allowed to touch the subject of birth control.

"When we talk to the kids about abstinence, they look at us like we're crazy," Deena Sams, Communities in Schools executive director, says. "They say that's not their lifestyle."

Waynesboro obstetrician Dr. Mark Gresham sees the same scenario in his practice.

"In school, they're only teaching abstinence, but it's not working," he said. "I'm all for abstinence, but if it's not working, what do you do?"

Healthy Start nurse Joeann McGhee educates mothers about birth control options, but she's not certain that even that is the answer.

"How do you make a person be responsible for themselves?" she asks.

Many young women don't seem to mind being pregnant and welcome the prospect of more children. Some mothers say having babies fills a void in their lives.

"We have that baby for love a lot of times," a 36-year-old grandmother says.

The young mother of seven agrees.

"If nobody else out there loves me, I got a house full that do," she says.

McGhee believes they just aren't prepared to start families at such a young age.

"Although they think they are mature enough to become pregnant, they don't think about what comes along with that decision," she says.