Yesterday I was watching the Tyra Show and it was all about teenage mothers and other teens who wanted to get pregnant. The show featured over 20 girls, one in particular who was seventeen and was on her third pregnancy.  Another girl, she was only 14 and trying to get pregnant by her 15 year old boyfriend.  There stories were so crazy, I don't understand why they want to get pregnant at such young ages.  There was a professional on the show and she said the parents really couldn't protect their teens from getting pregnant until they got to the bottom of the problem and figured out exactly what they were replacing with the baby.  50% of sexually active teens do not use protection, so there's a big chance of pregnancy, let along without trying purposely to conceive. 

   I saw this show, and I was asking myself why the father of the 14yo girl was not present.  There is a complex here, there's more divorce than ever in the US and right along with that rising statistic, the teen pregnancy rate is about the same.  50% of all marriages end in divorce and about the same rate of teen relationships end in pregnancy, teens choosing to have kids themselves.  It's ridiculous, but this generation is unable to work out their emotions and are choosing to rationalize them by having a baby themselves.  It could be because of all of the absent fathers nowadays, the girls anr trying to find a father figure in their boyfriends. 
  When one parent leaves the family, it's up to the parent that is there to play both roles.  A teen isn't going to get the right guidance if the same sex parent isn't present.