The MTV Reality Show '16 & Pregnant'

Teen pregnancy rates have been on a steady decline from 2009, and about six percent of this drop is accredited to the MTV reality show, 16 & Pregnant. MTV is an American television channel known for the airing of reality shows filled with controversial topics and dramatic scenes. 16 & Pregnant was first aired on the MTV channel in June of 2009. Created by Lauren Dolgen, 16 & Pregnant was the first show that strictly revealed the everyday lives of teen mothers. The reality show 16 & Pregnant has brought about much controversy over whether or not the show truly does the best it can at capturing the true lives of several teen mothers and how a pregnancy affected their lives. The show was on air until July of 2014. Although MTV is not the
most reputable network, reality tv shows like 16 & Pregnant do not promote teen pregnancy because they honestly show the physical, emotional, and financial struggles of a teen mother.
16 & Pregnant discourages teen pregnancy by portraying many physical struggles that come with being pregnant. Susie Kroll focuses on how 16 & Pregnant shows exactly how hard and painful being pregnant and giving birth was for the teen mothers in her article. Being a pregnant teenager was not only a struggle for the young girls emotionally, but also physically. Many of the teens had to adapt to walking around and sitting in a desk in a school environment with a large belly. The girls not only had to endure being looked at because they were showing physical signs of pregnancy, but they actually struggled physically with carrying books from class to class. Most of the teen mothers allowed MTV to film while they were in what Amy Benfer described to be the most explicit birthing scenes she had ever seen on television. Viewers were able to have a true perspective of the immense pain the young mothers were facing. 16 & Pregnant revealed just how difficult becoming pregnant as a teenager can be physically. Some of the girls were physically unable to continue activities they had been doing their entire lives such as cheerleading when they became pregnant. When a teenage girl becomes pregnant she will encounter countless physical limitations. Along with many limitations physically, teen mothers will also experience a great deal of pain throughout the pregnancy and especially during labor. 16 & Pregnant shows the true physical limitations and pain teen mothers face along with focusing on many of the emotional challenges they encounter.
Reality shows such as 16 & Pregnant do not promote teen pregnancy because they accurately show the emotional struggles the teen mothers undergo.
According to Amy Benfer, the emotional struggles of the girls are effectively shown not through interviews, but by displaying to viewers exactly what the young mothers do and how they react when faced with daily challenges. The teen mothers each narrate exactly what they were feeling at different points throughout the episodes. Amy Benfer also explained how riveting it was to watch as one of the teen mothers struggled emotionally with the sincere heartbreak of giving birth and then allowing the baby to be adopted by another family. Viewers also were able to watch the teen mothers struggle with having unsupportive families and friends. 16 & Pregnant reveals the major emotional consequences of teen pregnancy on a young mother. Not only would viewers gain perspective on the emotional challenges a teen mother faces, but would also gain a respect for teen mothers who overcome such hardships. When people see the emotional struggles a teen mother faces in their day to day lives, they will begin to see that reality shows such as 16 & Pregnant are bringing awareness to the challenges and hardships teen mothers face emotionally. Along with these emotional and physical struggles, 16 & Pregnant discourages teen pregnancy by focusing on the financial struggles that occur for a teen
mother.
The way the show 16 & Pregnant allowed the teen mothers that were featured to tell and document their own struggles played a huge role in discouraging teen pregnancy. Hillary Silvers states in her article that she believes the reality show did a great job allowing the teen mothers to have a platform to connect and share their stories with other young people. Each of the girls featured on the show 16 & Pregnant were given the choice of how they wanted to get their own message across. Some of the girls allowed cameras in the delivery room while others would record a diary explaining what they personally went through afterwards. Silver also made it a point to mention in her article that it was documented that teenagers who viewed the show said they felt the show displayed the true struggles of each teen mother and how a teen pregnancy affected their lives. This evidence shows that 16 & Pregnant is impacting the minds of teenagers, and they are able understanding the message the show is giving out. Through allowing the teen mothers to tell about their own struggles and difficulties, 16 & Pregnant is giving out their message to discourage teen pregnancy.
Some critics argue that shows such as 16 & Pregnant glamorize teen pregnancy.
Nicole Martins states in her article that the 16 & Pregnant series portrays teen mothers as being well off financially and having supportive friends, families, and fathers of their children. To elaborate, viewers are believed to think the teenage girls with children have easy access to childcare, are able to finish schooling with ease, and have money to fulfill all their needs. It is understandable why the opposition argues that the show portrays the teen mothers as having a glamorous lifestyle when, as Susie Kroll addressed, their faces are all over magazine covers much like celebrities. Although the girls have taken on a celebrity amed status, 16 & Pregnant does not focus the show around their stardom. Though it is a valid point because the girls do live a celebrity-inspired lifestyle now, 16 & Pregnant still discourages teen pregnancy by focusing on the hardships a teen mother faces. The show brought this fame to the young mothers, but it does not make that a point to recognize in the show itself. The glamorization of teen pregnancy is not the only argument critics make when proclaiming that shows such as 16 & Pregnant promote teen pregnancy; many will also make the argument that the MTV network is not possibly capable of airing a television series that portrays actual
reality.
Many people believe that shows such as 16 & Pregnant do not focus on the proper things in order to discourage teen pregnancy. Melissa Henson states, “MTV chooses to focuses on the girls’ volatile relationships with the babies’ fathers or their new body piercings and tattoos.” Henson brings attention to those things in order to bring attention to the downside of a network that is known for airing reality television drama attempting to bring awareness to a serious subject matter. It is understandable why the opposition would argue that 16 & Pregnant does not discourage teen pregnancy because the show does tend to highlight the drama encircling the teen mothers instead of solely focusing on the motherhood of the teenage girls. Though it is a valid argument that reality shows such as 16 & Pregnant do not discourage teen pregnancy by showing relationship drama and other irrelevant occurrences, the show does discourage teen pregnancy by showing not only the struggles the mothers face as a new mother but also the struggles they encounter with irrelevant drama from family and other people around them. Being a teen mother is a struggle in itself, but the mothers also face challenges with their families, at school, and with their baby’s fathers.