National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy Statement on Jamie Lynn Spears

Bill Albert
202-478-8510

Jessica Sheets
202-478-8523

6/19/2008

(Washington DC) - In response to the birth of a daughter to 17-year-old actress Jamie Lynn Spears, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy issued the following statement from CEO Sarah Brown:

"Every child deserves a warm welcome and we hope that Jamie Lynn Spears' new daughter, Maddie Briann, will be surrounded by much love, support and comfort. But the media frenzy that is sure to now erupt, as it did when this pregnancy was announced last December, provides every parent, teacher, media outlet and more a chance to state the truth: babies need and deserve adult parents who are committed to each other and to decades of being the best parents possible. Hundreds of thousands of teens and unmarried young adults get pregnant and become parents every single year, and few of them have Hollywood beginnings or endings. Getting pregnant and bearing children is one of the most important steps that any person ever takes, and it deserves careful planning, thought and consideration."

Key data. Recent data show that the declines in teen sex and improvements in contraceptive use have leveled off and that the teen birth rate is on the rise for the first time in 15 years. At present, 3 in 10 girls in the United States become pregnant by age 20. Despite a 38% decline between 1990 and 2004 (most recent data available), there are more than 729,000 teen pregnancies annually. In 2006, there were 435,000 births to teens. Moreover, at present, half of all pregnancies in the United States are unplanned.

For more information: Please visit www.TheNationalCampaign.org

About the National Campaign: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to improve the lives and future prospects of children and families and, in particular, to help ensure that children are born into stable, two-parent families who are committed to and ready for the demanding task of raising the next generation. Our specific strategy is to prevent teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy among single, young adults. We support a combination of responsible values and behavior by both men and women and responsible policies in both the public and private sectors.