Without fail, the reunion episodes of 16 & Pregnant include a scene where Dr. Drew quizzes the young mothers on the forms of contraception they use. The point MTV producers are clearly trying to make is that teenage pregnancy is preventable and the girls have learned their lessons about unprotected sex. Yet, we’ve revealed that more than 25 percent of 16 & Pregnant alumni have gotten pregnant again, which is well above the 18 percent national average.
It seems that the girls from the first season of the show have had the most luck at preventing additional unplanned pregnancies. Of the six girls whose stories were told, only Ebony Jackson-Rendon has had a second child since the 2009 episode.
Fellow season No. 1 mom Whitney Purvis apparently had a close call last year: She was arrested for stealing a pregnancy test from Wal-Mart last year, but it turned out to be a false alarm.
A greater number of stars from the second season, which aired in 2010, have had repeat pregnancies. Brooke Smitherman-Tarrant gave birth to her second child with husband Cody last December. Nikkole Paulun is currently pregnant with her second child. As shown in the emotional special “No Easy Decision,” Markai Durham had an abortion when she got pregnant shortly after her first daughter was born.
The girls from the second season of 16 & Pregnant who went on to Teen Mom 2 also have higher rates of repeat pregnancies than their Teen Mom counterparts. Jenelle Evans suffered a miscarriage earlier this year. Leah Messer-Calvert also suffered a miscarriage. She was scolded by Dr. Drew during the most recent Teen Mom 2 reunion episode for not using birth control. However, she went on to get pregnant again and deliver a healthy baby girl with her second husband, Jeremy.
As we recently reported, Kailyn Lowry is believed to be expecting with her husband, Javi.
Although less time has passed since season No. 3 aired in 2011, a number of the girls have gotten pregnant again. Jordan Ward-Finder had the quickest turn around of the bunch when she gave birth to a daughter less than a year and half after delivering her first child. Fortunately, Ward-Finder and her husband, Brian, have always seemed very mature and capable as parents. Danielle Cunningham is currently pregnant with her second child. She recently announced she is due June 25.
Kianna Randall-Hegab alluded to having a miscarriage with her second child in 2011. Jamie McCay got an abortion last September. Sadly, she later wrote she regretted the decision.
Girls from the most recent season of 16 & Pregnant have also had repeat pregnancies, even though most of the episodes debuted less than a year ago. Kristina Robinson-Head, who tragically lost her son’s father before the birth, went on to get married and have a second baby. It was also recently revealed that Mackenzie Douthit, who is set to appear on Teen Mom 3, had a miscarriage before getting pregnant with her son, Gannon.
In total, 12 of the 47 women from 16 & Pregnant are known to have had repeat pregnancies since their appearances. It seems safe to say that isn’t a statistic MTV is keen on publicizing.
(Special thanks to the diligent work of our 16 & Pregnant/Teen Mom blog buddy The Ashley’s Reality Roundup.)
