If you are the parent of the all adventurous, wanting to be liberated teenager you may want to be on alert for the signs of an unexpected pregnancy. According to a new government survey government health officials are telling us that the teen birth rate, that hit its peak in 1991, showed a 3 percent increase between 2005 and 2006.

While US Health Officials tell us that this could just be a one-year blip they are concerned that sexually transmitted diseases are also on the increase in these young sexual experimenters. They are, as should be expected, blaming the increases in both pregnancies and disease on the increase in federal funding being granted for abstinence-only health education programs that do not teach how to use condoms or other contraceptives.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention based this new report on a review of more than 99 percent of the birth certificates from last year.  It is based on the 15-19 age group which accounted for about 99 percent of the more than 440,000 births to teens in 2006. That amounts to an extra 20,000 births to teen mothers during this one year period.

What do you do if you suspect that your teenager is sexually active? Whether it be a boy or a girl I would definitely advise a visit to your primary care physician who can advise your teen on the dangers associated with unprotected sex. While I do not promote schools teaching sexual education to our young people since I do not believe that they can teach a child the morals that their parents endorse I do think that as parents we need to be aware of the fact that our teens are curious.

What do you do if your daughter ends up pregnant? That has to be an individual family’s choice but I beg you to offer a loving, supportive hand to your daughter. For some this is handled as if it were the worst sin that has ever occurred on the earth but that is not the case. It is a stressor for the family that is for sure but being the mother of a daughter who gave birth to a son outside the confines of wedlock I can attest to the fact that it in no way lessens or child’s worth. My daughter is still the blessing to us that she has always been and now we have a wonderful grandson who is the joy of our lives. He is 8, smart, funny and sometimes a pain but our lives would not be as enriched if she had chosen to have an abortion. However, that is not to say that you should not allow your teen to make her own decision about what is right for her. That may mean giving her baby up for adoption or deciding that a medical option is what she needs to do.

In other words, be informed, be vigilant, but most of all be there for your child so that you can help her make the best decisions for her life. You are not going to prevent sexual experimentation if your child is determined to pursue it so do your best to instill the moral principles you believe in and then be there if she makes the wrong decision.

Tags: teen pregnancy, center for disease control, survey, abortion, adoption, moral principles, teenage sex, sexual experimentation, sexually transmitted disease, condom use, abstinence only health education, government survey