A Millennial in Wonderland

By RACHEL SHUBIN

Special to the Star and Wave

MTV is once again filming a reality television show in New Jersey. With a due date of this fall, “Teen Mom New Jersey” is the latest spinoff of “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” franchise. Teen Mom New Jersey will follow young moms in southern Jersey area.

The official announcement was made Aug. 27, during the MTV Video Music Awards. NJ.com broke the news on Aug. 30, stating that MTV was seen filming at the Cumberland County Fair. MTV had multiple casting calls this year, searching for teen moms and young expectant mothers located in the same area.

According to America’s Health Rankings 2015 report, New Jersey had a birth rate of 40 per 1,000 females ages 15-19 in 1993. That number declined to 13 per 1,000 in 2016.

Per the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, New Jersey has seen a 71 percent decline in teen pregnancy between 1991 and 2015. In 2014 there were 3,678 births to teens. Of Teen births in New Jersey, 72% are to older teens ages 18 to 19. Data shows that 16 percent of the births were to teens who already had a child.

In 2010, public spending on unplanned pregnancies in New Jersey approximately cost $477 million.

Cape May County has two programs that offer family planning. The Hope Pregnancy Center has locations in Rio Grande and Ocean City. The Hope Pregnancy Center offers free and confidential services. Family Planning Services is a program which offers family planning and gynecological services and care for women and adolescents. The program offers low-cost family planning services with a sliding scale.  There is no fee for teens 18 and under. No parental consent is needed due to Title X regulations that provide services to minors without parental consent.

MTV has been criticized for their shows glamourizing teenage pregnancy, as some of the stars of the shows have had major brand deals. Notably, Farrah Abraham, who become involved in the adult film industry.

Despite the claims of idealizing teen pregnancy, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) stated that their research has shown that the national teenage birth rate has steadily been declining in the years since the series premiered.

The state Department of Health states that NJ is ranked fourth out of 50 in teen birth rate and 18 out of 50 in the teen pregnancy rate. However, NJ is ranked 5 out of 50 in the decline of the teen birth rate. 1 is the lowest. So despite the decline, NJ is slower than other states at reducing the number.

New Jersey offers three programs to combat teen pregnancy. First is the teen pregnancy prevention (TPP) program, which identifies the multiple risk factors for teen mothers and their children. Next is the NJ Prep program, or personal responsibility education program. It is a school- and community-based comprehensive sexual health education program. The state also offers NJ AEP, Title V abstinence education program.

“16 and Pregnant” was the original series that started the MTV franchise in 2009. The unscripted reality show featured a different pregnant teenager each episode. The series followed showed the teen moms throughout their pregnancies, the birth of their children and their first months of motherhood.

The idea behind “Teen Mom New Jersey” is to show teen moms from the same area and their interactions, much like the “Real Housewives” franchise. The other installments currently airing, “Teen Mom OG,” and “Teen Mom 2,” feature four to five girls located in different states. The only time the cast is typically together, is when they film their reunion special check-ups with Dr. Drew Pinsky.

“Teen Mom” originally aired in 2009 through 2012, before it was revived and rebranded in 2015 for the four original girls, hence the new “Teen Mom OG” tagline installment.

“Teen Mom 3” aired for one season in 2013, before its cancellation. Briana DeJesus, from the third installment, was added to the “Teen Mom 2” cast for the eighth season that premiered on July 17.

MTV has commercials that air during the series providing their viewers with websites to visit for more information. The websites include bedsider.org, itsyoursexlife.org and kff.org.