Reducing Teen Pregnancy — Peer Education Programs Work!

Despite a steady decline in teen pregnancies during 1990s, 4 out of 10 girls in this country still get pregnant at least once before age 20. There are nearly one million teen pregnancies each year and about half as many teen births.

Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan has been working to reduce those statistics in Southwest Michigan through innovative teen peer education programs. Research shows that teens get most of their information from other teens and prefer talking to someone of their own age about personal concerns. Our youth programs use this approach and have been so successful that they’ve won national awards!

The mission of these unique programs is to help reduce teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections and increase healthy relationships, opportunities, and positive outcomes for youth in our community.

One-on-one contacts, rap sessions, presentations, interviews, education displays at fairs, workshops, retreats, referrals, mentoring and training are all used to get the message out. Teen Clinics at Planned Parenthood were created so teens can come in to talk one-on-one with a peer educator, get reproductive health exams, pregnancy tests, STI screenings, birth control and educational materials. Parents are welcome to come with their teens to the clinics and talk with a peer educator. Teen Peer Educators and Mentors are certified to talk to school groups, organizations, community members, board meetings, faith communities, youth groups and more. Each outreach activity is tailored to meet the specific needs and topics of each audience. Call (269) 372-1205 for more information.