SYRACUSE (WSYR-TV) -A recent
study by the CDC showed that many teenagers did not think they could get pregnant.
Preventing teen pregnancy has become a personal mission for Deidre Keefe of Reach CNY.
"It happens an incredible amount right here in Syracuse. It was like something has to be done," said Keefe.
Zip code 13204 on the city's Westside has 129.4 babies born for every 1,000 teenagers. That's the highest rate in the state for teens giving birth.
Keefe says two other Syracuse zip codes also rank in the state's top ten per capita and this only includes teens over the age of 15.
Zip code 13202 sees 128.9 babies born for every 1,000 teenagers and zip code 13205 sees 116.5.
Keefe says, "We'd be kidding ourselves if we thought no one under the age of 15 was getting pregnant or having sex. We've worked with kids as young as 10 or 11 years old."
Most teen moms studied by the Centers for Disease Control, did not use birth control because they didn't think they could get pregnant or their partner resisted. Others say they had trouble getting contraception.
Christina Mills, a youth educator, believes early intervention is critical.
"If you do deliver a child in your teens, you are more than likely to live in poverty until, you know, your early 30s and so this is a huge problem for our area,” said Mills.
A problem these educators say could deliver more local poverty and more unexpected pregnancy for generations.
"Children who are born to teen parents, do often have a higher percentage chance of then becoming teen parents themselves, just repeating that cycle and if we can break it with some type of education and knowledge, that would be our goal,” said Keefe.
You can find out more about Reach CNY by clicking
here. Their efforts to reduce teen pregnancy are supported by state grant money and they will offer educational sessions to any community or youth group for free.
