CARINA 360°: Latinas more likely to become pregnant

I was on Cnn.com when I stumbled on a story by Moni Basu. In the story, a survey taken by Latinas revealed some jaw dropping answers about sex, their belief in marriage, and the answer to why so many girls are becoming pregnant.

It said:
53 percent of Latinas will get pregnant in their teens. That's more than any other minority. And 72 percent of latino teens said they wish they waited to have sex.

The survey also says that 76 percent of Latinos believe marriage comes before starting a family. So then what's to blame for this surge of Latinas becoming preggo?

Can we point the finger at the parents for not talking to their sons (yes the boys have a huge part of this too) about condoms & daughters about taking the pill?

Maybe ...

Now I'm not saying that Latino parents don't talk to their teens about sex, I just believe they are just leaving out some huge pieces of information.

Like what you ask? Contraception! Condoms! The Pill! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe parents are scared to talk about protection because they feel if they bring up the topic of protection; that's an okay have sex.

Parents like to believe their teens will wait until marriage. And that was true in the days of malt shakes and swing dancing, but thats no longer the case in 2009. Parents need to start talking because mom and dad -- regardless of what kids say -- do have an impact.

Also, movies like "Juno" and "Knocked Up" make baby bellies look cute. Celebrities Christina Aguilera and the very young Jamie Lynn Spears flaunt it and make it seem easy. Almost as if it's the new 'it' thing . I highly doubt teenage girls are purposely getting pregnant due to movies, but it does play a part. It feeds the fantasy of motherhood as something that will make them popular, liked, respected, or an adult. But these girls are 16-19 years old. They aren't adults. And don't have the wealth to support a baby like Mrs. Aguilera.

As a Latina, this just makes me sad, because I know this to be true. Teen pregnancy does exist in my family. It hurts to know that my relative was not smart enough or responsible. For her, a high school diploma is out of sight. In fact, 69 percent of teen mothers drop out of high school.

But not everyone has the same outcome. Many teen moms, like a friend of mine, are still pursuing education after high school. Yes of course a child will slow them down, but they are not the sterotypical teen moms.

In the end, it all comes down to the girl herself. Is she doing it because she loves her boyfriend? She wants to fit in? My advice to girls: Wait. Not saying to wait for marriage (although that would be a nice idea) I'm saying wait for the right guy because if the worst happens; not all the boys stay with the mothers. They either deny that they are the father or don't pay up for diapers! And most importantly: Love can wait.

And when the time comes, I highly suggest using condoms and a backup (like the pill) because they do break. As for fitting in. It shouldn't be a factor -- sex should be something special, not something rushed.