THIS May marked the second annual Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, launched by Teen Services and based around a competition entitled 'Sex Has Consequences'. Children from every local middle and high school submitted poetry, essays, and posters intended to provoke discussion about the dangers of teen pregnancy.

"The entries were judged on clarity of the message, if the message was there, and how creative they were," explained Michelle Johnson of Teen Services. "During the month of May we judged 150 entries and we just announced the winners the other day. We submitted surveys to all the schools on the island ? a sex questionnaire."

This questionnaire will help Teen Services and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Committee tailor their services to ensure accessibility for all young Bermudians.

"If we don't know what they're thinking, we might be saying or doing the wrong things, and it doesn't have their interest," Ms Johnson said. "We just wanted to know how many people were sexually active and how old they were and we're going to assess the surveys and go through them over the summer."

While the number of events incorporated by this year's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month has been modest in comparison to the efforts of the preceding year, Ms Johnson and her colleagues at Teen Services have been working year-round in an attempt to educate local schoolchildren, visiting each campus and speaking to each student body.

"This year's event has been smaller, but we've been out to the schools throughout the year to do presentations on teen pregnancy, sexuality, and self-esteem," she said.

Although Ms Johnson feels that young Bermudians understand the perils of unprotected sex to a large extent, there is room for improvement upon their basic knowledge.

"I think as counsellors we need to beef up young people's refusal skills," Ms Johnson explained. "It's one thing just to say 'no' but there has to be a technique behind that in order to enforce that 'no'.

"You have to have something else behind it to encourage you to not want to have sex.

"I think working on young people's refusal skills is important, not just with pregnancy but with drugs and alcohol, because I find that young people can say 'no' but they don't know why they're doing it. Then the next occasion arises and they don't say no because they have nothing behind their refusal to make it valid."

While misinformation on aspects of sexual health plagues the young population, Ms Johnson feels that the school system does all it can to provide sex education to school-age children, often calling upon Teen Services to supplement their teaching.

"I feel that young people have the knowledge but most of the time they're misinformed.

"I get disturbed when someone comes in and says, 'I'm not going on the birth control pill because it makes you fat' or they've stopped taking it because they felt sick.

"Rather than going to a doctor to confirm why they're feeling different, people just stop using it and then they wind up pregnant. They act like they know the information but there's always a small piece of it that's not correct.

"I know that the schools have it in their Health curriculum, but I know they call Teen Services or the Women's Clinic to have presentations on Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Sexually Transmitted Infections, and teen pregnancy. They're always looking for the extra support. It's a topic in their curriculum."

According to Ms Johnson's statistics, which include only those young women who register at Teen Services, the number of teen pregnancies over the last calendar year has increased from 39 in 2002 to 51 in 2003. However, Ms Johnson believes that the overall teen pregnancy rate is actually decreasing.

"I know the Women's Clinic is of the opinion that the teen pregnancy rate has dropped. I can agree with that," she said. "I think where the numbers are larger are amongst people in their twenties and career women, who are deciding if they become pregnant that they're keeping their babies. I think that's where the pregnancy rate is rising, but with teens it levels off, it doesn't go extremely high or low. For many years now it's been like that."

While the pregnancy rate for twentysomething women is on the rise, Teen Services statistics show that the average age for a pregnant teen is 16.

Ms Johnson and her Teen Services colleagues are frequently confronted by drug and alcohol abuse, which often contributes to teen pregnancy.

"We do see people that have dabbled in drugs," she admitted.

"I think that most teens who walk through our doors have become pregnant at the time of being somewhat intoxicated. We do have people who have tried marijuana. All this stuff goes hand in hand."

Ms Johnson offered advice for teens exhibiting the symptoms of pregnancy.

"The first thing they should do is to go to a parent or guardian, someone they can trust, and try to inform them of their suspicions," she said. "Then they would need to go to a physician or the Women's Clinic to confirm that, and then of course call Teen Services to discuss the options.

"They should call even if they're not pregnant, just to receive information on birth control or abstinence so they don't find themselves in this predicament again of complete panic because they don't know if they're pregnant or not."

While Ms Johnson advocates parental involvement in all decision-making for pregnant women under 18, she realises that young girls often find themselves without any such support from their elders.

"Unfortunately the reality here in Bermuda is that many teens don't have that type of relationship with their parents," she admitted. "If it's not a parent, make it a guardian or a godmother ? someone who is responsible enough to help them make the right decision for them."

In addition to counselling, Teen Services provides high school education to rival local public institutions. While pregnant teens have the legal right to remain in the regular school system, they often find themselves ostracised, as Ms Johnson explained.

"What the administrators and the guidance counsellors in the schools find is that it draws attention and they can't ensure their safety, especially if it's a big school or it's crowded.

"They encourage them, especially now that our school is funded by the Department of Education, to come and enrol in the teen services programme ? the BSC or the GED. The classroom's in the back of our offices and we provide everything that CedarBridge and Berkeley can provide."

Teen Services offers a residential programme for homeless teen mothers at its Teen Haven centre. While on average Ms Johnson and her colleagues receive 18 referrals per year from doctors, teachers, and members of the community, the Teen Haven home can accommodate up to 12 teen mothers and their newborns.

"With ten or 12 mothers, we'd have to do some doubling up," Ms Johnson admitted.

While pregnancy may seem like the end of the road for a teen, Ms Johnson was quick to offer words of encouragement for young mothers-to-be.

"Get your education," she advised. "Be encouraged. It's not the end of the world, it just means that some of your goals will take longer to achieve. Get your education so that you can support yourself and your child.

"Also, learn the lesson of that experience. You don't want to have another baby. Use birth control. Abstain, just so that you don't have Baby No. 2 or No. 3. Some people, within the next three to five years, who haven't set goals for themselves, wind up pregnant again."

Johnson added that while some teens find themselves pregnant for a second or third time, she has seen girls come through her doors and leave seeking higher education.

"People who have really zeroed in after their pregnancy have ended up at Bermuda College or at school overseas," she said.

"They knew they weren't going to mess around any more. We've had a few success stories of people furthering their education. I had one young lady who now lives abroad and works as an assistant cosmetic surgeon. She's doing really well. There's hope."

While pregnancy is difficult enough for a teen mother to deal with, such a life-changing event similarly takes its toll on a parent. Ms Johnson advises parents of a pregnant teen to encourage their daughters despite their misgivings.

"It is so hard for the parents," she admitted. "The initial stage would be disappointment, but it depends on the individual circumstances of how that person became pregnant and how involved the parent was in life with reference to giving advice. I think it's most hurtful when a parent has zeroed in on a child's sexuality and the child still winds up pregnant.

"If it's happened and there's nothing you can really do about it, if the pregnancy has gone too far, the parent has to remain supportive and to still channel your daughter to seek goals.

"Yes, financially it will be difficult with another mouth to feed, but still encourage because your daughter still has a chance to become that independent woman and support herself and her child. There is help in the community with bursaries, labour training and scholarships but a parent will need to zero in on that."

Ms Johnson and her colleagues at Teen Services are already looking ahead to next year's Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, considering their options and hoping for an exciting schedule of events.

"We want to do forums and bring guest speakers in to talk about teen pregnancy prevention and really link up with the national campaign. We also want to do quarterly newsletters.

"The month of May will be the highlight but throughout the year we want to inform the public about stats and different situations and a help line. It takes effort and volunteers who have the time to do this.

"We've had to go slow because Hurricane Fabian knocked everyone offside for a couple of months! We definitely want to bring in speakers from overseas and have a forum for the young people to speak."