A non-profit group in Maryland hopes to reduce teenage pregnancy among Latinas by taking a different approach, one that focuses on self-actualization and self-esteem, not just sex education. The group, Identity, operates a dozen high school programs in Maryland's Montgomery County, outside Washington.
During the education session, students learn about condom use and other contraceptives. But first, they gain insight into themselves, including through a unique exercise involving an avocado and an orange. At a session for 10 Latino students at Wheateon High School, instructors Reyna Trinidad and Jonathan Bibb explained that the orange might look pretty on the outside, but it would crumble under the pressure. The avocado may look bruised, they say, but the pits are still strong.
Although gestational births between Latino girls ages 15 to 17 have fallen in Montgomery County over the past two decades, it is still more than 2 1/2 times the rate for African American girls in that county in the same age group and more than three times the rate for Caucasian girls. The researchers point to several reasons for this. Therefore, the pregnancy prevention program pitches itself to adolescents as something more entertaining than the typical sex ed, encouraging students to volunteer for the program itself.
In 2011, Identity and Mary Center's social service agency began using a $ 1 million annual federal grant to co-ed, a bilingual Pregnancy Prevention Tips and curriculum, tailored towards Latino youth. Wheaton High School is one of 12 schools using the program. Professors from the George Washington University School of Public Health are trying to measure the success of the program, and the first results are expected later this year.
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