Adolescent Pregnancy in North Carolina
             COST FOR TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE TO NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF), FOOD STAMPS, WIC, AND MEDICAID FOR FAMILIES BEGUN BY A TEEN IN NORTH CAROLINA.1
              "For every dollar North Carolina spent on expenditures to support families begun by teens, it spent one cents on investments to prevent teen pregnancy."2
              Fifty-eight teenagers get pregnant each day in North Carolina (1997) Over 21,000 teens became pregnant in 19973
              74% of High School Seniors reported having sexual intercourse at least once.4
              While teen pregnancy rates crosscut all income levels, 85 percent of teens who give birth are poor or near-poor.5
              One in ten teen mothers will deliver a low birth weight baby. Neonatal intensive care costs in North Carolina in 1996 ranged from $3000 to $250,000 per infant.6
             Age 17-19 - First Place Winning Essay
             Throughout the weekend when Baby Think It Over stayed with me, I did not really have just one big, memorable moment. Instead, I had many little ones with the Baby, whom I named Allison. This I think is important though because many times it is the little things that you remember more than the big ones.
             One entertaining incident I remember with Allison occurred when my mom and I took her to the video store. I had her bundled up in her pink snowsuit, in which she resembled a real-life baby. We were waiting in a very long line when a man noticed Allison. He made a comment to my mom about how long the line was, and that if it did not hurry up soon the baby might become fussy. My mom and I smiled at each other as she explained to him that it was not a real baby, but a school project I had for the weekend. He laughed at himself, about what he had said before, but the said that he thought it was a good idea for students. He then looked down at his two little children who were fighting and told me I was lucky that it was only for the weekend.
             Another intere...