16 and Pregnant

16 and Pregnant
Genre Reality
Created by Lauren Dolgen
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 61 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Morgan J Freeman
  • Dia Sokol Savage
  • Lauren Dolgen
  • Jessica Zalkind
  • Andrew Portnoy
  • Sara Cohen
  • Janay Dutton
Camera setup Multiple
Running time 43 to 50 minutes
Production company(s) 11th Street Productions
Broadcast
Original channel MTV
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Original run June 11, 2009 – present
Chronology
Related shows
External links
Website

16 and Pregnant is an American reality television series that debuted June 11, 2009, on MTV.[1] It follows the stories of pregnant teenage girls in high school dealing with the hardships of teenage pregnancy. Each episode features a different teenage girl, with the episode typically beginning when she is 4 12 – 8 months into her pregnancy. The episode typically ends when the baby is a few months old. The series is produced in a documentary format, with an animation on notebook paper showing highlights during each episode preceding the commercial breaks. 16 and Pregnant has spawned three spin-off series: Teen Mom, Teen Mom 2 and Teen Mom 3. Each series follows the lives of four girls from their respective season of 16 and Pregnant as they navigate their first years of motherhood.[2]

The fifth season premiered on April 14, 2014.[3]

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
Season premiere Season finale
1 6 June 11, 2009 July 16, 2009
2 19 February 16, 2010 December 21, 2010
3 10 April 19, 2011 June 21, 2011
4 12 March 27, 2012 May 29, 2012
5 14 April 14, 2014 July 1, 2014

Reception and impact

Based on a preview of the show's first three episodes, The New York Times called the series a "documentary-style series about real-life Junos who are not scoring in the 99th percentile on the verbal portion of their SATs... despite its showcasing of the grim, hard work of single mothering."[4]

In 2011, the Social Security Administration reported that the names of one of the featured mothers and her son ("Maci" and "Bentley") were the names that saw the greatest increase in frequency over the past year.[5]

In 2014, an economic study on teen childbearing suggested that the show was associated with a 5.7% reduction in teen births in the 18 months following its debut.[6]

References

  1. "MTV Chronicles the Challenges of Teen Pregnancy in '16 & Pregnant' Premiering on Thursday, June 11th at 10pm ET/PT". The Futon Critic. May 18, 2009. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  2. Dehnart, Andy (September 3, 2009). "MTV pulls Making His Band, House of Jazmin; orders 16 and Pregnant spin-off Teen Mom". Reality Blurred. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  3. "MTV's Original Groundbreaking Docu-Series Spotlighting the Challenges of Teen Pregnancy and Parenthood "16 and Pregnant" Returns on Tuesday, April 29 at 11PM ET/PT". The Futon Critic (Press release). MTV. March 20, 2014. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  4. Bellafante, Ginia (June 10, 2009). "Real Life Is Like ‘Juno,’ Except Maybe the Dialogue". The New York Times. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  5. Marsh, Wendell (May 5, 2011). ""Maci" and "Bentley" soar in baby name game". Reuters. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  6. "Media Influences on Social Outcomes: The Impact of MTV'S 16 And Pregnant on Teen Childbearing". National Bureau of Economic Research.

External links