So what are you saying? That her mother shouldn’t run for VP? Perhaps a better idea would be for the media to lay off this woman and her young daughter. Stop talking about it, printing stories about it and harping on it until we’re sick of hearing it. I doubt that Bristol would want her mother to set aside her aspirations because of this pregnancy. By going ahead with her plans, Sarah has freed Bristol from the STRESS of knowing she was the cause of sabotaging her mother’s career. Now that would be stress.

What needs to be discussed is the wonder option that is Adoption in the cases of teen pregnancy. It’s blesses the life of the baby, birth-mom, and infertial couples. With open-adoptions, it’s a fantastic win-win solution!

Brian - Adoptive Father

Unnecessary stress is coming from the media and the democrats, not from her mother. “Experts”, real and imagined are coming out of the woodwork to attack this kid for political purposes. My guess is that she inherited her mother’s and father’s guts and will be just fine. A quick review of the messiah’s birth indicates a gestation period of 6 months and 2 days after his mother married the father, who was ALREADY MARRIED to another woman. Source: Wikipedia

I agree with Dr. Alvarez, but even more important is that every effort must be made to allow Briostol to maintain her self esteme, self worth and confidence. That will provide her with the strength to meet challenges throughout life. If anyone can get a message to Bristol and the Palin family, suggest the following (if she has it in her): Empower Bristol and put her in charge of the issue. Let her stand for what she believes. Give her a PR coach and then have her hold her own press conference. I would envision the introduction something like this: “Hello, my name is Bristol Palin. I am 17, I am pregnant, and I take full responsibility for my actions. Levi, the father of our child is standing beside me and we plan to be married. Our child will be loved and raised to be a responsible person as I have been. If you do not believe that this will come to pass then you do not know me, you do not know Levi and you do not know the Palin family. If you have questions about politics, ask my mother. If you have questions about growing up and life in the Palin family, ask me. If I think that your question is too personal, I will tell you that the answer will remain between me and Levi, or me and my family. That will be the end of that question and we will go on to the next. Are there any questions?”

I personally think it’s appalling the amount of time the liberal biased media has put into trying to uncover any fault with Sarah Palin and now has settled on questioning the “motherliness” of Mrs. Palin because her daughter is pregnant yet unwed. I am the proud grandfather of two wonderful grandchildren born out of wedlock, but as both a parent and a step-parent to the two two young mothers who made the choice of life over abortion, i did everything I could to make them comfortable and proud. Maybe the media should do the same!

I agree with Dr. Manny. This young woman’s mental & physical health is of utmost importance but not to her mother. This is what concerns me deeply about Gov. Palin’s choices in this matter is that they demonstrate self-absorption & lack good judgement. She refused to use birth birth control and taught her daughter not to use birth control as well. Obviously, she was not teaching or demonstrating abstinence. She was too busy persuing her personal agenda to give her teenage daughter the attention and sexual guidance she needed, hence an unintended pregnancy with a young fellow who is a high school drop out (he did not graduate and is not enrolled). If Mrs. Palin’s child is 4 months old and her daughter is 5 months along that would equal the young lady getting laid right about when “Super Mom” was due. But “Super Mom” was too busy being Govenor and a new mother to pay attention to her daughter. I feel sorry for the young lady and her boyfriend and all the media attention they are receiving; however, I dump this squarely in the lap of Gov. Palin and Mr. Palin who made the small town decision to go out for the BIG queen and king of the prom contest rather than putting the health and welfare of their child and grandchild. You can have anything you want in your life but you cannot have everything. This is a lesson Gov. Palin will eventually learn as she ages.

Dr. Manny’s point seems to be that with the hurtful comments and added scrutiny , Bristol is under even more stress than the average young mother to be. She is a young girl that made an adult decision to have sex, this does NOT make her a grown up. She is still a young girl under the protection and supervision of her parents. She broke no laws and her actions only affect those in her and the young mans life. The media should BACK OFF before the stress causes harm to her or the baby. As the mother of 5 girls age 17, 16, 13, 11, and 8 years old I would go to the mat to protect any one of them from physical harm.The media is possibly causing harm to bristol.

Actually, I take issue with one statement you have made in the article:

It is important for all of us to remember that pregnancy is a special time for a mother-to-be — no matter what her age or circumstances may be — and it involves the lives of two people, one of whom is in the most vulnerable stage of life and deserves our respect and support.

It involves the lives of three people. The mother, father and the child. And the father in this case has chosen to be involved in the pregnancy and the life of his child. It is neither his nor her child but their child.

Physically, the mother endures all things in the pregnancy, but as a father of 4 myself (including a 3 month old) the active father endures much emotionally as well.

We must respect this young family, and allow thier families to help and aid them at this time.

Thank you Dr. Manny for this article. I am so glad to hear someone speaking sense on this matter. I just pray that this child, who is carrying a child, will get the support that she requires at this most difficult time(as a mother of two who had both children close to age thirty I know how hard it is to have and raise children at any age.) Being the daughter of (potentially) the first female VP in the history of this great nation is going to keep her in the spotlight so hopefully she has a good doctor and a strong relationship with her babies father so they will be able to weather this storm together, stay strong and raise a wonderful baby together.

why weren’t my comments posted?

Wow, have women in the 21st century become that weak? Are they now so frail that they can’t have children when they are biologically most fertile and capable? Of course not, it’s only the doctors who have been brainwashed into thinking that way.

We are not talking a 13 year old here. We are talking a 17 year old who will be 18 when she gives birth. This is not a “teen pregnancy” in the classic sense, it’s just a young woman who is going to give birth.

It’s really just a trick of the english language that a 13 and a 18 year old are both considered “teens” and lumped together simply because the ages both end in the suffix “teen.” In most other languages, the two ages are not related that way, so people aren’t so silly in calling a 18 year old woman a child. “Teen” is only a buzzword. It has no meaning, especially when it comes to pregnancy.

Throughout the history of time, women 17, 18 and 19 routinely have (and still do) give birth to healthy babies. It’s the norm in many countries, and used to be normal even in the USA. Only in the last 100 years or so has the age of maturity been pushed back and back in the Western world, to 18, then 21, now it seems 25. If there is a problem of low birth weight babies for 17 year olds, it’s quite likely because in our society girls are forced to hide their pregnancy, aren’t taught about proper pre-natal nutrition, etc., etc. Sarah Palin won’t have these issues to deal with. Her parents are supportive and she’ll be fine.

Does this mean the girl didn’t make a mistake? Of course not. But to try to claim that she’s now “at risk” is ludicrous. She’s a woman, she will have to skip the carefree 18-25 years most modern people have, but she isn’t scarred or ill-equipped to be a mother, nor is her pregnancy risky.

If the press would just leave her alone, she’ll have a normal 9 month term and deliver just fine. Her mother running for VP certainly doesn’t cause her added stress. She’ll just stay home in Alaska with her fiance. Now that Palin’s a VP candidate, the secret service will guard her home, and Bristol should be stress free, as much as a pregnant woman can be, at least.

I have no doubt her parents will make absolute sure there is as little stress as possible and that they will take good care of her.

You’re absolutely correct. Seems to me pretty selfish of her mother to accept McCain’s offer for VP. In all seriousness, one must ask: What does Sarah care about more, her career or her child? Surely she knew that the media would report her child’s pregnancy. Sadly, family has taken second place next to career.

Oh Please. Knowing that her daughter is pregnant, and the stress that the inevitable media frenzy would cause, Palin should have not accepted the VP nomination. Not to mention that she has her own special needs baby to look after. If she was not aware of the upcoming intense media interest in her daughter, then she is woefully out of touch with the real world… and I don’t think we need a VP with this trait.

I am just trying to understand why a mother would subject her family to all this unneccessary sctrutiny! She knew her daughter was pregnant, she just didn’t plan fr it to come out before the conventions were over. In this day and age info is what people hunger for. I hear so many casting stones on Obama and his mother( as if he had something to do with his conception), he has repotedly asked that the media keep out of this yet he is the one bieng blamed for it!!! I don’t have any sympothy for a mother who chooses to make her daughter a “poster child for prolife”! As it says in the Bible ” what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his sout”? ( I am paraphrasing here) I think Mrs. Palin will possibly gain the VP, yet will “lose” her family in the end!! Will it all matter than…..You will save te world but lose your family in the process.

I am disgusted at the media’s glorification of teen pregnancy (i.e. Jamie Lynn Spears) and essentially kids thinking that they can take care of babies. What about considering adoption? There are loving couples all over the country wanting and waiting for a baby.

bristol,
You hold your head high and know God loves you and with God there is no shame. don’t allow the media press or anyone else to cause any stress on you. You only this young man if this is what you want. Marriage to the father is not always the best answer. you seek God’s direction on this.
God loves you and will love your little one.You are a beautiful young lady.

While an unplanned teen pregnancy can be rough enough by itself, being in the public eye the way that Bristol Palin and the baby’s Father are is not what most would want. However, the family has made it clear that they support her and so while there may be more stress from being in the public eye, there were also be the very important security of knowing that the loving family is supporting them. That should relieve a lot of the stress that other teen Mom’s face.

We don’t really know the Palin family so it is really hard for those of us outside to know how well they will deal with all this. Hopefully there was a good frank discussion with the older family members about what it would mean to each of them and agreement with the decision before the decision was made to accept the nomination.

None of us were there to know what discussions took place but they must have some good communication within the family as they were aware of the pregnancy prior to this.

So since none of us really know of the family strength and what communications took place among them, I think we should refrain from trying to second guess their decisions and simply pray for them as yes, the unplanned pregnancy will bring challenges to the whole family.

The Doctor’s article is thoughtful and well meant, I am sure. That cannot be said for the vast majority of media commentary on the subject of this young woman’s life situation. Her best interest in certainly not and obviously not their concern. I wish all of God’s blessing to Gov. Palin and her family. The prima dona media and wildly unpopular Legislative branch in this country are so out of touch that they can’t see real family values when they come up and smack them in the face. The Palin family is the real deal!

leave her alone nd pick on someone else

Response to Patty’s comment on Sarah Palin being out of touch with the real world - on the contrary, if anyone is indeed in touch with the real world, it is Mrs. Palin. She is facing challenges that thousands of families in the U.S. face EVERY DAY and she’s meeting those challenges and creating a successful environment for her family.

In response to Phil’s comment about her selfishness in accepting the VP nomination - she was already governor so it would have been brought out by a liberal shark even if she had not have accepted the nomination. In other words….to take the spotlight off of Obama’s severe lack of experience, muslim and black panther history and arrogant personality, the media would have grabbed that juicy little nugget anyway and broadcast it all over just to attempt to blast the GOP.

the last 2 comments show the hypocrisy of the feminist movement. We’ve been told for years that it’s absolutely ok for a woman to have a career and the kids will be fine with other caregivers(e.g. daycare) and now you want to say that Sarah Palin should give up career advancement for her daughter’s sake?!? For years we’ve been told that men and women are the same -they can do the same jobs while still having families- now you’re saying that they’re different and she can’t do the same job as a man and she should stay home with the kids?!?
If you don’t like Palin for her politics, be honest and say so. Don’t criticize her family and their choices-they know what they’re getting into, but that doesn’t make piling on the right thing to do.

I totally agree with you. I was wondering what your views are on Abstinence based sex education as opposed to education that includes birth control information, which is more realistic in your opinion?
What would better serve teens in today’s culture?

Thank you for your time

Maria

The implication that Governor Palin should beat a retreat and hide her daughter away is SO 1950’s. How wonderful that she shows her children strength and aplomb in the face of the unnecessary pettiness of all this “noise.” No stress during pregnancy? Are you kidding? Yes, let’s all just breathe deeply and recite OM. How many of us have dealt with moving, other children, absent familial support, etc., and given birth to healthy infants? What this girl has is a very supportive extended family that obviously loves her and her child. Few of us actually have that. Her daughter is no doubt proud of and happy for her mother and it looks mutual. There are many successful ways of parenting. I have seen all kinds of parents as a teacher, but love, support and trust are the bottom line in raising good kids, not caving in to “what people might think.” I always told my kids that, basically, they didn’t need to worry about what other people think because few actually do!

I don’t think that Palin is selfish for wanting to be VP. If it wasn’t Bristol’s pregnancy than it would be something else. None of us live perfect lives. We alll have things in our closest that can be exploited. That said, if it was man and his daughter was in this situation, he wouldn’t be called selfish. We have an awful double standard in our society.

I think in lieu of focusing on the struggles the Palin’s face and we all face everyday, we should focus on the good things that she brings to the ticket and the positive things our country can do if we elect McCain and Palin. It is an exciting time in our country. Fiscally it isn’t easy right now, but there is hope and that is exciting. Mrs. Palin’s family is just 1 example of how we unite together as a family and as a country to get through life challenges.

My prayers go out for everyone involved.

I understand that having a baby is a wonderful gift, I just think that there needs to be more of an in depth discussion of why (not necessarily Sarah’s daughter) having children too soon is not always a good thing and how far reaching the consequences can be on society as a whole and also the very important family unit & the breakdown of it. Most of these young relationships that produce the child usually are not long term, which creates another whole host of issues. The United States is a great country with great freedoms, but also the highest rates of teen pregnancy. I don’t find the issue to be only teen related either, I know several 20yr olds with children who just dont have the maturity it takes to be parent. Most, not all young people have no idea the responsibilty, let alone the cost of having a child. This issue is near and dear to my heart as I have been raising my niece for six years now because my brother was too young and immature and so was her mother.

The majority of the American population has had to deal with teen pregnancy. I’m glad we have a potential leader that can relate to us and has walked in our shoes….

All of the sudden, the liberal left is concerned about family values and teen pregnancy?!?! The Palin’s have overcome numerous challenges and emerged stronger and wiser. They are a strong family, have strong convictions, and they will help see Bristol, her fiance, and the baby through. God bless ‘em.

I seriously doubt the Palin’s need the ‘Stay at Home Mom’ advice from the liberal left.

As an educator and a parent, I say anyone who thinks “Abstinence Only” is comprehensive sex-education is living the ostrich life. That being said, let’s leave Bristol Palin and her fiance alone to work on the difficult job of becoming parents and partners.

I am a “liberal leftist,” and I don’t agree with Sarah Palin’s political views, but she is an excellent role model for young women. She stands up and works hard for what she believes in, she shows her love for her family, and boy, can she make a speech! Bristol isn’t a little girl–she is nearly a grown woman. Eighteen year olds can make the choice to die in a war, but they can’t be trusted to take care of a baby? Hmmmm . . . I think Bristol will do just fine.

Good luck to Bristol, Levi, and their baby; congratulations to Sarah Palin on becoming a grandma; and may Obama win the race!

If the country wants the media to leave Bristol Palin and her condition alone, why don’t you write a letter to the GOP and Gov. Palin, asking them to please refrain from parading the two soon-to-be parents around like a sideshow act.

Thanks

I am probably on the opposite end of the spectrum politically from Cindy McG who commented above. Having said that, if all on the “liberal left” articulated their views in such a thoughtful and non-inflammatory manner, I suspect we could all “just get along” as the saying goes. She presented her own views while acknowledging merits from the other perspective. I bet a Palin/McG ticket could be a formidable force covering the gamut of American life.

I think everyone should stay out of this families personal business! Leave this young girl alone so that she can do what is right for her and her family. Go back and harrass Michelle O’Bama some more instead of messing with this young women. Enjoy being a mother Bristol, its an awsome feeling!

Give me a break! Do you think that your pious words of concern hide your motives. Not for a minute. Although the words are true, you are part of the reason this young woman will be feeling all of that stress you are blabbing about. Are you a better person because you sit in your chair and write words attempting to portray her mom as some evil non-caring person who has chosen to serve her country over the possible stress it may cause her pregnant daughter? WAKE UP! You and others like you are the REAL reason for the stress, not Sarah Palin’s choices.

Sarah Palin has proved once again she is a strong politician with high morals! She has passed her
strength down to her children who obviously won’t turn away, or take the easy way out of a difficult situation. Mom has not failed her “teen”. Bristol will have more support and help than most young women these days. Her fiance is beside her.
Lets turn our energies toward the election itself, where it belongs, on the adults!