Kids Think Twice about Parenthood
Having a baby is fun ­ so most adolescent girls would think. They are cute and cuddly, and fun to hold. Maybe they do cry a little, now and then. But that's no big deal ­ right? Wrong!

Some teens in Newark are having a preview of what life would really be like if they were to have a baby. "Baby Think It Over," a program developed by a former rocket scientist to combat teen pregnancy, utilizes life-sized, 6 1/2 pound, computerized baby dolls that are programmed to cry like real babies for periods of 5 to 35 minutes. To stop the crying, a special key must be inserted into the baby and held in place. If you take the key out too soon, the crying starts up again. The computer in the doll records how long it is left crying, and also indicates if the doll has been shaken, dropped, or otherwise mistreated.

Using two of the dolls (a boy and a girl, both anatomically correct), UMDNJ's School of Nursing developed a teen pregnancy prevention program at Newark's St. Columba School. The dolls are assigned to eighth-grade "parents" for one-week intervals. The students care for the babies around the clock, taking them home, to school, even to the mall ­ just like a real parent. To ensure that the doll won't be turned over to someone else, the key attaches to the parent's wrist with a tamper-proof wristband.

Participation in the program is voluntary. Eight girls ­ and no boys ­ signed up. The boys said they were "too busy," "too involved with sports," and "that's for girls." After a week, the girls discussed what it is like to be responsible for a baby.

"I never expected it to be this hard," said eighth grader Maria Rivera. "The baby woke me three and four times a night. It woke up my whole family! I was exhausted." Francis Avila agreed. "All that crying got on my nerves." Another student had to cope with the baby's crying during an important test. She couldn't concentrate, had to leave the classroom until the crying stopped, and ended up with a C on the test.

"People criticize you when you're a teenage mom. I wasn't expecting that," said Heather Roseboro. "When I was walking with the baby, a woman said how disgusting it was to see all these teenagers having babies. At the mall, people glared at me when the baby cried. Finally my mom pulled the blanket away from the baby's face so people could see it wasn't real. It was so embarrassing."

The students were also given $125 of play money, about the amount of a welfare check, and asked to devise a budget to pay for baby's medical check-ups and purchase diapers, formula, clothing, and other baby needs. "It wasn't nearly enough money to get through the week," said a student. "Diapers are so expensive!"

"Students who cared for the dolls have a much more realistic picture of what it's like to be responsible for a baby," said Betty Rosenbaum, RN, clinical coordinator of the UMDNJ-School of Nursing Community Health Services Center at St. Columba. "Their attitudes toward sex are greatly changed."

The students also learned how difficult it is to be a single parent. Said one: "I didn't think it mattered if the father was in the picture, but now I know it definitely does. You need all the help you can get!"

Betty Rosenbaum, RN, and Peter Strecker, RN, teach students how to care for the "babies"

Students agreed that coping with the crying was difficult, especially at night.