Brown County's teen pregnancy rate higher than state, national average
by Tony Walter ¦ Green Bay Press-Gazette ¦ 12 March 2008 The Brown County Board of Health was told Tuesday that the majority of teen pregnancies in the county involve residents on the near east and near west sides of the city of Green Bay. Ricki Krautkramer, nurse manager for the Brown County Health Department, also told the board that the teen pregnancy rate in the city is double the overall rate for the county, and that most pregnant teens live in ZIP codes 54301 and 54303. Krautkramer brought little good news to the board, pointing out that 70 percent of the teenage girls who become pregnant fail to complete their high school education by the time they reach age 30. She also presented statistics that teen pregnancy in Brown County has been higher than the state and national averages for every year this century. "We're not stopping the cycle of teen pregnancies in Brown County," Krautkramer said. "We're not impacting, the way they are in the rest of Wisconsin. We have a higher rate than Kenosha, and that's not a distinction we should be proud of." Even more disturbing, she said, is the statistic that shows that 65 percent of teen mothers have been sexually abused prior to their pregnancy. Despite funding by the County Board to renew a teen parenting program (the contract hasn't been awarded yet), the health department has to pour most of its resources in intervention, Krautkramer said "It's time to acknowledge that this is an issue," she said. Board of Health Chairwoman Audrey Murphy questioned the effectiveness of sex education in schools, but Krautkramer said a different type of education is required. "Kids are sexually savvy, but they don't understand the biology of the body," she said. "We need to be giving them life tools and help them to understand what a relationship is. We have to teach self-esteem and give them the tools to succeed." She said all area programs that address the problems of teen pregnancy are abstinence-based, and she praised organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. "Being sexually active as a teen doesn't do good things for you," she said. Dr. Jay Tibbetts, a member of the board, said teen pregnancy has other negative results. "It's overwhelming the number of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) we have," he said. "This is a serious issue and we need to be involved," Murphy said. "We need to keep it in the forefront." | 
