Tuesday night's episode of MTV's 16 and Pregnant was as heartbreaking an episode as I remember. Adoption, though usually a better decision for these girls, does make for a heart-wrenching episode. But Alex, predictably, decides against adoption, which ends up just being the wrong choice for so many reasons.
As much as my heart went out to her, her decision to keep the baby was a huge mistake. In fact, of all the parents ever on this show, it's possible Alex's baby daddy was the single worst. And he has a lot of competition.
It isn't that he is mean, he is just a party boy whose priorities are clearly not toward his girlfriend or baby.
Throughout the episode he seemed sweaty and strung out most of the time. The scenes during her ultrasound and her simple requests of him were just depressing. Yes, he is a kid and no one is saying he has to "step up." After all, it was Alex's decision to keep the baby against his will. But he couldn't even sober up enough to help her through the hard parts?
He also made this baby and is taking zero responsibility even for helping her make the adoption decision. He left her before the baby was even born. As annoying as teen girls are, believing in terrible men, MTV also shows us that teen boys are completely idiotic layabouts. Is this the truth?
It makes no sense that she decided to keep her baby, lovely as she is. Getting pregnant as a teen isn't ideal in any way, but someone who is old enough to get pregnant also ought to be old enough to make the right choices.
Was keeping Arabella really the BEST possible plan for either her or her baby? Alex couldn't even go to her job because her boyfriend, who agreed to babysit, can't even be bothered to show up. Does this sound like a person who is ready to be a parent?
Some of the girls on past shows are more ready than others, but sometimes adoption is the kinder, more mature choice. No one thinks it's easy. I can't even imagine being asked to make a decision like that at such a young age. But if you decide to have sex and you fall pregnant, then you also have to make mature decisions.
Now Arabella will probably repeat her mother's mistakes. It's heartbreaking and it could have been avoided.
Do you think Alex should have chosen adoption?
Image via MTV
This Hot Dad Wants to Do Your Ironing
KStew Refuses to Shower
This Hot Dad Wants to Cook You Dinner
This Hot Dad Cooks AND Does the Dishes
Comments 104
when a male makes the decision to have sex w/ a female he is also making the choice to possibly produce a child. after that point it becomes the woman's choice what to do w/ HER body and that includes having the child. if the male did NOT want to produce a child-he should keep it in his pants! as for giving the baby up for adoption, nobody the mother has the right to make that decision and while it might have been the best decision it's still her's to make. instead of judging her have a little empathy for her, she's young, scared, essentially alone and wants to do the right thing.
holy crap, so it's the PC stance that it is a woman's choice what to do with her body, period end of story right? But when she keeps a baby against hte father's wishes for adoption then it's a bad decision and a mistake and she should have known. Amazing to think that even immature teenagers can actually love the child growing inside them and desire to be a parent. What's with the judgement here? it's like reading an angry ranting post from a jealous high school mean girl.
As a mother I cannot tell another baby it would be better to give up a child. That is her decision to make. Now as a daughter of a Teen mother (my mom got pregnant at 15 had me at 16) I had a hard life. My mom was young and immature. My parents did stay together but they were involved in drugs. I am now 26 and my parents did get clean and divorce. Me and my mom have a great relationship now. I am thankful to my mom for not having an abortion and giving me a chance at life. But I sometimes did not have food and proper clothing. It was a bad childhood. There are teen parents though that turn into wonderful parents. I wish her well
*mother
I understand your point of view but being a young mom, who was 19 when I got pregnant, it's not always the easiest choice to make. My fiance and I were engaged before I got pregnant. Although we knew that raising a son at our age, he just turned 21 and I'll be 21 in October, we knew that adoption simply was not an option for us. While yes, it's possible that if we had put our son up for adoption he could have been given more of the luxeries growing up, we felt espite the struggles we would/will face raising him, in our hearts we simply could not give him up for adoption.
While it is my belief that yes Alex should have given her daughter to her friends parents, it is simply just that. My belief. It is possible down the line that she might choose a different path and give her daughter up for adoption, but all in all, it was HER choice and she was doing what she felt in her heart was right and no one has the right to say differently until or unless you have been in a similar situation. I feel like this review of her decision is a little harsh. I agree with some points made, like her boyfriends behavior was apalling, but this is no different than middle schoolers and high schoolers and their internet bulling.
"If you can't say anything nice, then don't say anything at all" ~words to live by
What a way to kick a person while their down. I hope no one wil ever tell this writer to carry a child for 9 months, fall in love with baby, but say give her away to someone else. If every child didn't have perfect parents the adoption rates will skyrocket. Just because you are a teenager doesn't make you a bad parent likewise just because you are older doesn't make you wiser. Instead of tearing this young woman down we should be offering prayers and support so she can get her life together for her child and hopefully one day the father will mature as well.
Right or wrong the decision was hers to make and she made the decision to keep her and along with that comes the responsibility of being the primary caregiver. Imo there were red flags everywhere which would of made me choose adoption. [sigh] Her bf was out of it the majority of the time. [sigh]