Is Hollywood causing a teen baby boom?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Clearly, more kids means more movie ticket sales -- somewhere, down the road. And isn't it odd that a baby has replaced the YSL Muse bag as the latest accessory in Hollywood?

Jamie Lynn Spears, 16, may be the youngest starlet to join the gestation team, but she joins a congo line of young, famous bellies.

Plus, the aggressive marketing team behind "Juno" at Fox Searchlight will stop at nothing to promote their feel-good -- even through the morning sickness -- movie about an elfin pregnant teen.

And is it just a coincidence that the CDC released a study that reported that teen pregnancy is up for the first time in 14 years? Here are the specifics: Between 2005 and 2006, the birth rate for girls 15 to 19 rose 3%, from 40.5 births per 1,000 in 2005 to 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006.

Look, I haven't done any surveys -- or even polled girls at the mall -- but I think the pregnancy boom in Hollywood has affected middle America. It's not hard to imagine a teen girl deciding to have a baby when her heroes -- Christina Aguilera, Jessica Alba and Nicole Richie -- are all making motherhood look sexy and frankly, easy.

You may scoff, but I have interviewed teens and they look up to Nicole Richie, unbelievably enough. And when you see a picture of your idol -- though she may be years older -- and she's talking about how excited she is to have a baby in an interview, it is duly noted.

As for the effect on Hollywood, I seriously think a teen pregnancy witch hunt could hurt "Juno" when it comes time for award season. Agree?

Photo credits: Fox  Searchlight; MGM

Comments

[DPB]

This is absurd. Last I checked, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Alba, and Nicole Richie are not teenagers. As far as I know, Hollywood doesn't cause teen pregnancy, rather men and women having sex together does. It has been this way even before the advent of marketing campaigns.

[Teresa]

I agree with DPB; all of those young women are grown WOMEN, not teenagers.

[Jack]

Umm...how about statutory rape??? Spears' younger sister is only 16. That in most states is statutory rape, even if sex is consensual. Louisiana is 17, while California is 18. Or has society deteriorated to the point that we don't care how old these kids are? Should we even say that her boyfriend is not a "predator"? And how about the so-called Christian values that these two teens pretend to preach?