ANAHEIM : Teen Moms Nurture Education

About 20 teen-age mothers brought their diaper bags, strollers and babies to Gilbert High School on Friday for the continuation school’s annual baby celebration.

In the past two years, there have been about 40 births to students at the school. “These girls have a tough enough time,” said Shirley Wood, who teaches the Pregnant Girl Program. “They need a positive experience. We say, ‘Hey, you’re OK and we love your children.’ ”

Unlike state and nationwide trends, teen birth rates are slightly on the rise in Orange County, according to 1988 statistics, the most recent available.

In Anaheim, it’s “epidemic,” Wood said. The Anaheim Union High School District has had no formal family life curriculum since 1969 when a lawsuit was brought against the district. Its birth rate for 15- to 17-year-olds is second only to Santa Ana Unified in Orange County.

“It’s an acceptable thing, not a disgrace like it used to be,” Wood said. “It’s an in thing for a lot of them.”

One girl at the celebration said she got pregnant to please a former boyfriend. Another said she wanted to spite her divorcing mother. “I wanted something,” she said. “My mom took my dad away. She can’t take my son away.”

Cuddling her 9-month-old daughter, Brittany, Tamara Henley, 18, said she was ready for the responsibilities of marriage, family and work, and plans to enter Cypress College next fall. She and her husband, Tom, 20, a mechanic, live in an apartment a few blocks from the school and plan to buy a home in March.

A minority of the girls in Wood’s program are working, and a few receive welfare. But most are living at home with their parents, who are frequently single mothers themselves, Wood said.

At continuation school, the girls study at their own pace, completing their required schoolwork on a contract basis and also taking electives in pregnancy, child care and development and parenting.

The babies cooed, cried and toddled around a twinkling Christmas tree in the school registration area, as the mothers chatted with teachers and each other while students passed by in between classes. Wood said it appeared that the young mothers had benefited from her classes because the babies looked “healthy, well-nourished and clean.”

The young mothers’ academic skills vary widely, but in general, they perform better academically than average students, said Jerry Kill, director of alternative education. “They’re more serious about getting an education,” he said.

Becky Stewart, 19, who is eight months pregnant, arrived with her 2-year-old son, Mitchell. Stewart, a grocery store worker who lives with her mother, has attended night school for three years and hopes to graduate by June. “If you want something for your kids,” she said, “you need an education.”