Health News

‘Baby Simulators’ In Schools Might Be Encouraging Teen Pregnancies

They may be designed to prevent teen pregnancies, but “baby simulators” in school programs just might be doing the opposite, an Australian study suggests.

Researchers from the University of Western Australia discovered that girls enrolled in schools that used infant dolls in sex education and child-rearing sessions are 36% more likely to get pregnant, give birth or have an abortion by the age of 20. This is in comparison to schools that only implemented a standard school curriculum.

Sally Brinkman, the lead author and an associate professor at Telethon Kids Institute at UWA, told ABC News that they were “very surprised.” She says,

It’s one thing to get results to say it doesn’t work, it’s another to get results that does the opposite.

The study tracked over 2,800 teenage girls ages 13 to 15 years old at 57 schools across Australia, monitoring them until they turned 20 years old.

Brinkman says this is the first study to look into hard medical and birth data to check on simulator dolls and their possible effect on pregnancies.

These simulator dolls are created to look and act like real infants, able to cry, burp and even require diapering and feeding.

The experience includes lessons, workbooks and videos on teen mothers talking about their lives. Doll manufacturer Reality Works says the dolls explore “the physical, emotional, social, and financial consequences of becoming pregnant and dealing with parenthood.”

The dolls are used in over 89 countries, including the USA. Timm Boettcher, CEO of Reality Works, released a statement saying, “The study being released today by The Lancet was not a representation of our curriculum and simulator learning modality but the researchers “adaptation” and is consequently not reflective of our product nor its efficacy.” He adds that their program should be judged on its entirety, which includes a curriculum and hands-on activities.

Brinkman says that students and school staff who underwent the program, sponsored by the Australian government, ended up liking the whole experience. She says many teenagers became “attached to their fake babies,” and administrators were more able to communicate and engage with students.

According to the study, teens who participated in the infant simulator program were not only more likely to get pregnant early, they were more likely to keep their babies. This was true even after factors such as socioeconomic status, education, prior sexual experience, psychological state, family type, dangerous habits and previous experience with handling children were taken into account.

While the study did not delve into the reasons behind the increase in teen pregnancies associated with these dolls, it does mention other studies that state only a handful of girls believed caring for their child would be the same as caring for a simulated baby.

In fact, some teens who thought it was hard to care for simulated babies believed it would be easier to care for a live child. Another study reported that teens might enjoy the attention they get while looking after their dolls, which might reinforce their desires to have children of their own.

“The main thing to get out is, even though people like these programs, it doesn’t seem to work,” Brinkman says. At the cost of $1,000 per doll, it’s not a cheap program. “It is a high cost to the schools and the education system. Even worse, they may be doing harm. Seems like a very silly waste of public funding,” she adds.

The study was published in The Lancet.

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