Girls who have an older sister who is a teen mom are more likely to become teen mothers themselves. Why do you think that is? Living with teen pregnancy might send the message to some girls that having a baby at a young age is no big deal. In this week’s episode of 16 and Pregnant, Cleondra becomes pregnant during her junior year of high school, despite watching her sister struggle with motherhood at the same age. Since she helped raise her niece while her sister was out partying, Cleondra thinks she knows what to expect. But babysitting didn’t prepare her for the enormous pressures of motherhood, or the huge strain baby Kylee puts on her relationship with boyfriend Mario. Babies make relationships a lot harder; in fact, 8 out of 10 teen fathers don’t marry the mother of their child.

Unlike most relationships on the show, Cleondra and 19-year-old Mario have been together two years, meeting after Mario moved in across the street. For high school standards, that’s pretty impressive, not to mention an easy commute to see your boyfriend. The pair got pregnant after having unprotected sex, even though Cleondra’s mom was sure to give her easy access to condoms and open safe sex discussions. While most of us don’t have moms as understanding as Cleondra’s, you still need to know the facts. You have to use contraception every time you have sex (or to be 100% safe, don’t have sex at all!)

During her pregnancy, things with Mario are tense; they can’t agree where the baby will live or even decide on a name. To top it off, Mario isn’t a big fan of Cleondra’s family, and doesn’t trust her brother and sister to be good babysitters while Cleondra is at school. After Kylee is born, he puts a lot of pressure on Cleondra and the baby to move in with him, where there’s more room. She gives him a trial run, spending the night in his room with the baby, but can’t even shake him awake to help with nighttime feedings.

A lot of the time on 16 and Pregnant all of the caretaking falls on the mother. How come? Do you think mothers and fathers should spilt responsibilities 50/50? Even though Mario doesn’t understand what it takes to be a parent, he’s still one of the good guys, as far as 16 and Pregnant dads go. But that doesn’t say much for teenage dads. Why is it so much harder for a guy to step up to his responsibilities? I’ve noticed that the most caring fathers from past seasons, like Gary from Teen Mom 1 and Corey from Teen Mom 2, tend to be older teens or even in their early 20s. While a 16- or 17 year-old girl gets nine months to get used to the idea of her life changing, reality doesn’t hit a boy until the baby arrives.

By the end of the episode, Cleondra and Mario are back on solid ground, and are lucky to have a stable routine with their huge support network of family. “It’s the baby before you” says Cleondra in her closing, a fact that every girl should think about before deciding to have sex. When you have a baby, you’re sacrificing your life to give one to your child.   

This post was written by Kate , an intern for The National Campaign. Kate is a senior at George Washington University, studying journalism and sociology. She loves theater and cooking, and eats mashed potatoes every single day.