While many teen mothers become trapped in a cycle of poverty, Lewis lived off scholarships and loans to put herself through the College of William and Mary, spending $800 a month to send her daughter to the day care for faculty children. She went on to publish a memoir, Glori, about the experience and speaks to young mothers to encourage them to stay in school.
Paluzzi, the Healthy Teen Network president, has been interested to gauge the public's reaction to two high-profile teen pregnancies this year. When the news broke about Jamie Lynn Spears, younger sister of Britney Spears and star of the Nickelodeon show Zoey 101, "everybody was freaking out about what they were going to say to their kids," Paluzzi said. Now Bristol is drawing sympathy from supporters of her mother and Sen. John McCain, who chose Sarah Palin to be his running mate.
"Where's that understanding for all pregnant and parenting teens?" Paluzzi asked. "They're really very vilified by our society."
