History YMMV / SixteenAndPregnant

* TheWoobie: Catelynn and her boyfriend Tyler decide they can't raise a child and give her up for adoption. Most of the season is her family screaming at her, mostly because they don't think she feels guilty enough about it.

* AccidentalAesop: This show (and its {{spinoff}}, ''Teen Mom'') is quite possibly an unintentional {{deconstruct|edTrope}}ion of GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion, as it shows very well the consequences of choosing to keep a baby, especially for a teenager. According to at least one study, ''16 and Pregnant'' and ''Teen Mom'' have contributed to a rise in support for abortion rights for precisely this reason.

%%* UnfortunateImplications: The show has been condemned for glorifying teen pregnancy, presenting the idea that if you do get pregnant that abortion isn't an option, let alone adoption....
%%** Only two women (one couple and one single) have put their babies up for adoption, and only a few have discussed abortion on-camera. In all fairness, the girl is usually about six months pregnant when the filming starts, and who's to say she didn't consider having an abortion prior to that?
%%*** In the spin off, ''Teen Mom'', Farrah's mom references the fact that Farrah wanted an abortion when she first found out she was pregnant, but her mom convinces her otherwise.
%%*** "Teen Mom" in general is a much better show in this respect: it follows the girls more closely and gets into details about their lives, which usually, well, stink.
%%*** 1 in 6 is actually an over representation because only 1-2% of teen pregnancies end in adoption. If anything this show is pushing the option with their extremely positive portrayal of those parents.
%%** A one time only special, [[http://www.mtv.com/shows/no_easy_decision/series.jhtml No Easy Decision]], discussed abortion. It followed a girl from 16 and Pregnant who became pregnant a second time and decided to end the pregnancy, and interviewed two other girls, not from 16 and Pregnant, about their experiences getting abortions. It was surprising well done and focused on the individual girls rather than on religious or moral issues. However, it's easy to see why MTV wouldn't regularly feature girls who decided to abort their pregnancies, both due to safety reasons and avoiding controversy, as well as the pragmatic argument that there isn't much of a story compared to accidental pregnancy and/or being a teen mom.
* WhatAnIdiot:
** One girl on the show was talking about how she got pregnant. She didn't know too much about birth control (a quick google search could have cleared that up) and suggested that her boyfriend use condoms. He confessed that the reason why he didn't was because it was too awkward to buy them. The original reason he gave for not using them, before confessing to being too embarrassed to buy them, was that condoms didn't feel good for him. Long story short, if you don't know enough about birth control to find an alternative to condoms because your boyfriend has made it clear that he isn't going to use them, then you should not be having sex.
** One season 4 girl said she didn't use birth control because she didn't want to get fat. [[http://cdn.iwastesomuchtime.com/11122012125775.jpg Yeah]].
** One girl famously said "You can't really prevent pregnancy." Her friends were quick to set her straight on that, though.

* TearJerker: Plenty of times, but one stand-out episode is Nicole, a young woman who lost both her little sister shortly after her birth ''and'' her father, who was [[DeathByDespair left heartbroken after the baby's death and died himself a year later.]] While in labor, she brought a picture of her and her father to have in the room with her. It's also to be said that not only was she one of the most earnest girls featured, but was also mature and in a committed relationship with her boyfriend and the child's father.
** Valerie Fairman of season 2 passed away on December 21, 2016 from a drug overdose. She was 23, and left behind her 7 year-old daughter.

** Eric Kennemer, the now-husband of Myranda Trevino and father of her daughter in season 4, was in a serious car accident in January 2017 that eventually caused a stroke due to bleeding in the brain.
* TheWoobie: Catelynn and her boyfriend Tyler decide they can't raise a child and give her up for adoption. Most of the season is her family screaming at her, mostly because they don't think she feels guilty enough about it.

** One girl famously said "You can't really prevent pregnancy." Her friends were quick to set her straight on that, though.

** One girl on the show was talking about how she got pregnant. She didn't know too much about birth control (a quick google search could have cleared that up) and suggested that her boyfriend use condoms. He confessed that the reason why he didn't was because it was too awkward to buy them. The original reason he gave for not using them, before confessing to being too embarrassed to buy them, was that condoms didn't feel good for him. Long story short, [[CaptainObvious if you don't know enough about birth control to find an alternative to condoms because your boyfriend has made it clear that he isn't going to use them, then you should not be having sex.]]

** One girl on the show was talking about how she got pregnant. She didn't know too much about birth control (a quick google search could have cleared that up) and suggested that her boyfriend use condoms. He confessed that the reason why he didn't was because it was too awkward to buy them.
** The original reason he gave for not using them, before confessing to being too embarrassed to buy them, was that condoms didn't feel good for him. Long story short, [[CaptainObvious if you don't know enough about birth control to find an alternative to condoms because your boyfriend has made it clear that he isn't going to use them, then you should not be having sex.]]

* TearJerker

* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: A little bit, in that there have been claims that girls are getting pregnant to get on the show.

* MisaimedFandom: Apparently girls are trying to get pregnant just to audition for this show. Ignoring the fact that most, if not all, of the girls state at the end of their episode that they wished they had waited because it's so hard to raise a kid.

* UnfortunateImplications: The show has been condemned for glorifying teen pregnancy, presenting the idea that if you do get pregnant that abortion isn't an option, let alone adoption....
** Only two women (one couple and one single) have put their babies up for adoption, and only a few have discussed abortion on-camera. In all fairness, the girl is usually about six months pregnant when the filming starts, and who's to say she didn't consider having an abortion prior to that?
*** In the spin off, ''Teen Mom'', Farrah's mom references the fact that Farrah wanted an abortion when she first found out she was pregnant, but her mom convinces her otherwise.
**** "Teen Mom" in general is a much better show in this respect: it follows the girls more closely and gets into details about their lives, which usually, well, stink.
*** 1 in 6 is actually an over representation because only 1-2% of teen pregnancies end in adoption. If anything this show is pushing the option with their extremely positive portrayal of those parents.
** A one time only special, [[http://www.mtv.com/shows/no_easy_decision/series.jhtml No Easy Decision]], discussed abortion. It followed a girl from 16 and Pregnant who became pregnant a second time and decided to end the pregnancy, and interviewed two other girls, not from 16 and Pregnant, about their experiences getting abortions. It was surprising well done and focused on the individual girls rather than on religious or moral issues. However, it's easy to see why MTV wouldn't regularly feature girls who decided to abort their pregnancies, both due to safety reasons and avoiding controversy, as well as the pragmatic argument that there isn't much of a story compared to accidental pregnancy and/or being a teen mom.
----

* HateDumb: ''16 and Pregnant'' gets more vitriol than any other MTV show for this reason (even JerseyShore). Because of some [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing unintentional glorification of teen pregnancy]], people who've only heard about the show in passing assume ''16 and Pregnant'' worsened the problem. Never mind the fact that the number of girls who intentionally get pregnant for fame's sake is very small, and that teen pregnancy rates have actually ''[[http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-10/teen-birth-rate-dropped-to-lowest-ever-in-2010-cdc-report-finds dropped]]'' since the show's debut. Although it's debatable whether ''16 and Pregnant'' caused the dip, [[WordOfGod the producers]] ''did'' state that the show was created to address the pregnancy pacts popping up nationwide at the time. Overall, it's fair to say ''16 and Pregnant'' didn't worsen the problem, yet most people think the show has, and vilify it and ''Series/TeenMom'' because of it.

* HateDumb: ''16 and Pregnant'' gets more vitriol than any other MTV show for this reason (even JerseyShore). Because of some [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing unintentional glorification of teen pregnancy]], people who've only heard about the show in passing assume ''16 and Pregnant'' worsened the problem. Never mind the fact that the number of girls who intentionally get pregnant for fame's sake is very small, and that teen pregnancy rates have actually ''[[http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-10/teen-birth-rate-dropped-to-lowest-ever-in-2010-cdc-report-finds dropped]]'' since the show's debut. Although it's debatable whether ''16 and Pregnant'' caused the dip, [[WordOfGod the producers]] ''did'' state that the show was created to address the pregnancy pacts popping up nationwide at the time. Overall, it's fair to say ''16 and Pregnant'' didn't worsen the problem, yet most people think the show has, and vilify it and ''TeenMom'' because of it.

* ItGotWorse: Farrah. First, the father dies in a car crash. She's forced to live with her family, which is...less than ideal. ''Then'', we learn her mother is physically abusive. If that wasn't enough, the father's family first tries to prove that he isn't the father...and then when the paternity test says he is, immediately sues her for not giving them enough time with the baby. The cherry on top? She wanted an abortion, and it's implied her mother used emotional abuse to make her have the child. How much of this is truth and how much is ManipulativeEditing is up to the viewer.

* HateDumb: ''16 and Pregnant'' gets more vitriol than any other MTV show for this reason (even JerseyShore). Because of some [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing unintentional glorification of teen pregnancy]], people who've only heard about the show in passing assume ''16 and Pregnant'' worsened the problem. Never mind the fact that the number of girls who intentionally get pregnant for fame's sake is very small, and that teen pregnancy rates have actually ''[[http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-10/teen-birth-rate-dropped-to-lowest-ever-in-2010-cdc-report-finds dropped]]'' since the show's debut. Although it's debatable whether ''16 and Pregnant'' caused the dip, [[WordOfGod the producers]] ''did'' state that the show was created to address the pregnancy pacts popping up nationwide at the time. Overall, it's fair to say ''16 and Pregnant'' didn't worsen the problem, yet most people think the show has, and vilify it and ''TeenMom'' on a regular basis for this reason.

* HateDumb: ''16 and Pregnant'' gets more vitriol than any MTV show, even JerseyShore, mostly for this reason. Because of the [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing unintentional glorification of teen pregnancy]] the show has sometimes done, numerous people who only heard about the show in passing assume ''16 and Pregnant'' made the problem worse. This ignores the fact that the number of girls who intentionally get pregnant for fame's sake is most likely a very small percentage, and teen pregnancy rates have actually ''dropped'' since the show's debut. It's debatable on whether ''16 and Pregnant'' is responsible for the dip, but seeing as the show was started because of pregnancy pacts popping up nationwide, at the very least, it had better intentions than what some people are saying (not to mention older generations are in flat out denial that the problem was ''never'' this bad when they were teens). Overall, it's fair to say the show didn't significantly fix or worsen the problem, yet most people think it has committed the latter with a vengeance, and vilify it and ''TeenMom'' on a regular basis.

* HateDumb: ''16 and Pregnant'' gets this worse than any MTV show, even JerseyShore. Because of the [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing unintentional glorification of teen pregnancy]] the show has sometimes done, numerous people who only heard about the show in passing assume ''16 and Pregnant'' made the problem worse. This ignores two obvious statistics. One, the number of girls who intentionally get pregnant for fame's sake is most likely a very small percentage, and two, teen pregnancy rates have technically dropped since the show's debut. It's debatable on whether ''16 and Pregnant'' is responsible for the dip, but seeing as the show was started because of pregnancy pacts popping up nationwide, at the very least, it had better intentions than what some people are saying (not to mention older generations are in flat out denial that the problem was ''never'' this bad when they were teens). Overall, it's fair to say the show didn't significantly fix or worsen the problem, yet most think it has committed the latter with a vengeance.

** A one time only special, [[http://www.mtv.com/shows/no_easy_decision/series.jhtml No Easy Decision]], discussed abortion. It followed a girl from 16 and Pregnant who became pregnant a second time and decided to end the pregnancy, and interviewed two other girls, not from 16 and Pregnant, about their experiences getting abortions. It was surprising well done and managed to focus on the individual girls rather than on religious or moral issues. Personally, this troper sees why MTV wouldn't feature girls who decided to abort their pregnancies on regular episodes both due to safety reasons and avoiding controversy, as well as the pragmatic argument that there would not be much of a story in terms of being pregnant or a teen mom.

** Not just the girls, but apparently some guys too. My boyfriend's friend, who accidentally got his girlfriend pregnant, has thought of going on Teen Mom.

** A one time only special, [[No Easy Decision http://www.mtv.com/shows/no_easy_decision/series.jhtml]], discussed abortion. It followed a girl from 16 and Pregnant who became pregnant a second time and decided to end the pregnancy, and interviewed two other girls, not from 16 and Pregnant, about their experiences getting abortions. It was surprising well done and managed to focus on the individual girls rather than on religious or moral issues. Personally, this troper sees why MTV wouldn't feature girls who decided to abort their pregnancies on regular episodes both due to safety reasons and avoiding controversy, as well as the pragmatic argument that there would not be much of a story in terms of being pregnant or a teen mom.

** A one time only special, [[NoEasyDecision http://www.mtv.com/shows/no_easy_decision/series.jhtml]], discussed abortion. It followed a girl from 16 and Pregnant who became pregnant a second time and decided to end the pregnancy, and interviewed two other girls, not from 16 and Pregnant, about their experiences getting abortions. It was surprising well done and managed to focus on the individual girls rather than on religious or moral issues. Personally, this troper sees why MTV wouldn't feature girls who decided to abort their pregnancies on regular episodes both due to safety reasons and avoiding controversy, as well as the pragmatic argument that there would not be much of a story in terms of being pregnant or a teen mom.

** A one time only special, No Easy Decision [http://www.mtv.com/shows/no_easy_decision/series.jhtml], discussed abortion. It followed a girl from 16 and Pregnant who became pregnant a second time and decided to end the pregnancy, and interviewed two other girls, not from 16 and Pregnant, about their experiences getting abortions. It was surprising well done and managed to focus on the individual girls rather than on religious or moral issues. Personally, this troper sees why MTV wouldn't feature girls who decided to abort their pregnancies on regular episodes both due to safety reasons and avoiding controversy, as well as the pragmatic argument that there would not be much of a story in terms of being pregnant or a teen mom.

** A one time only special, [No Easy Decision http://www.mtv.com/shows/no_easy_decision/series.jhtml], discussed abortion. It followed a girl from 16 and Pregnant who became pregnant a second time and decided to end the pregnancy, and interviewed two other girls, not from 16 and Pregnant, about their experiences getting abortions. It was surprising well done, despite coming from MTV. Personally, this troper sees why MTV wouldn't feature girls who decided to abort their pregnancies on regular episodes both due to safety reasons and avoiding controversy, as well as the pragmatic argument that there would not be much of a story in terms of being pregnant or a teen mom.

** A one time only special, [http://www.mtv.com/shows/no_easy_decision/series.jhtml No Easy Decision], discussed abortion. It followed a girl from 16 and Pregnant who became pregnant a second time and decided to end the pregnancy, and interview two other girls, not from 16 and Pregnant, about their experiences getting abortions. It was surprising well done, despite coming from MTV.

* LoveItOrHateIt: For some people it's proof that today's society is warped and TeensAreMonsters, for others it's just a guilty pleasure.
** Of course, the former opinion implies that today's society is the only one with teen pregnancy.
** There are also some that feel "Teen Mom" is a genuinely good documentary show, even with the episode formula.