Many students don't know the morning after pill is available at their school

The morning after pill may be available via the CATCH (Connecting Adolescents to Comprehensive Health) pilot program now in 13 NYC high schools, but not a lot of teens seem to know about it.

"I didn't know anything about that!" exclaimed Destiny Carter, 16, a senior at Boys and Girls High School, one of the schools in the pilot program. "My friend got pregnant here. She just had her baby," exclaimed Carter. Another friend from her Crown Heights high school paid "about $50" to obtain Plan B from a pharmacy, not knowing she could get the medication through school, Carter said.

The CATCH pilot program rolled out in January 2011 to help stem the tide of teenage pregnancy. About 40% of teens are sexually active, and about 7,000 girls under the age of 17 got pregnant in school year 2011-2012, almost all of whom became pregnant unintentionally, according to the NYC Dept. of Health & Mental Hygiene. While 64% terminated their pregnancies, 2,200 became moms. Schools that did not already have school-based health services and had high pregnancy rates were chosen for participation.

A spokesman for the NYC Health Dept. said it was too early to see if the program was working but that 567 students had received Plan B since its inception and another 580 received the birth control pill Reclipsen. Interviews with students suggested that those numbers might be higher if more students knew about the availability and range of services.

A 17-year-old senior who wished to be identified as "Naquel" said she had previously had a pregnancy test at the school but had no idea that Plan B was available. Naquel, whose mother had died recently, said she had recently had unprotected sex and was wondering whether she was pregnant now. "If I knew they had that, I would have taken it," she said ruefully.

Carter, Naquel and other students interviewed applauded the fact that the Plan B -- administered to 567 girls last year through NYC schools -- was available. But the availability, the said, needed a more assertive marketing effort.

Senior Onnesty Harewood, 16, found out about the program through the school grapevine, after a friend told her she had received Plan B at the school: "They told her she had to swallow it in front of them: Then they gave her six condoms." Harewood said the services are needed because many students do not have access to medical care or a trusted adult in their lives. She had conflicting feelings about parents not knowing what medications their children were on, should a girl suffer side-effects from the hormone-based medication. Still, she allowed, "When I was a freshman here, there were a lot more pregnant girls than there are now."

Candelle Wilson, 18, posited that perhaps some students just didn't read the fliers that were passed out last year telling students about CATCH services. While she is abstinent and says she can tell her mother anything, she knows of girls who aren't and can't, so she endorsed school-based services. "There are just too many babies having babies," she said.