Whether it's real life or pretend, parenting is no laughing matter to Constance Underwood.
The Saginaw High senior arrived for her second-hour American Literature class last month with her new "son" tucked away in his carrier. She had the tot dressed in a velour RocAWear suit, a hand-me-down from her own son.
"Reggie" was the 17-year-old's second child. Though he's made of plastic, she was just as protective of him as her first, flesh-and-blood child.
"Don't curse around my child," she commanded a classmate as she walked down the aisle to her seat.
As Underwood scrawls out an essay in her notebook, her doll's outburst draws the stares and commentary from her classmates.
"That's the reason right there why I use a condom," a male student blurts out.
Underwood is one of at least six students of 34 in Nancy Ziozios' Child Development class who is either already a teen parent or is expecting.
Though Saginaw School District officials don't track the number of student pregnancies, Underwood has seen more of her schoolmates pregnant this fall than in the past.
In 2006, nearly one in four black children in the city of Saginaw and Saginaw County were born to teen parents. The number is one of every 61⁄2 for white parents.
Classmate Keosha Burton is not a mother, and the Saginaw High School junior doesn't plan to join the sorority anytime soon.
The 17-year-old named her doll daughter "Chastity."
"She's a crybaby," Burton said while rolling her eyes. "There are too many responsibilities. It definitely teaches you a lesson."
Baby Think it Over has earned mixed reviews from teen advocates and educators. Almost 20 other mid-Michigan schools have tried the parenting experience in the past two years, 16 of those are in Saginaw County.
"The evaluations have not been all that positive," Albert said.
"Some of the kids seem to think it's harder than having a real child."
Not fun and games
Underwood sits in the living room of her parents' home on Webber Street, watching BET's "Hell Date" with a friend.
Most days when school lets out, she's confined to the house taking care of the child.
Underwood missed the Saginaw High homecoming game this fall because she didn't want to take her son out in the rain.
If things go as planned, she'll also miss out on her prom and graduation. Underwood attended the prom last May, but "it's nothing like your own," she said.
The 17-year-old missed so much class in the spring that she'll have to transfer and take classes at Carrollton OMNI Adult Education to graduate on time.
"Once you stop having fun," Underwood says, "anything is fun."
Parenthood is a leading cause of high school drop out among teen girls, researchers with the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of State Boards of Education found.
Most teenagers are "not ready for the difficulty and challenges of being a parent," said Bill Albert, spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
"You're still an adolescent yourself."
Underwood juggled two children for two days and three nights, and scored an near-perfect on a 200-point scale. A fourth of her classmates opted out on the assignment and wrote a paper instead.
Her 6-month-old son, Reyneal, "got a little jealous" of the new arrival. When the doll cried, her son would reach or cry out for attention, Underwood said.
The two shared a sleeping space for two nights. Her son sleeps through the night now; the doll didn't.
The second arrival caught her family by surprise.
"Oh lord," said her stepfather, Ronald Jackson. "That kind of look like Constance, don't it?"
Underwood's mother and stepfather babysit her son during the day while she toted around the Baby Think it Over through school.
"One is something else," Jackson said. "Two ... you can't handle it."
When the staff from the Child Abuse and Neglect Council hands out the dolls, the first thing students often do is change the clothes, Ziozios said.
"It's all about how the baby looks, not the care," Ziozios said.
When handing out grades, Child Abuse and Neglect Council officials are most concerned with potential shaken baby syndrome, a leading cause of death among infants.
Students who frequently shake the Baby Think it Over dolls are recommended for visits with school social workers.
Birthpangs notwithstanding, there is a major difference between three days with a doll and actual parenthood, Ziozios said.
"When you have your own baby," she said, "you can't give it back."
Teen pregnancy decline
Despite progress in reducing teen pregnancy, three in 10 girls in United States end up pregnant before age 20 and the United States has the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the industrialized world.
Sex education courses in the Saginaw School District -- including "Puberty: The Wonder Years" for elementary school students -- focuses on halting the spread of sexually transmitted disease, not preventing pregnancy, said schools spokesman Safiya Mosley.
At each level, parents must sign permission slips for the children to participate, Mosley said.
The programs are abstinence-based, meaning school officials don't dole out condoms, pills or other birth control, said Elsa Overa, director of the district's parent resource center.
A study funded by National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy found abstinence-only efforts appear to have little positive impact.
Researchers sought to debunk what the report called "myths propagated by abstinence-only advocates" including: that comprehensive sex education promotes promiscuity, hastens the initiation of sex or increases its frequency, and sends a confusing message to adolescents.
Such programs improved teens' knowledge about the risks and consequences of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, the chief researcher wrote.
Unlike other teenagers in Saginaw County, students at Saginaw High have access to a health clinic where medical professionals may answer questions about pregnancy and sexuality.
The federally funded health center services hundreds of students per year for various ailments.
Clinic staff can offer diagnosis and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases and prenatal referrals, but cannot hand out birth control.
The Saginaw News could not reach officials with HealthSource Inc. to find out how many pregnant or parenting teens visit the clinic each year.
Unaware of their bodies, reproductive cycles and chances at pregnancy, Saginaw County teen mothers often don't seek out prenatal care in their first tri-mester, said Dawn Shanafelt, community service supervisor with the Saginaw County Department of Public Health.
"If they come up pregnant, it's a shock to them," she said.
The earlier that schools can introduce students to sex education, the better: Classes that teach life skills are just as important as academics, Shanafelt said.
"If you're aiming for prevention you want to reach the kids before" their first experience. When she worked in middle schools, early education "made a huge impact," Shanafelt said.
Changing teen sexual behavior is difficult, Albert said.
"From the dawn of time, young people have wanted to have sex," he said.
A report from his organization indicates that three in 10 sexually active girls aged 15 to 19 experience pregnancy. That number rises to more than half for Hispanics and 40 percent for blacks.
"Trying to scare them tends not to work," Albert said. "We're not saying, 'Don't ever have sex.' Just be careful."