The news that Gov. Sarah Palin's teenage daughter is pregnant has put teen pregnancy back in the spotlight.

Doctors say the numbers have remained steady over the last few years.

But the exposure of teen starlet Jamie Lynn Spears and now Palin's daughter, and the storylines of a number of highly rated tween TV shows, bring new light to the issue.

While Palin's daughter Bristol was thrust in the limelight after news surfaced she's a pregnant teen, it’s not just a political issue for the Republican Party during its convention.

“This is a big issue every day," said Dr. Ellyn Stecker, a Planned Parenthood local advisory board member. "Every single day in Indiana, that is something that occurs to 31 teens."

“It could happen in any family — pregnancy," said Karen DeLucenay, director of Hannah's House. “It doesn't matter what race, what socioeconomic [status].”

Directors at Hannah's House in Mishawaka see these pregnant teens at their most vulnerable.

“They’re very scared,” DeLucenay said. “They’re overwhelmed. They want to be a good mom. But they just don't know where to go and what to do and how to even begin.”

While expecting both an exciting and challenging time, Chandra Trevino, an expectant mother of twins, also knows pregnancy brings uncertainty about her future.

“Wanting to go to college and work a full-time job,” said Trevino. “With two it's going to be hard to accomplish all of that.”

“To learn I was pregnant and going to be having a child — that was life changing,” said expectant mother Kayla Wright.

Wright, in labor for the last two days, knows motherhood will bring good times and challenges.

“I know it's not going to be easy,” Wright said. “Taking care of another life is not going to be easy at all.”

Life lessons about pregnancy and sex are something not taught in schools because Indiana law mandates an abstinence based curriculum.

Medical professionals say that's a problem.

“I think it's important that we have education about the full range of options and having access to them,” Dr. Stecker said. “And not having limited access.”

“We just want to make sure everyone is being healthy and has that opportunity to learn how to take care of themselves and how to take care of their body,” said Melissa Murawski from the St. Joseph County Health Department.

Health professionals say abstinence-based curriculum in schools only address one aspect of human sexuality.

“I think we are in a time when we are seeing sexuality expressed in TV and the Internet,” Dr. Stecker said.

But medical professionals say at the same time, schools are not keeping up.

“Most teenagers are getting the information from their peers,” Murawski said. “When they talk about STDs it's more talking about what's a bacteria and what are viruses.”

While dozens of pamphlets line the health department's office, it's not just sexually transmitted infections the health department is concerned about.

“The fact I’m having twins surprised me,” Trevino said.

Pregnancy is another risk teens know about.

Expectant mothers at Hannah's House, Chandra Trevino and Kayla Wright, said their babies will change their lives. That's a lesson not taught in textbooks.

“In school I didn't learn any of this,” Trevino said. “Like what to do if you do get pregnant.”

“Life experience, you can't be taught that,” Wright said.

“Hannah's House really strives to help these women get their lives together and become responsible,” Murawski said. “To understand this is not a game.”

That’s the same approach medical professionals want parents and teens to take when discussing sex, a topic sometimes considered taboo.

“Start the conversation early,” Trevino said.

“This way they're prepared should that happen in their life,” Murawski said. “It doesn't mean you're condoning sex, just means you're better prepared.”

While the national stage is focused on Bristol and her mother's speech, these young women know all of their lives will change forever.

The Numbers

The health department said teen pregnancy rates have remained steady over the last few years.

Only one county in our viewing area ranked in the state's top five counties for teen pregnancy — Starke County came in at number two.

The Youth Risk Behavior study shows 35 percent of teenagers nationwide are sexually active; 37% of Hoosier teens surveyed admitted they're sexually active.

Statewide numbers show sexually active teens and young adults make up 71 percent of all chlamydia cases, and 59 percent of gonorrhea cases.