A pact made by a group of teenagers to get pregnant and raise their babies together is believed to be behind a sudden rise in pregnancies at a high school in Massachusetts, US school officials said.
Gloucester High School Principal Joseph Sullivan told Timemagazine that the girls confessed to making the pact after the school began investigating a rise in pregnancies that has left 17 girls at the school carrying a child.
Normally, there are about four pregnancies a year at the school.
Mr Sullivan told Timethat students were coming to the school clinic multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and "seemed more upset when they weren't pregnant than when they were".
Some of the girls reacted to the news they were pregnant with high fives and plans for baby showers - parties where gifts are given to expectant mothers, Mr Sullivan said.
One of the fathers “is a 24-year-old homeless guy,” Mr Sullivan told the magazine.
Superintendent Christopher Farmer confirmed the deal to WBZ-TV, saying the girls had “an agreement to get pregnant”.
He said the girls are generally “girls who lack self-esteem and have a lack of love in their life”.
AP