Young Bangor pregnancies appear rare

BANGOR – Exact statistics aren’t kept for the number of pregnant middle school girls in Greater Bangor, but anecdotally it doesn’t appear to be as large a problem here as Portland has reported in its region.

On Wednesday, Portland school officials voted 7-2 to allow students to obtain birth control pills at King Middle School’s health center. Supporters said the new policy was designed to protect a tiny number of sexually active students.

Portland’s three middle schools, whose students are typically 11 to 13 years old, had seven pregnancies in the last five years, Douglas Gardner, director of Portland’s Health and Human Services Department, told The Associated Press.

Mary Wright, school nurse at Bangor’s James F. Doughty School, said that statistics aren’t kept at the two middle schools in Bangor, but that student pregnancies are a rare occurrence.

“In my nine years as a Bangor school nurse, no, we have not had a lot,” Wright said. “Have we had any? Yes, we have had some. In my tenure, I have had a couple.”

She noted that when a student becomes pregnant in middle school, she’s not easily forgotten.

“When I have had pregnant students, I don’t forget them,” Wright said. “You never forget, at 11 to 14 years of age, a child who’s having a child.”

But there’s a difference between sexual activity and students getting pregnant, Wright said.

She noted that some middle school students are sexually active and said that sexual activity is addressed in Bangor middle schools, but on a one-on-one basis rather than through mass sex education.

If a student approaches Wright with a question, she’ll answer. She also becomes involved if she hears something of concern during conversations in the hallway or is told something by a teacher that needs to be addressed.

“Without question, it’s an important part of education,” Wright said.

There are differences between Portland and many schools in the Bangor area. Portland offers a comprehensive health clinic that provides all health services to students. In Bangor, there is no health provider for the schools but rather a traditional school nurse.