Teenage boys are the real baby makers.

The revelation that Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old daughter of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is five months pregnant puts teen pregnancy squarely in the spotlight again this summer. Jamie Lynn Spears, left, and Bristol Palin, holding her brother Trig, have both experienced pregnancy as teens. Amid ripples of publicity, 17-year-old television star (and sister of Britney) Jamie Lynn Spears gave birth in June to a daughter, Maddie Briann. That same month, pregnancies of numerous students at Gloucester High School in Massachusetts were discovered, causing a huge stir in the community and across the country. The overall teen birth rate rose slightly in 2006 after steadily declining since 1991, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report shows the birth rate for teenagers ages 15-19 rose 3 percent between 2005 and 2006. That translates to 41.9 births per 1,000 in 2006, a decline of 34 percent from the all-time high of 61.8 births per 1,000 in 1991.

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