Bristol Palin Campaigns Against Teen Pregnancy

April 7, 2010— -- Bristol Palin hopes people will pay attention to her, but this time for the right reasons.

Palin, the oldest daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is a teen ambassador for the Candie's Foundation and stars in a new public service campaign for the foundation to raise awareness about teen pregnancy.

Bristol Palin became pregnant in 2008 while she was still a high school student.

"I just want to let teens know how really hard this is and how difficult it is to be a teen parent," Palin said on "Good Morning America" today.

While Palin said she is blessed to have a supportive family, they are not at "her disposal" to help with her 15-month-old son, Tripp. She said being a single mom is challenging.

"Just being 100 percent responsible for another person and having my childhood pretty much taken away from me with having to provide for him and just taking care of him all the time," Palin said.

In a video message Palin is seen asking what would happen to her if she did not have the support of her family. She urges other teens to "pause before you play."

"It could [mean] pause and go get a condom, or pause and think about your life. And it even could be pause and wait until marriage," Palin, who earlier this year said she would remain celibate until marriage, said.

Neil Cole, founder of the Candie's Foundation, said the PSA will hopefully make teens stop and think about the message.

"We are hoping to just reach teenagers. They are smart and hopefully they will listen and wait to have a baby later in life," Cole said.

Advocates say Palin's push for abstinence complements similar campaigns for contraception.

"Bristol Palin is a very high-profile teen mother, so when she speaks about these issues, I think a lot of people are going to listen," said Sarah Brown, chief executive officer of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Teen Pregnancy Rates in U.S. Still High Despite Slight Drop

U.S. teen pregnancy rates are higher than most other developed countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ndicate that the teen birth rate in the United States is down 2 percent.

Despite the drop Cole said teen pregnancy is still a major problem.

"Yes, it's going down two percent, but over 750,000 teens got pregnant in the last 12 months. That's just a crazy number," Cole said.

Although it is still too early to know what caused the drop in teen pregnancy or whether it is a trend, the message is becoming more and more creative.

Research shows that television programs such as MTV's "16 and Pregnant" may have more impact than the traditional PSAs.

With that in mind, Bristol Palin will star in an upcoming episode of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" to help others avoid her rocky road.

"I just want to let teens know how hard this really is and how difficult it is to be a teen parent," Palin said.

ABC News' Sarah Netter and Russell Goldman contributed to this report.

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