LINNAEA WELD - [X]PRESS 2.0 Katherine Almendares, 18, works at the Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Program in San Francisco's Mission District, where as a young parent she found support.

This is the Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting Program(TAPP) in San Francisco's Mission District, where young parents and pregnant teens find support. Claudia Ayala, program coordinator for the Young Family Resource Center at TAPP, said many teens come in without a plan. "Sometimes the girls already know what they want to do. Sometimes they're scared to tell their parents and are not sure what to do yet," she said.

The subject of teenage pregnancies is no longer taboo. Today the media portrays the topic through programs like MTV's "16 And Pregnant." Not surprising, since the U.S. has the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the developed world, according to the World Health Organization. In the U.S., 750,000 teens get pregnant every year, according to the website Women's E-News.

Katherine Almendares was one of them. She became pregnant at 17 and dropped out of International Studies Academy in San Francisco. Now she has a one-year-old daughter, Daniella. "I didn't know if I was happy or if I just wanted to cry and smile," says Almendares of when she found out she was pregnant. Next came telling her parents. She texted her mom from school, but didn't tell her dad until she was eight weeks along. Her dad reacted by not talking to her for two days.

Marlen Prado's story is different. Pregnant at 16, she is now married with an 18-month-old daughter. Prado's mom figured out her daughter was pregnant when she saw Prado's boyfriend and his mother waiting to talk to her.

A teen's daily life changes with the responsibility of a child. Before, Almendares went out with friends and stayed out late. "I was never home and now it's like I barely go out. If I hang out with friends it's because they have babies too," she said.

Almendares counts on family for support. While she's at work or in class, her grandmother or parents take care of Daniella. Prado also gets support from her and her husband's family as well as her school. Prado graduated from Hilltop High School, which offers free day care.

More than two thirds of all teen mothers will not graduate from high school, according to the website Pregnant Teen Help. Although Almendares dropped out of school, she plans on taking her GED. Currently, she is a peer educator at TAPP and hopes to be a stay-at-home mom when her internship ends. "I just want to take [Daniella] to more educational, hands on things, like maybe baby yoga ... or the jazz exercise for babies."

Conversely, Prado plans to attend City College of San Francisco and become a paramedic or a police officer. Though she is busy with work and school, she tries to spend as much time with her daughter as she can.

As Ayala said, "Being a parent is hard alone. Being a teen and a parent takes it to a whole different level."