Anti-teen pregnancy show '16 and Pregnant' helps reduce teen births

Contrary to popular belief that MTV's '16 and Pregnant' show promotes teen pregnancy by glorifying life of young mothers, a new study has found that such shows have actually helped in reducing teen births by almost 6 percent.

According to the New York Times, the National Bureau of Economic Research compared Nielsen television ratings to birth records, and concluded that in areas where teens viewed MTV more after the show debuted, teen pregnancy rates dropped more quickly as compared to other areas, Newser.com reported.

The study was conducted keeping in mind that those who watched the show might have been at higher risk of teen pregnancy.