Those robot babies used in sex ed may actually increase teen pregnancies

Robot babies used in sex ed to discourage pregnancy seem to have backfired. According to a new study, girls who participated in programs that used them were more likely to become pregnant or have an abortion than those who didn’t — possibly because they enjoyed taking care of the "babies" so much.

These robot babies, officially called "infant simulators," contain computers that program them to cry, sleep, scream, or "die." Most commonly, teachers give them to high school girls to take care of over a weekend as part of a sex ed program. The idea is that teens will realize how challenging it is to take care of a baby and then be less likely to get pregnant. But a study published Thursday in the journal Lancet — which is the first...