Bethany Christian Services' Works with Popular Couple to Raise Awareness for Pregnancy Counseling

Contact: Joe DiBenedetto, Lambert, Edwards & Associates, 616-233-0500, jdibenedetto@lambert-edwards.com

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Feb. 29, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Bethany Christian Services, the nation's premier family preservation and adoption agency, announces a partnership between the organization and Catelynn Lowell and Tyler Baltierra, the popular couple from the first season of MTV's runaway hit show, "16 and Pregnant." The focus of the partnership is to raise public awareness to the benefits of pregnancy counseling and adoption.

Well before Catelynn and Tyler were introduced to "16 and Pregnant" producers, the couple approached Bethany Christian Services for professional support surrounding their unplanned pregnancy. While the couple was in love and expected to be together forever -- they recently announced their engagement to wed -- they were young, in high school and unprepared to raise a child. As a result, they sought counsel on their options before making the decision they determined was best for them and their daughter -- developing an adoption plan.

The couple's touching experience, as seen by millions across the country, was well documented and cast a national spotlight on the personal challenges and difficult decisions surrounding unexpected pregnancy. For more than 65 years, Bethany Christian Services has assisted women with unplanned pregnancies, serving more than 71,000 women in that time. In an effort to reach young couples facing unexpected pregnancies in order to educate them on pregnancy options ­-- despite declines in rates of teen pregnancy in the U.S., recent reports indicate that nearly 750,000 teens become pregnant each year -- Bethany has enlisted Catelynn and Tyler to participate in a national campaign featuring media interviews, online chats and college campus speaking engagements, among other initiatives.

"Placing our daughter Carly for adoption was the hardest thing we will ever do," said Tyler, "but as parents we made the sacrifice of not raising her and being with her all the time to only better her life by giving her to a Christian family who has longed and waited for a child of their own. We've seen firsthand the value in working with a pregnancy counselor.  We received tremendous support from Dawn at Bethany during our pregnancy, and we want to make sure others in similar situations know what resources are available to them."

Bethany Christian Services, Catelynn and Tyler will launch their partnership with an online chat. The chat will be hosted in the group, "Chat with Catelynn and Tyler," on Facebook, Wednesday, March 7th at 8 p.m. A link to the chat will be posted on Monday, and can be found on the agency's Facebook page -- www.facebook.com/bethanyfans.

To learn more about Bethany's family preservation and adoption services, view the following birthparents video featuring Catelynn and Tyler at vimeo.com/36150741, or visit www.bethany.org for more information.