(KSDK) - 900,000 teenagers 15 to 18 get pregnant every year in this country. Teen moms are at high risk of having babies that are born too soon and too small. Now, a local program for expectant teens that''s producing healthier families.

Pregnant teens are also less likely to get the prenatal care they need. That''s one of the trends that led to the development of a special program for pregnant teens at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.

It''s called the Teen Pregnancy Center at Barnes-Jewish. Since 1999 it''s been helping pregnant teens, both mom and dad, have healthier pregnancies and healthier babies.

"It''s a unique group. They are not adults, they are still teenagers, so adult services aren''t geared toward meeting their needs," says Mary Alice Grady, a Barnes-Jewish Hospital certified nurse midwife.

The program is based on what''s called the "Centering Pregnancy Model." Teens get their prenatal care in groups, meet with peer counselors and do much of the medical record keeping themselves.

"By taking their own blood pressures, recording their own rates, being involved in their care we hope that also empowers them so they feel more in control of their healthcare and in the future will feel more in control of the health of their children," says Grady.

"Just to know I''m 16 and having a baby is kinda scary," says Alicia Lawson, an expecting teen.

Lawson and her baby''s father Vernon Spencer, 20, are involved in the Teen Pregnancy Center. He says he''s gotten a lot out of it, "Everything from advice to stay in school, how to keep a job, how to keep our relationship good with our girlfriend."

Alicia agrees, "I think I''m more into it now because I know what''s going on with the baby and I know what''s going on with my body more than just a regular mom would."

The goal is not only to meet the medical needs of pregnant teens, but their unique social needs as well.

"There''s a lot more pressure because teens still have to worry about how they''re going to go to school and like how they''re going to do this for their baby and stuff," explains Sarah Weeden, a teen mother and a teen peer counselor who completed the program and now helps other pregnant teens.

And the results show this program is making a difference. Teens who attend have a better chance of having full term babies born at healthy weights.