Is Amber Portwood and Gary Shirley’s daughter Leah ready to go on birth control? It’s a question the Teen Mom exes have to ask themselves after Leah’s stepmom, Kristina Shirley, relays a message from the teen’s doctor in a PopCulture.com exclusive sneak peek of Wednesday’s new episode of Teen Mom: The Next Chapter.
“The doctor did suggest birth control to help regulate her periods,” Kristina says of Leah, now 14 years old. “The doctor did give her a good sex education talk along with the birth control pill, but Leah kept saying, ‘I don’t need it for that. I don’t need it for that. It’s just for my periods.’” Regardless of the reason, Gary is fully supportive of his daughter’s decision.
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“I’m not against her taking it. I mean, I would prefer it,” he admits. “I’d rather her be safe than sorry, though, because she’s going to eventually be old enough and older and eventually be more curious, and I don’t want her to be like it was with her mom and I – and then next thing you know, she’s pregnant.” Promising to talk to Portwood about the decision, Gary calls the MTV star to share the latest update.
“So the doctor is recommending Leah is at the age where we should think about putting her on birth control,” he tells Portwood. “Kristina did talk to Leah, and she is comfortable about talking about this on camera, because she needs birth control to help regulate her periods – definitely not for being sexually active.” He adds of his and Portwood’s own experience becoming young parents due to an unplanned pregnancy, “I’m glad she won’t be like us.”
Portwood agrees that Leah should be allowed to go on birth control, telling Gary, “I mean, I wish my mom would have thought about that when I was laying on the floor cramping and dying at that age.” She continues to the camera, “I do feel better that at least Leah is getting [birth control], and she’s smart and she understands about what sex is and to wait. And for me, being a young teenage mom, usually the statistic is that it’ll happen to your children possibly more so.” Teen Mom: The Next Chapter airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
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NEW YORK CITY – DECEMBER 19: "Toil and Trouble" – Elsbeth is thrown into the world of television after the showrunner of a long-running police procedural is brutally murdered in his office, and although it appears to be the act of a disgruntled fan, she begins to suspect the show's longtime star Regina Coburn (Laurie Metcalf) who yearns for artistic fulfillment. Meanwhile, Judge Crawford (Michael Emerson) continues to be a thorn in Elsbeth's side, on the CBS original series ELSBETH, Thursday, Dec. 19 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Pictured (L-R): Carrie Preston as Elsbeth Tascioni and Carra Patterson as Kaya Blanke. (Photo by Michael Parmelee/CBS via Getty Images)
