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Pregnancies Jump After Grand Junction Festival

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Jul 8, 2008 10:59 am US/Mountain

Pregnancies Jump After Grand Junction Festival

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) ―

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Whether it's something in the water or the grooving sounds of country music, the aftermath of what one health officials calls Grand Junction's "Woodstock" drives up pregnancies in this city each year.

Nurse-Family Partnership supervisor Wanda Scott said referrals to her agency from the Mesa County Health Department quadruple every year after the music festival Country Jam. Scott told commissioners about the phenomena Monday during a presentation called, "How are the Children?"

Scott said on average the health clinic sees between 25 to 30 pregnancies a month. She says five weeks after the festival that number jumps to almost 80 a month.

The festival ran from June 26-29. Performers included Tim McGraw, Clay Walker and Sugarland.

"That's our Grand Junction Woodstock," Scott said, referring to the 1969 counterculture rock festival in Bethel, N.Y., featuring such acts as Jimi Hendricks and Janis Joplin.

Grand Junction is a city of about 50,000 about 245 miles west of Denver.

Country Jam Director Steve Berg said the information surprised him.

"I certainly can't stop them from having sex. If we could stop it we certainly would," he said.

Commissioner Janet Rowland said education could help prevent unwanted teen pregnancies but didn't know what else could be done to stop them "short of putting birth control in the water at Country Jam."