Jamie Lynn Spears looked like such a cute kid back when she was the star of teen hit, "Zooey 101," not so long ago. Who knew that beneath that pretty, blonde front lurked a hypercompetitive young woman intent on stealing the spotlight from her superstar sis, Britney, no matter what it would take?
Apparently starring in her own show wasn't enough recognition for Jamie Lynn. Britney was splashed over countless magazine covers and headlining TV news reports as she spiraled into the clutches of bipolar disorder last year. It's not totally surprising that the younger Spears found a way to get her own slew of celebrity magazine covers, and to definitively get the attention of her mom, Lynne Spears, when she got pregnant at 16.
Now she's baaccck! And just as pregnant as ever barely three months after giving birth to daughter #1, Maddie, according to The National Enquirer, which broke the story. But this time my bet is that Jamie Lynn isn't just inspired by sibling rivalry. No, like everyone else in the country, she's a victim of Palin Fever. But in this case, it's Bristol Palin mania. My guess is that Jamie Lynn didn't like it one bit that there was a new pregnant 17 year-old in town and upstaging her all over the news. When you're an attention-addict, you're an expert on figuring out how to get the spotlight shining back on YOU!
"Negative attention is better than no attention. And she got a helluva lot of attention when she got pregnant the first time," points out LA psychotherapist, Dr Nancy Irwin. " I think she feels pressure to be somebody and she's unsure about her talents. This is a way of getting attention without working."
While Jamie Lynn is telling her friends, according to The Enquirer, that she didn't think she could get pregnant while breastfeeding, I'm not buying that excuse. Wouldn't most girls in a similar predicament who truly didn't want a repeat pregnancy be religious about using contraception?
"I can't believe ignorance is at play", agrees Dr. Irwin. "I can't imagine her OB/GYN wouldn't have fully discussed contraception with her," so she wouldn't oops, do it again.
And what about Mama Lynne Spears? Surely, she would have found some time between promoting her new book, "Through The Storm," to have had a heart to heart with Jamie Lynn about birth control. My guess is she's already back on the blower to OK! magazine to sell Jamie Lynn's new story and upcoming photos of the baby for another $1 million.
Take that Bristol Palin — your mom can't do that for you right now.
While a new pregnancy will no doubt be a financial and publicity bonanza for the unmarried Jamie Lynn, there are real life risks to the 17 year-old. There's her career as a "good girl" teen star in tatters and probably on hold for at least another year. There's the enormous challenge of raising two very real human beings. And there's also the very real threat of post-partum depression, which Britney may have suffered from, after having two babies about a year apart.
"Getting pregnant so soon after a pregnancy can make you more vulnerable to post-partum depression," points out Dr. Jenn Berman, a family psychotherapist and the author of "The A to Z Guide to Raising Healthy, Confident Kids."
So Jamie Lynn, I hope you can figure out more positive ways to quench your neediness thirst. Are the money, the magazine covers and the chance to be America's #1 Pregnant Teen again really worth it?