MTV has ordered yet another version of their popular Teen Mom reality series franchise. Teen Mom 3 will feature the young ladies that will be profiled on the upcoming fourth season of 16 and Pregnant (which debuts March 27th).

The fourth season of the original Teen Mom series, which follows the lives of the young ladies from the original 16 and Pregnant, is expected to kick off sometime this summer.

Teen Mom 2, which revolves around the girls from 16 and Pregnant’s second season, recently completed its second season. Part two of a reunion special airs tonight at 10pm on MTV.

Here’s the press release with additional details:

MTV’S GROUNDBREAKING DOCU-SERIES “16 AND PREGNANT” RETURNS ON TUESDAY, MARCH 27 AT 10PM ET/PT
Network Greenlights New Installment in the “Teen Mom” Franchise: “Teen Mom 3”

New York, NY (February 27, 2012) – MTV’s hit docu-series “16 and Pregnant” will return on Tuesday, March 27 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT, with 12 episodes featuring new girls, new stories, and new struggles. The series continues to give viewers an authentic, honest, and intimate look inside the lives of teens as they face unexpected pregnancies and become parents at a young age. “16 and Pregnant” kicks off the season with two back-to-back episodes. Additionally, the network greenlit “Teen Mom 3,” a new series that will document the challenges of four new teens who are struggling to navigate parenthood. Details on “Teen Mom 3” will be announced at a later time.

This season on “16 & Pregnant,” viewers will watch these young moms face the dramatic ups and downs of being a teen parent. In one story, a pregnant teen will determine if adoption is the right choice for her, because she fears her boyfriend will continue to be unreliable. Another young woman will cope with her decision to keep her baby while her sister deals with the fact that she chose not to continue her pregnancy. Viewers will also meet a girl whose dream of going to college is suddenly halted after she becomes a teen mom, and another young woman who fights to raise her baby while dealing with a drug addicted parent and another young girl struggles with her mother’s disapproval of her relationship with her baby’s father. Each girl’s journey is unique, but they’re all dealing with the dramatic challenges that make being a teen mom so difficult. Through the tears, joys, and fears, they’re all doing their best to make their lives and that of their children the best possible.

According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, more than 700,000 teenage girls in the U.S. become pregnant each year and one out of every ten children in the U.S. is born to a teenage mother. The vast majority of these pregnancies are unintended. “16 and Pregnant” has been cited by experts as having an impact on the recent decline of teen birth rate, and a study in 2010 by the National Campaign found that 82% of teens who have watched the series think the show helps teens better understand the challenges of teen pregnancy and parenthood and how to avoid it. Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) recently announced that the U.S. teen birth rate declined 9 percent in 2010 and is now at the lowest level ever reported. Experts from the National Campaign cite the “Teen Mom” franchise as one of the key factors contributing to this steep decline.

More information about sexual health issues affecting young people, including unintended pregnancy, is available at http://www.itsyoursexlife.com, a public information resource developed by MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is working with the show to provide additional information.

Since its launch in 2009, “16 and Pregnant” has captivated millions of viewers with its honest depiction of the lives of pregnant teens. The most recent season, Season 3, averaged 2 million viewers per episode, a +17% increase from the first season. In 2011, “16 and Pregnant” ranked #1 in its time period among P12-34 and W12-34 across all of cable. Season 2 delivered nearly 27 million streams and averaged 349K weekly unique visitors, dominating shows within their time period. Additionally, season 3 of “16 and Pregnant” delivered more than 32 million streams, +15% more than the prior cycle of the series. Averaging 330K visitors to the show each week, it consistently performs as one of MTV.com’s highest trafficked show season after season.

“16 and Pregnant” is Executive Produced by Morgan J Freeman, Dia Sokol Savage and Lauren Dolgen. Jessica Zalkind, Andrew Portnoy, Sara Cohen and Janay Dutton are Executives in charge for MTV. Concept by Lauren Dolgen.

About The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy:

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to improve the lives and future prospects of children and families. Our specific strategy is to prevent teen pregnancy and unplanned pregnancy so that a higher proportion of babies are born into wanted and welcoming circumstances. The National Campaign supports a combination of responsible behavior by men and women and responsible policies in the public and private sectors. Find out more at www.thenationalcampaign.org or www.stayteen.org.

About MTV:

MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy(R), Grammy(R) and Peabody(R) award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV’s sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.

What do you think? Are you a fan of 16 and Pregnant or the various Teen Mom series? Do you like one more than the other?