The mayor has called a meeting for this morning to talk to other city officials about how to handle the media maelstrom that has erupted over reports that a group of teen girls made a "pact" to get pregnant this year.

Mayor Carolyn Kirk is planning to meet with various officials, including the chairman of the School Committee, the superintendent of schools and the city's director of public health. They will meet for about two hours to discuss how they will handle the media, Kirk said.

Kirk called it an opportunity to "regroup."

"We've been bombarded by the national media," she said. "We just all need to be on the same page."

The announcement comes at a point when Kirk has been questioning the claim of the "pact" that had sparked the media's attention. High School Principal Joseph Sullivan was quoted by Time magazine saying girls made pacts with each other to get pregnant.

Kirk said one of the things she wants to talk about at today's meeting is information concerning the pact.

"If, in fact, there even was one," Kirk said.

However, Kirk said there were several other facets of the issue that she wants to discuss at this morning's meeting.

"There's a whole list of things," she said.

Kirk has asked other officials to decline all media interviews until after the meeting is held. She says she is concerned about protecting the privacy of the girls involved, as well as wanting to make sure everyone representing the city is working with the same level of information.

The fact that there has been a sharp spike in the number of teen pregnancies in Gloucester is not new — city and school officials have been struggling for months to explain and deal with the pregnancies. While on average only four girls a year become pregnant, this year at least 17 are expecting babies.

"This is something we've been aware of for months," Kirk said.

Today's meeting will be held at 11 a.m., with a press conference scheduled for immediately afterwards, at 1 p.m.