It appears that highly sexual or racy television shows like Californication, Gossip Girl and Sex and the City are full of flirting, kissing scenes including sexual innuendo’s that could lead to getting you pregnant.

A new study has found that girls who watch racy shows have a much higher chance of getting "in the mood” than those who settle for less sexually charged TV.

Behavioural scientist Anita Chandra found that teens who watched the sexiest shows were twice as likely to become pregnant over the next three years as those who watched few such programs.

Shows that highlight only the positive aspects of sexual behaviour and not the risks can lead teens to have unprotected sex before they're ready to make responsible and informed decisions, Chandra said.

The study in the November issue of Paediatrics, involved 2,003 boys and girls nationwide between the ages 12 and 17 who were questioned in 2001 about their viewing habits.

Pregnancies were twice as common among those who said they watched such shows regularly compared with teens who said they hardly ever watched them.

Anita Chandra is a behavioural scientist at RAND and lead author of the study says exposure to sex on TV may help create the perception that there is little risk to engaging in sex without the use of contraceptives.

"The amount of sexual content on television has doubled in recent years, and there is little representation of safer sex practices in those portrayals," Chandra says.

The findings suggest that TV watching is strongly connected with teen pregnancy even when other factors are considered, including whether students make good grades, or differences in parents' education level.