The issue of adolescent pregnancy in the United States has evolved as the culture has shifted between the early 20th century and present day. In the beginning of the 1900’s, adolescent pregnancy was common and socially acceptable among girls who were already married. Women during this time were expected to fall into traditional gender stereotypes, which entailed: birthing and raising children, general household chores, and supporting their husband. While adolescent pregnancy was still a concern for the public in the early 1900’s, these concerns were focused on a moral objection to premarital sex, not the negative health and economic outcomes of adolescent pregnancy.
A cultural shift took place during and after World War II, when over 6 million
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TANF or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families was created in 1996 as a welfare program to help needy families reach self-sufficiency. Another more well-known program is The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, or WIC. WIC allots federal grants to states in order to supply low-income families with healthy foods, nutrition education, and health care referrals. A reduction in adolescent birthrates would benefit both TANF and WIC in a couple of major ways. For one, less people would be applying to these programs, allowing them to broaden their application guidelines to accept more low income families. Secondly, with less people enrolled in the program, the budget could either be cut (saving tax payers money) or the remainder of the budget could be reallocated to other grants and programs that benefit the public’s …show more content…
The maternal mortality rate for woman under 20 years of age is 7.1 deaths per 100,000 (2007); girls under the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy than women in their 20s.
In 1990, the birth rate for women 15-19 was 59.9 per 1,000 (5.99%). Maternal mortality rates for adolescents are not recorded on an annual basis, but it may be assumed that as birth rates decrease, so will maternal
Teen pregnancy is a major issue in society today. In 2010, an estimated 614,400 U.S. teenagers became pregnant, approximately 89,300 had miscarriages, and 157,500 had legal abortions. Teens are having unprotected sex without knowing the consequences of the choices that the are making. Teens believe that sex is something new that they can try, so they can be popular like their peers. These accusations are wrong, having unprotected sex has major consequences, and by having unprotected sex these teens could be changing their lives forever. Who is to fault for these teen pregnancies? Is in the parents fault, the teens fault or is it our communities fault all together? I believe providing more information and awareness about teen pregnancy in our schools and community will reduce the number of teen pregnancies.
The female teen stares into the eyes of her newborn son, not realizing the type of life her and her son will have in the near future. Katrina L. Burchett excellently explicates teenage pregnancy among female adolescents living with domestic problems in her book titled Choices. The various elements that aid to the wide range of teenage pregnancies in the world should all be taken in to consideration. Getting pregnant at an adult is no longer substantial or conventional in our society. Everyday, female young adults are getting pregnant, which is why it is a social issue for the youth today.
The District of Columbia is the 23rd most population city in the United States with a population of 658,893 (Census). According to UNICEF, teen pregnancy is defined as “A teenage girl, usually within the ages of 13-19, becoming pregnant” ((Link 1). Nationally in the United States, there has been a steady decline of teen pregnancy within the past decade. However, it is not occurring in the District of Columbia, specifically Southeast DC (Ward 7 and 8) which includes areas such as: Lincoln Heights, Twining, Anacostia and Woodland. As of 2011, DC was ranked number nine in the nation for the highest rate of teen pregnancy. For the total amount of births, only 908 were from young women who were below the age of 20 in Washington DC. About 879 were from young women that were around high school ages 15-19. Specifically, Southeast DC is a low-income area, with approximately ¼ of teen mothers going on welfare within three years after their child’s birth (Link 2). As of 2012, out of the 790 births from teenage mothers, more than half, or 457 of the births mainly occurred in the Southeast DC area (Link4). This area has been plagued through various social determinants of health. This includes having repeated cycles of poverty, lack of comprehensive sexual education, especially in regards to contraception and a lot of violence occurring as a result of crimes. Ward 7 has approximately 95% of its citizens being Black and 2.3% of their citizens are Hispanic(Link 5). While in Ward 8 have about 94% of their citizens that are Black and 1.8% are Hispanic. Between both wards, about 63% of households including both Blacks and Hispanics are living below the federal poverty line and about 37% of births from the 2010 census were from teenage mothers. Abo...
According to the March of Dimes, "nearly thirteen percent of all births in the United States were teens ages fifteen to nineteen. Almost one million teenagers become pregnant each year and about 485,000 give birth (Teenage 1).
Teenage pregnancy is a condition that can be controlled in many instances. Congress’ campaign is “To reduce the teenage pregnancy by supporting values and stimulating actions that are consistent with a pregnancy-free adolescence,” stated the Speaker pro tempore Mr. Taylor of North Carolina. Congress’ goal is to balance the budget and reduce spending in the area of Medicaid funds, food stamps, and AFDC funds that are especially hard-hit by the teenage pregnancy problem. Reducing teenage childbearing through this campaign is likely to require more than eliminating or manipulating welfare programs.
The Web. The Web. 18 Mar. 2010. http://go.galegroup.com/> http://go.gale “Teenage Abortion and Pregnancy Statistics by State,1992.” Guttmacher Institute. N.p., 1996-2010.
The general fertility rate was almost half of what it was in 1989 at 49 live births per one thousand women and the total fertility rate was approaching replacement level at 2.22 children per woman. Fertility rates were highest for ages 20 through 29. Young mothers in the 10-14 age range had the third lowest age specific fertility rates with 2.91 live births per one thousand women. Mothers in the 15-19 age range averaged 74.37 births per one thousand women. Mothers in the 20-24 age range had the highest fertility rate with 122.20 live births per one thousand women. Mothers aged 25-29 had the second highest fertility rate with 103.92 live births per one thousand women. Mothers aged 30-34 averaged 81.48 live births per one thousand women. The decline in fertility starting at age 35 seen in 1985 is also present in 2011. Mothers in the 35-39 age range averaged 43.66 live births per one thousand women. Mothers between the ages of 40-44 averaged 13.71 live births per one thousand women and mothers aged 45-49 averaged 1.03 live births per one thousand women. Mothers over the age of 50 had the lowest fertility rate, with .12 live births per one thousand womem (Yearbook 2013). In both years fertility peaked between the ages of 20 and 24. In 1985 the rise in fertility is far more abrupt than in 2011, and the higher rates of fertility last longer as well. In 1985 the age specific fertility rate hits triple digits
"Over one million teenage girls become pregnant each year. In the next 24 hours, about 3,312 girls will become pregnant. In addition, 43% of all adolescents become pregnant before the age of 20. These are incredible statistics when you consider that there are only 31 million females. The United States has the highest adolescent pregnancy rate in the developed world. As statistics show one in nine women between the ages of 15 through 19 become pregnant each year. Also, every 26 seconds a teenage girl becomes pregnant and every 56 seconds a child of a teenage mother is born."
Teenage pregnancy has always been present in society. There is research stating that about half the women, born between 1900- 1910, who were interviewed were non-virginal at marriage (17 Ravoira). This contradicts some thoughts that premarital sexual behavior is something new. There was another study done in 1953, it found that one fifth of all first births to women were conceived before marriage (17 Ravoira). Even before our modern openness in discussing sexual behavior and acceptance that it does occur, it was quite routine. In earlier society, the incidence of teenage pregnancy was a moral problem. This was because people looked at the child as filius nullius (nobody's child), or illegitimate and the mother as bad, immoral, over- sexed, etc. (18 Ravoira). The child was being blamed for mearly being born, this is unfair to the child who had no fault in the matter (18 Ravoira). The real problem that was seen was the fact that the children were born out-of-wedlock. People seemed to have real difficulty accepting that the baby is still a baby no matter what conditions it was born under.
Since the 1970s, many countries in the world the problem of adolescent sexuality and first sexual experience at young age appeared. To make matters worse, the trend of adolescent pregnancy became increasingly serious. From the fact sheet of World Health Organization, there are about 16 million adolescent girls giving birth every year – most in low- and middle-income countries. Among them, an estimated three million girls aged 15-19 undergo unsafe abortions every year. In low- and middle-income countries, over 30% of girls marry before they are 18 years of age; around 14% before the age of 15 and complications from pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of death among girls aged 15-19 years.
Though the teen birth rate has declined to its lowest levels since data collection began, the United States still has the highest teen birth rate in the industrialized world. Roughly, one in four girls will become pregnant at least once by their 20th birthday. In addition, young people ages 15 to 24 represent 25 percent of the sexually active population, but acquire half of all new STIs.
The concept of comprehensive social intervention has been defined as the process of identifying social problems in an attempt to eradicate them. In looking at the broad range of social characteristics and the behavior associated with teen pregnancy, it is obvious that the emphases placed on the effort to recognize and alleviate teen pregnancy can be celebrated through the effectiveness of education, family planning, and abstinence. However, the attempt to analyze and deal with the cause-and-effect relationship with teen pregnancy is an attempt in understanding the social world itself. In 2006, statistics show that there was a significant increase in teen pregnancy after a decade long decrease. The potential for understanding this increase motivates us to look beyond simple explanations for cause-and-effect behavior and to look at what interactions may be occurring between variables that result in specific behaviors or social conditions. What is it that influences behavior? In looking at teen pregnancy in the realm of the family, it is evident that a large number of family structures have evolved, or perhaps devolved, into a variety of combinations which challenge responsible parents to consistently expose their children to the role models and the types of behaviors that are important for their children to emulate as they mature. People are molded by circumstances and experiences, all of which can positively or negatively influence our behavior.
Preventing teenage pregnancy has been a goal for many years now. Statistics have tried to keep up with the change in the teenage generation. Many people have different opinions on the subject of teen pregnancy, because to some people teens seem to be getting pregnant expeditiously in these times. People fail to realize that having a baby is a privilege to many people and not a problem. Many people take having a baby as a lightly. Getting pregnant and having a kid has many pros/cons. Having a child can be very hard on some people and cause them to break. When babies are brought into this world there are a lot of things to worry about. The greatest problem associated with teen pregnancy is financial instability. Most teens do not have the salary to support a child. In the prevention of teen pregnancy there are many things that are helpful. Abstinence is a for sure way of not getting pregnant. There are also other helpful ways to help prevent teen pregnancy, such as sex education and birth control. All of these things are essential in the helping to prevent teenage pregnancy.
Thesis Statement: Within America, there is a teen pregnancy epidemic across all socioeconomic backgrounds, presenting commonalities as to the causes and ramifications of adolescents emerging as a growing parental population.
The problem with teenage pregnancy is it requires intervention from society. This debate is from the perspective of teens, and absent from the medical, ethical, and political views on teen pregnancy. According to Jewell, Tacchi, & Donovan, (2000), teen pregnancy is not a problem for teens themselves but more of a problem for society. The large numbers of unintended pregnancies are among unmarried teens.