Teen Pregnancy Although the rate of teenage pregnancy in the United States has declined greatly within the past few years, it is still an enormous problem that needs to be addressed. These rates are still higher in the 1990's than they were only a decade ago. The United State's teenage birthrate exceeds that of most other industrialized nations, even though American teenagers are no more sexually active than teenagers are in Canada or Europe. Recent statistics concerning the teen birthrates are alarming. About 560,000 teenage girls give birth each year. Almost one-sixth of all births in the United States are to teenage women. Eight in ten of these births resulted from unintended pregnancies. By the age of eighteen, one out of four teenage girls will have become pregnant. Although the onset of pregnancy may occur in any teenager, some teens are at higher risk for unplanned pregnancy than others. Teenagers who become sexually active at an earlier age are at a greater risk primarily because young teenagers are less likely to use birth control. African-American and Hispanic teenagers are twice as likely to give birth as are white teenagers. Whites are more likely to have abortions. Teenagers who come from poor neighborhoods and attend segregated schools are at a high risk for pregnancy. Also, teenagers who are doing poorly in school and have few plans for the future are more likely to become parents than those who are doing well and have high educational and occupational expectations. Although the rate of teenage pregnancy is higher among low- income African-Americans and Hispanics, especially those in inner city ghettoes, the number of births to teenagers is highest among white, non-poor young women who live in small cities and towns. In addition to the question of which teenagers become pregnant, interest is shown in the social consequences of early parenthood. Adolescent parents (mostly mothers) may find that they have a "lost or limited opportunity for education." The higher a woman's level of education, the more likely she is to postpone marriage and childbearing. Adolescents with little schooling are often twice as likely as those with more education to have a baby before their twentieth birthday. Some 58% of young women in the United States who receive less than a high school education give birth by the time they are twenty years old, com... ... middle of paper ... ...on, parents and communities are continuing to discourage sexual activity, marriage, and motherhood at a young age.These recent trends, if continued, will more than likely educate the adolescent population about the risks and consequences of teenage pregnancy and reduce the incicence of teen pregnancy and childbirth altogether. Works Cited Berk, Laura E. Child Development. 4th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997. Calhoun, C. et al. Sociology. New York: Glencoe-McGraw-Hill, 1995. Donovan, Patricia. "Falling Teen Pregnancy, Birthrates: What's Behind the Declines?" The Guttmacher Report. 1.5 (Oct. 1998); 31-34. Gormly, Anne V. Lifespan Human Development. 6th ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace, 1997. Johnson, Sherry. Teen Pregnancy: Too Much, Too Soon. Waco, TX: Health Edco., 1995. Newman, Philip R. and Barbara M. Newman. Childhood and Adolescence. Pacific Grove: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co., 1997. Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "Pregnancy and Childbearing Among U.S. Teens." Online. Internet. 29 Mar. 1999. Available Tunick, Barbara. "Issues in Brief: Risks and Realities of Early Childbearing Worldwide." The Guttmacher Report. (Feb. 1997); 10-14.
Teen pregnancy is a problem that is prevalent in the United States as a whole and has become a problem, which African American contribute toin some of the highest numbers. African Americans in the United States have the second highest rate in teen pregnancy next to Hispanics. African American females are most affected by teen pregnancy because of statistics that seem to hold true that African American girls are most likely to have children as teens (Cotton 2005). My project’s purp...
First off, an unplanned pregnancy has physical effects on a teen. The abdominal area will enlarge and in effect, there will be weight gain. This causes teens to buy totally new wardrobes. In addition there are effects that aren’t as visual. Pregnant women may experience exhaustion and weariness. Furthermore, a change in appetite may be experienced.
Teenagers who become mothers have harsh prospects for the future. Teenagers obtaining abortions are 20% and girls under 15 accounts for 1.2%. They are much more likely to leave of school; receive insufficient prenatal care; rely on public assistance to raise a child; develop health problems; or en...
The birth rate among teens in the United States has declined 9% from 2009 to 2010, a historic low among all racial and ethnic groups, with the least being born in 2010; and in 2011 the number of babies born to adolescents aged 15-19 years of age was 329,797 (“Birth Rates for U.S.”, 2012). Although the decline in unwanted and unplanned teen births is on the rise the United States continues to be among the highest of industrialized countries facing this problem. This is a prevailing social concern because of the health risks to these young mothers as well as their babies. Teens at higher risk of becoming pregnant are raised at or below the poverty level by single parents; live in environments that cause high levels of stress (i.e., divorce, sexual psychological and physical abuse); are influenced by peers or family members that are sexually active; and lack parental guidance that would direct them to be responsible and self-controlled.
As times continually change, it is inevitable that statistics will change as well. For each student that fails to graduate from high school, another statistic comes about. An American epidemic that forever seems to be looming on the horizon is the issue of teenage parenting and pregnancies. According to an article pertaining to teen pregnancies compiled from teenhelp.com, the United States has been deemed the leading nation for teenage pregnancies in the Western industrialized world. Due to this statistic, it is important to evaluate what can be done to set up teenage parents for success, as well as what can be done for children born in to young families. In an article on teenage parenting compiled by Linda Mangel, it is said that nearly seventy percent of teenage mothers do not complete their secondary education, and because of this, it becomes evident that a solution is crucial. Secondary schools would benefit from considering the implementation of daycare systems in order to increase the graduation rate for teen parents.
The overall teen birth rate has declined by 16 percent from 1991 to 1997. “All states are recording a decline and it is the sixth year in a row that the teen birth rate has declined,” stated Donna Shalala, HHS secretary of U. S. Newswire. Although the birthrate among teens is decreasing and the percentage of teenagers who have had sexual intercourse is declining, it is a multi-fauceted problem affecting today’s youth. The government is taking in to consideration all possibilities and conditions with teen births to make an affective way to prevent it.
To begin with, there are many common reasons why teenage pregnancy takes place. In fact, 60% of teenage mothers come from economically disadvantaged households and perform poorly in school. Alex McKay, research coordinator for the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, explains, "Young women who feel optimistic about their future tend not to get pregnant. Young women who are starting to feel discouraged about their employment are more likely to get pregnant." Moreover, 79% of teen pregnancies happen to unmarried teen couples. The male is usually older than the female in the relationship, and pressures the girl into having unprotected sex. Girls born to teenage mothers also have a 22% higher chance of becoming teen moms themselves, for they often live in a poor environment, like their mothers once did. Significantly, those affected by teenage pregnancy have many similarities.
Studies show that between 2006 and 2011 there was an average drop of about 30% of teen pregnancies and 50% of teens involved in any kind of sexual activity (not just intercourse) in America. According to a recent study as of 2008, teen birth rates in the U.S., (which have been declining for tw...
“Thirteen percent of all [United States] births are to teens, each year approximately one million U.S. teenagers become pregnant, about 40 percent of American women become pregnant before the age of 20 and about 78 percent of teenage pregnancies are unintended, accounting for
There are many different attributes to teenage pregnancy. The majority of teenagers do not realize the consequences of their actions. Taking that into consideration the influences of the teens are highly important during the pre teen stage all the way to adult hood. During the time of this impressionable stage many of the teens are having sex not because of love, but because it is a trend. The media is glamorizing teen pregnancy and leading to a cultural shift.
Cherry, Andrew L., Mary E. Dillon, and Douglas Rugh. Teenage pregnancy: A Global View. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2001. Print.
Teen pregnancy, it’s one of the growing problems in today’s society. Teens today have more problems than ever, and in many cases the parents mistake signs of the problems for mere puberty phase. Beginning problem, which often trigger the others, seem to be families. Deeply religious families are most often heavily strict, and that prevents the teenagers to be informed about real life and what are they getting into. When that kind of person gets in a situation where his or her peers are more experienced then them, the outcome is a pressure. During the puberty the teenagers, especially males, are having problems with controlling their needs. It is easy to get pregnant for today’s teenagers, because they face many unbearable problems.
The high social and economic costs of teen pregnancy and child¬bearing can have short- and long-term negative consequences for teen parents, their children, and their community. Through recent research, it has been recognized that pregnancy and childbirth have a significant impact on educational outcomes of teen parents. These immediate and long-lasting effects continue for teen parents and their children even after adjusting for the factors that increased the teen’s risk for pregnancy—e.g., growing up in poverty, having parents with low levels of education, growing up in a single-parent family, and having low attachment to and performance in school.
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.
In conclusion teen pregnancy has hard an effect on society, in many ways. Most teen pregnancies were not planned. CFOS says that about 65% of teen pregnancy's were not even discussed with their sexual partners. All of the other percentage of teen pregnancy's were not planned either, but it had been discussed with the teen's sexual partner at some point in time. Most teens began having sex without knowing the consequences. Teenagers need to take responsibility and remember to keep safe, because there are various ways to prevent teen pregnancy, for example abstinence, sex education, and various types of birth control; because these methods are available children should not be brought into this world mistakenly.