Teenage Pregnancy in the Bahamas

1129 Words3 Pages

Teenage pregnancy in the Bahamas
Every society is affected by teenage pregnancy which is a multifaceted problem that can pose social, economic and health issues. Teenage pregnancy inadvertently contributes to the escalating volume of single parent families in the Bahamas. According to the Department of Statics a single parent home is considered to be a home in which the parents are not married. Although the birth rate fluctuates, births to single mothers have escalated over the past forty years in the Bahamas from 29% (1970) to 62% (2009). Births to single mothers however remain the largest natural increase annually to the Bahamian population. Teenage pregnancy has increased the number of single parent homes, which have had adverse effects on the family and society of the Bahamas.
Over the last 40 years 22,880 teens under the age of 20 had live births in the Bahamas; this number does not include teenage girls who have terminated their pregnancies or have had still births less than 1% of these teens are married, each of the 22,880 births contributes to the escalating amount of single parent homes in the Bahamas.

Year Total Births Total teen Births % of Teen Births Age Group of Mothers
10-14 15-19 Born in Wedlock Born out of wedlock
1975 3983 679 17% 11 668 164 515
1980 5099 1107 21.7 22 1085 100 1007
1990 6117 763 12.5 13 750 7 756
2000 5287 580 11.0 20 560 42 538
2005 5548 540 9.7 8 532 23 517
2006 5296 563 10.6 14 549 18 545
2007 5854 610 10.4 6 604 23 587
2008 5480 617 11.3 10 607 22 595
2009 5348 532 9.9 5 527 20 512
2010 5362 533 9.9 5 528 10 523

The above chart shows the total births for 1970-2010, the total births to teens the percentage of teens for the year the age group and the marital status. Over t...

... middle of paper ...

...re 22% more likely to become teen mothers

Works Cited

Bahamas, DepartmentofStatics." Legitmacy Birth Reporth." Web. Nassau Bahamas: Government printing, 20012. 16 September 2013. .
Gibson, Adrian. "Condoms for schools in the Bahamas." Tribune (2008). Web. 20 September 2013. < http://www.weblogbahamas.com/blog_bahamas/2008/07/condoms-for-sch.html>.
Smith, Susan Roberts-. "Teenage Pregnancy in the Bahamas:Trends and Characteristics." The Yale Journal of Biology and medicine (1984): 273-281. Web. 10 September 2013. .
Swierzewki, Stanley J.III MD. "Teen Pregnancy & Health Risks to the Baby." Teen Pregnancy (2000). Web. 23 September 2013. .

Show More
Related

  • Teen Pregnancy in Illinois

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    Figure 1 in 2009 the teen birth rate was the lowest it had been in previous decades. However, Rock Island County was rising (“Teen Birthrate Hit Historic Low In 2009”).

    Read More

  • The Teenager Emerges: Canada in the 1950s

    936 Words  | 2 Pages

    The demographic of the Teenagers was created in the 1950’s due to the giant number of population in this age group and due to teenagers gaining more independence, freedom and privacy.

    Read More

  • Unwanted and Unplanned Teen Pregnancy and Sexually Transmitted Illness

    1552 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes, Stereotyping and Teen Pregnancy

    1465 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • Canada 's Teenage Pregnancy Rate

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Abortion

    3810 Words  | 8 Pages

    Vital Statistics of the U.S. 1998, Vol 1, Natality. 1998 <<www.cdc.gov>> { scholarly primary, print via internet, authoritative}

    Read More

  • Teen Pregnancy

    1613 Words  | 4 Pages

    Alan Guttmacher Institute. (1999). Teenage pregnancy: Overall trends and state-by-state      information. NY: The Alan Guttmacher Institute.

    Read More

  • Trends in Teen Pregnancy Around the World

    827 Words  | 2 Pages

    Teen Pregnancy has been a big epidemic this past century. Not only effecting countries like the United States , Mexico and England but also countries like Canada and Sweden. The big baby boomer epidemic started it all not only in the United states but all over the world. Many people wouldn’t think that Canada has had a problem with teen pregnancy rates but it was one of the many countries that was involved with the baby boomer era. Most people didn’t know pregnancy rates doesn’t just include live births but also abortions and fetal loss rates which many people fail to add in this category. The main purpose of the research was to show the trends in teen pregnancy only in Canada from 2001 to 2010. The researchers believed that pregnancy has in facet went down since the start of research in the 1974 by almost 20% . Most people think this information isn’t that important but it is its important for educators , service providers, and also policy makers. Teen pregnancy numbers were compared per 1000 women ages 15 to 19. Some of the Providences didn’t want to participate in this study so they had to estimate the number of abortions per clinic that did let them do the study for teens ages 19 and under. In years leading up to 2008 the CIHI reported a decline in teen abortions not only in one providence but also in others. From 2001 – 2005 teen birth and abortions declined in 10 out of 12 Providences by 14.8% this was the largest decrease they've seen so far. Researchers found that teen birth and abortion rates both declined from 2001 to 2010. Birth rates declined by 15.6% while abortion rates declined by 24.2 % Both rates fell by 20.3% from 2001 to 2010. Since teen pregnancy has decreased since starting research it shows that teens are eit...

    Read More

  • Teen Pregnancy Prevention

    2297 Words  | 5 Pages

    Teen pregnancy has become an epidemic in the United States alone. Today, more than half of all teenagers report having had sexual intercourse at least once before leaving high school (Glazer, 1993). Each year, almost 750,000 U.S. women, aged 15–19 become pregnant (Guttmacher Institute, 2011).

    Read More

  • Case Study Analysis: Issues Around Abortion

    1879 Words  | 4 Pages

    March Dimes Foundation: Pregnancy and Newborn Health Education Center. Retrieved from http://www.marchofdimes.com/materials/teenage-pregnancy.pdf

    Read More

  • Should Teens Have Parental Consent to Receive Birth Control?

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    By having classes that discusses HIV, AIDS, and teen pregnancy teens may feel that having condoms distributed in schools is great to coincide with the classes being taught at the school. Condoms are the first method of birth control for teens and are a great start for teens that are having sex if they are not sure their parents should be involved in their decision on having sex. Plan B is the most popular birth control on the market and is being offered at universities for students for $25. Mangu-Wa... ... middle of paper ... ....

    Read More

  • Views on Teens Pregnancies Through the Years

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    ..., TODAY. "Teen Births at Lowest Rate since 1940." USA Today n.d.: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 20 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Play Influence on Child Development

    544 Words  | 2 Pages

    Pasquariello, P. S., Jr. (Ed.). (1999). Book of pregnancy and child care. New York City, NY: John Wiley & Sons.

    Read More

  • Teenage Pregnancy Essay

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    However, this is different in developing countries from which teen pregnancies are highly contributed by the financial constraints, sexual or domestic violence, media through the exhibition of phonographic and sex. Together with others, some of these factors may lead to dropping out of schools by the pregnant teenage as she is required to play the role of mother to the unborn baby. Termination of the lady’s education process leads to lack of job skills making it hard for the mother to live as she can’t find and keep a job. As a result of this, poverty becomes prevalent as the mother tries to support herself and the baby. According to researches, teenage pregnancy has a negative effect to the life of the child especially in the social aspect.

    Read More

  • Research Proposal: Exploring the Causes of Teenage Pregnancy in the UK

    2752 Words  | 6 Pages

    Swann, C., Bowe, K., McCormick, G., Kosmin, M. (2003) Teenage pregnancy and parenthood: a review of reviews. London: HAD.

    Read More

More about Teenage Pregnancy in the Bahamas

Open Document