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The Truth About 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.

(Gormly 348)

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 are to teenage women. Eight in ten of these births resulted from

unintended pregnancies. (Gormly 347) By the age of eighteen, one out of four teenage

girls will have become pregnant. (Newman 679)

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 birthcontrol. 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 educationsl 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, nonpoor young women who live in

small cities and towns. (Calhoun 309)

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." (Johnson 4) 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 bafore 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, compared with 13% of young women who complete at least twelve

years of schooling. (Tunick 11) Teens who become pregnant during high school are

more likely to drop out. (Calhoun 310) A teen mother leaves school because she cannot

manage the task of caring for a baby and studying, and a teen father usually chooses a job

over school so that he can pay bills and provide for his child. (Johnson 4) Teen mothers

usually have fewer resources than older mothers because they have had less time to gather

savings or build up their "productivity" through work experience, education, or training.

(Planned Parenthood 1) Because of this, teen mothers are generally poor and are

dependent on government support. (Newman 679) The welfare system is usually the

only support a teen parent will receive. Welfare benefits are higher for families with

absent fathers or dependent children. (Calhoun 309) In some cases, teen mothers may

also receive help like Medicaid, Food Stamps, and "Aid to Families with Dependent

Children" (AFDC). (Newman 679)

Besides educational and financial problems, teenage mothers may face a great deal

of emotional strain and may become very stressed. Teen mothers may have limited social

contacts and friendships because they do not have time for anything other than their baby.

Lack of a social life and time for herself may cause the teenage mother to become

depressed or have severe mental anxiety. (Johnson 5) Depression may become worse for

a teenage mother because she usually does not know much about child development or

about how to care for their children. Children who are born to teenage mothers usually

suffer from poor parenting. (Berk 188) Also, children of teenage parents start being

sexually active before their peers and they are more likely to become teenage parents

themselves. These children may also suffer from financial difficulties similar to that of

their parents. "Children whose mothers are age seventeen or younger are three times as

likely as their peers to be poor, and are likely to stay poor for a longer period of time."

(Calhoun 311) The children born to teenage mothers sometimes score lower on

development tests than the children of older mothers. It seems that "rather than declining

over time, educational deficits increase in severity and the children show lower academic

achievement, higher drop out rates, and are more likely to be held back in school."

(Calhoun 310)

Teenage pregnancy comes with not only a child, but also many consequences.

Teen mothers face greater health risks than older mothers, such as anemia, pregnancy

induced hypertension, toxemia, premature delivery, cervical trauma, and even death.

Many of these health risks are due to inadequate prenatal care and support, rather than

physical immaturity. The teenage mother is more likely to be undernourished and suffer

premature and prolonged labor. (Calhoun 311) The death rate from pregnancy

complications are much higher among girls who give birth under age fifteen. (Gormly

347) Poor eating habits, smoking, alcohol and drugs increase the risk of...

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

http://plannedparenthood.org/Library/teen-pregnancy/childbearing.htm

Tunick, Barbara. "Issues in Brief: Risks and Realities of Early Childbearing Worldwide."

The Guttmacher Report. (Feb. 1997); 10-14.