Teen pregnancy is a societal concern and has been seen as an urgent social problem in the United States since the 1970s (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998). Among developed countries, the United States ranks first in rates of both adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) (Stanger-Hall & Hall, 2001). American adolescents and adolescents of other industrialized countries do not have very different patterns of sexual activity, however American teenagers’ contraception use is less consistent and effective (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998). Nearly 50% of sexually transmitted diseases are acquired by young men and women aged 15 to 24 (Satterwhite et al., 2013). While teenage childbearing has decreased significantly in the past century, there has been an increased rate of sexual activity, illegitimacy, and welfare receipt that raises public concerns (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998).
Teenage pregnancy leads to a plethora of negative consequences for both mother and child. Educational effects include lower academic achievement and lower graduation rates (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], only about 50% of teen mothers will receive a high school diploma by the age of twenty-two (“Reproductive Health”, 2017). This is significantly lower than the 90% of women who earn a high school diploma by age twenty-two and do not have a child in their adolescent years (CDC, “Reproductive Health”,2017). Teenage mothers
Teen pregnancy is an issue in United States, it is one issue that should wait until teens are married and know what they are doing with their lives. This issue came about in the early in the 1950’s – 1960’s. Teen pregnancy is a teenage girl between the ages 13-19 (girls who haven’t reached adulthood) having unwanted or wanted babies. Janet Bode once stated in her book, “Emotions run everywhere, scared, sad, disappointment and preparation for what is about to happen” (Bode 51). If we do not act now, teen pregnancy will be out the roof. Teen pregnancy needs a stop put to it no matter what, teens are still children themselves and they are still learning how to take care of themselves:
Teen pregnancy is surprisingly decreasing over the years. According to Farber, “the most recent studies have shown that there has been a decrease in the rate of pregnancies among all teenagers and among sexually active teenagers (16). Although this issue seems is decreasing this is still a problem faced by many teenage girls today. Each year, 7.5 percent of all 15-19 year old women become pregnant (Maynard 1). Not only does this issue affects the pregnant teen but it also affects the economy. Teen pregnancy affects graduation rates. Many teen mothers cite pregnancy as the key reason of them not finishing school. Only 40 percent of teen mothers finish high school (Teen Pregnancy Affects Graduation Rates). The 60 percent of teen mothers
When considering the financial aspect of teen pregnancy, education regarding the issue should be provided with an increased attention because taxpayers end up billions of dollars on a yearly basis with the purpose of assisting teenage parents. In addition to this, society suffers because most teenagers who become pregnant are unlikely to finish high school. Children of teen parents are probable to suffer more health problems and to perform poorly during school, given that they are typically provided with underprivileged environments.
Studies show that the national average for an adolescent’s first sexual intercourse encounter is seventeen years old. Despite this number being very close to the average age in other industrialized countries, the United States holds a higher percentage of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) contraction than those countries (Harper et al, 2010, p. 125). It’s becoming evident that while a majority of the nation’s youth is sexually active, they are not doing so with the appropriate knowledge to keep themselves and others healthy.
There is no question that teen pregnancy is a worldwide issue in today’s society. Every year thousands of young, unprepared teenage girls face the decision whether to become a mother or to give their baby up for adoption for a better life. Some mothers choose to give their baby up because they feel as if they could not give the baby what is needed to have a good life. If you have ever heard of the show “16 and Pregnant” both sides of the situation have happened. Some girls on the show choose to be a mother and others choose to give their baby up for adoption, because they feel it is what is best for their child. The big question is
Teenage birth rates, defined as live births per one thousand 15-19-year-old US females, declined by 10% from 2012 to 2013 from 29.4 to 26.5. In fact, the birth rate has been on a steady decline over the past 20 years, from 61.8 in 1991 to 26.5 in 2013. Teenage pregnancy represents both a health and social inequality in our society. Specifically, teenage childbearing is a public health issue because teenage mothers are more likely to experience negative social outcomes such as dropping out of school. This is a self-reinforcing cycle, as children of teenage mothers face higher chances of poor academic achievement as well as getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant in their teenage years (CDC). Although the overall rates of teenage pregnancy have dropped, ultimately, the variations in the rates reflect the intersecting disparities regarding race and ethnicity, income inequality, geography, and environmental factors, which in turn affect access to medical care, education, and resources.
Teen pregnancy has always been a widespread problem in the United States. In America, there are almost 615,000 women aged 15-19 that become pregnant every year ("American Teens' Sexual Health"). Fortunately, the rate of teen pregnancies in the United States has decreased over the past 20 years ("American Teens' Sexual Health"). This is primarily because more teenagers are using contraceptives when they are having sex. The Guttmacher Institute reports that the use of contraceptives when having sex by females has risen from 48% in 1982 to 78% in 2006-2008 ("American Teens' Sexual Health"). Also, condom use during first sex has largely increased due to the AIDS epidemic ("American Teens' Sexual Health"). As a result, although teen pregnancy is
The United States has the highest teen birth rate in the world, every year the United States experiences 610,000 teen pregnancies (Bleakly 2006). The figures show that three in ten adolescent girls will become pregnant before the age of twenty. People ages 15-24 represent 25 eighteen 70 percent of United States females, and 62 percent of males have had sex. About 3.2 million adolescent females are infected with the most common STI’s, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea (Bleakly 2006). The likelihood of teens having sex increases with each school grade level, from 32 percent in ninth grade to 62 percent in 12th grade (Ito 2006). In 2012, a total of 305,388 babies were born to a group (Oglesby 2012). The United States teen birth rate is one and a half times higher than that in the UK, and more than twice as high as in Canada (Eisenberg 2007).
A topic in American society that has proved to be an ongoing, and growing issue is that none other than teen pregnancy. In recent years, teen pregnancy rates have been increasing, which ultimately led to the topics increase of public and media attention. In American society teen pregnancy is often associated with negligence, as well as being irresponsible. In American society sex education for children is underdeveloped and instead society tends to use fear and shame to highlight/combat the dangers of unsafe or underage sex. American society uses fear to instill the idea that if you become pregnant as a teenager you are a burden to society. Along with fear society loves to shame its young women who have unfortunately stumbled upon the
The popularity of teen’s pregnancy worldwide has become a major concern in recent years. It is viewed as a global crisis as the increasing number of teenage girls bearing children outside of marriage or before graduating high school continue to rise. There are many reasons to scale down the teen pregnancy rate, and the financial costs of teens giving birth are important. After highly dropping for almost a decade-and-a-half, United States’ teen birth rate percentages began edging skyward in recent years. Experts aren 't sure whether the run will continue and say there are various causes. A drop-off in contraceptive use that began in the early 2000s is as good as HIV/AIDS treatments diminished fear of the disease is an important factor. After the Obama administration ended the Bush administration protocol on federally funding only sex-education programs with abstinence until marriage. Rather, allowed most funding to go to projects that have been demonstrated in large, randomized trials to be active for pregnancy to be stalled. Critics contend have not been evaluated by researchers and are the only ones that teaches the value of committed relationships (Clemmitt).
Teen pregnancy is one of the one the top reasons for girl dropouts (Van-Pelt, 2014). Statistics show that approximately 50% of teen
Today, some teenagers are missing all the fun activities that life and school has to offer, whether it is making it to their high school graduation, or exploring the college lifestyle. Why are they missing these activities? They are not making the right choices at an early age. Sometimes I wonder about the teenagers in my community and all I can think about is the future teenagers and the ones before. What if the teenagers before were educated more before making the decision on having unprotected sex? They would be able to make better choices. What can we do to help the future teenager avoid teen pregnancy? Teen Pregnancy is an ongoing problem in the Carroll County Community, which is causing teenagers to become less educated, live in poverty and have health issues Carrollton, Mississippi should create programs such, Family Planning Programs, and Abstinence Programs to help solve teen pregnancy issues.
Pregnancy is beautiful; however, for a teenager it can be a philosophical event with long term implications. Wall-Wieler stated that, “Teenage pregnancy is having at least one pregnancy between the ages of 14 and 19 (inclusive)” (4). Such a situation for teenagers comes with many obstacles. Adolescence would lose the opportunity to fully enjoy their teen years. This is a once in a lifetime experience, which would be cut short because of engaging in adult activities. There is also the possibility of frustration, depression and confusion because the situation might be too much to handle. In most cases, teen pregnancy will have a negative effect on the pregnant teen because it will force them to be fully committed to the concerns and needs of the child while neglecting their own.
Paragraph 2- " just 16, who matter-of factly chooses to have a baby and an open adoption rather than an abortion. No big deal."
"Teen pregnancy in the United States: In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15-19 years old, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. This is another record for U.S. teens and a drop of 8% from 2014. Although reasons for the declines are not totally clear, evidence suggests these declines are due to more teens abstaining from sexual activity, and more teens who are sexually active using birth control than in previous years. Still, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is substantially higher than in other western industrialized nations, and racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in teen birth rates persist (cdc.gov)." As teenagers (in the United States), we are peer pressured or tempted to try new things. Some teens tend to try out drugs, and alcohol. However, some are having unprotected sex in which, is leads to having babies. This is called, teenage pregnancy. This has caused the United States to create records based off of the statistics and facts given from, researchers across the United States. In order to help prevent teenage pregnancy in the United States, teenagers must understand why, having a baby now isn’t such a smart move on their part.