Abstract:
This report takes an in-depth look at the teen pregnancy rates in Canada. Comparing the trends in Canadian provinces mainly focused on the trends in Ontario. Teen pregnancy rates have drastically falling from a report completed in the 1970’s where the pregnancy rate amongst teen girls between the ages of 15-19 years old. In the 1970’s, teen pregnancy was amongst the highest rates Canada has ever seen. This report also focuses on the reasons teen pregnancy is prevalent in the following provinces and the effects after the birth of the child, what factors play a role in these mothers giving birth which include; family circumstances and the position poverty plays. Comprehensive research has been done over the last few years following
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Could it be that Canada is a desired place to raise children from the amount of assistance the Government gives? Findings include; where education is low, poverty is as well. Socio economics without question play a role in teen pregnancy rates.
Thesis
In certain provinces, teen pregnancy rates appear to be declining, however in other provinces rates appear to be rising. In provinces like Winnipeg, Calgary and Ontario rates have been the highest Canada has seen within the last 40 years. Evidence has suggested that socio-economics played a major role in the fluctuation of teen pregnancy rates. Teen girls who lacked in education were more likely to become pregnant and also live below the poverty lines. Canada’s decrease in teen pregnancy rates were a result of contraceptives becoming more available in public places such as schools, and within their personal lives. However in communities north of the GTA, there are higher rates of pregnancy. Aboriginal do not have the same accessibility as others do, which is why teen pregnancy rates are above the national average. Other reasons contributing to the rise of pregnancy with first nation teen girls are the socio-economics as well as factors leading to oppression within that community. Teens trying to finish school while pregnant have less successful rates of gaining more education because of the high cost of raising their
Teen pregnancy continues to be a problem in America even though the CDC documents a decrease from 2007-2009 in all racial groups. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). Reducing the number of pregnancies in teens 15-17 is a core indicator identified by Healthy People 2020 to assess the status of adolescent health. Children born to teens are at risk for health concerns from being of low birth weight and having poor prenatal care such as delayed development. (Magness, 2012). Repeat pregnancy, dependence on welfare, and poverty are some of the results of adolescent pregnancy. Teen mothers tend to have health problems such as hypertension, and anemia and are at high risk for early delivery. Magness looks at the issue from the teen’s viewpoint and discusses the idea that some teens become pregnant to provide stability in an otherwise chaotic life and can gain maturity from the experience. Emphasis on continuing their education after delivery can prevent repeat pregnancies. Lack of productive or positive social activities or guidance can leave room for a teen to indulge in risky behavior to occupy their time. Peer pressure and influence from present day norms can cause teenagers to give in to early onset of sexual activity (Kirven, 2014). Finding after school or extracurricular activities can promote a healthier self
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
Girls who gave birth while still in high school only 38% of them graduate. The reason the rest of them drop out is since they are forced to work in order to support their child. Nearly all cannot manage parenthood, school, work without family or friends help. With teenage mothers “Their children showed reduced educational attainment, had more emotional and behavioral problems, were at increased risk of maltreatment or harm, and showed higher rates of illness, accidents and injuries.” (Dennison P. 6) Just in the state of Texas, in 2012, there were 44 births per 1,000 girls’ state wide. Nationwide 50% of pregnancies are accidental in 2006. Teen parents also are a financial load to society, According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, in 2004, all together taxpayers paid more than eight billion dollars to help support health cares designed to help the 420,000 teenage mothers who gave birth in that year. “results from economic analyses suggest that implementing evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs, expanding access to Medicaid family planning services, and utilizing mass media campaigns to promote safe sex may reduce teen pregnancy and save taxpayer dollars.” (Without the help of drugs like Plan B or any type of birth control, a large amount of teenage girls will become unplanned mothers, making more of a financial burden to society.
Over the last few decades the rates in teen pregnancy have been a debate; did they rise over the past few years or did they actually decline? Contrary to some doctors and politicians the numbers associated with teen pregnancy have decline over the last couple of years. Although there are still people out there who believe this to be an issue it’s made more of an issue than it actually is. The ads and commercials are set out to scare teen-agers into believing that were at an all time high for this issue, but realistically its actually the exact opposite. Teen pregnancy rates haven’t dropped on there over the course of the years. There are a few major factors that have contributed a great deal to this change. Those changes include but are not limited to: more resources being available to these teenagers to prevent themselves from becoming pregnant, society is more open to talking about this issue as well as the religion and culture change aspect of families today. Despite the beliefs of others, teen pregnancy rates are at an all time low for the first time in decades.
Based on the readily available images broadcast from films, MTV and other mass media, one might assume that the teen pregnancy epidemic is on the rise. In one respect, this health risk condition has rarely been more culturally visible than it is right now. However, it does bear noting that teen pregnancy has actually been on the decline in the United States over the last two decades. According to the source provided by Sheets (2012), "from 1990 to 2008, the teen pregnancy rate decreased 42 percent (from 117 to 68 pregnancies per 1,000 teen girls)."
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.
Teenage pregnancy has been viewed as an issue for many years, not only for teenage mothers but for babies as well. Much importance has been placed on this subject for the reason that although these rates are declining, they remain elevated. The United States represents over 600,000 American teen pregnancies every year, making this the highest rate in the industrialized world (Steinberg, 2017). Unfortunately, ethnic minorities in the United States have a predisposition to the many social, educational and economic disadvantages that in fact shape adolescent sexual behavior and lead to the decision of adolescent motherhood. This paper will illustrate teenage pregnancy rates over the last few years, the factors that impact teen pregnancy, contraception and the likelihood of teen pregnancies across different ethnic groups.
Teenage pregnancy and parenthood are often seen as strictly negative and problematic, with the moral panic surrounding them only growing as media and government play a role in perpetuating these ideas of negativity surrounding them. Though it is a contentious issue, what are often ignored are the underlying causes of the social phenomena that are teenage pregnancy and parenthood. The experiences of poverty and social exclusion by many pregnant teens and teen parents have not been proven to be more severe than what these young people were experiencing before, so it brings into question the validity of the moral panic as well as the aims of programs meant to decrease teen pregnancy and parenthood. Looking at teen pregnancy and parenthood, first
The purpose of this paper is to further analyze the study done on trends in teen pregnancy rates from 1996-2006, a comparison of Canada, Sweden, United States, and England. The items of discussion include data collection methods, data analysis procedures, qualitative, quantitative data, and study findings.
Current statistics indicate that in the United States 4 out of 10 girls will become pregnant at least once before the age of 20 (Harris & Allgood, 2009, p.1314). This population of mothers is more likely to dropout then other adolescents in their age group (Harris & Allgood, 2009, p.1314). In fact, more than 60% of teens who give birth before the age of 18 will drop out of high school, putting them at a greater risk of being impoverished later in life (Harris & Allgood, 2009, p.1314). Additionally, the children of adolescent mothers are more likely to have complicated deliveries that can lead to chronic medical and developmental problems (Harris & Allgood, 2009, p.1315). With higher rates of poverty as well as increased pregnancy
Young mothers tend to struggle to feed their children especially if they are single parents and they have to work. In research, done by Penman-Aguilar, Carter, Senead, and Kourtis, it explained the socioeconomic disadvantages related to the social determinant of teen childbearing. They first explained that the birth rate among teenagers in the United States has decreased drastically during the past few years, but they also explained that even though the numbers have dropped teens having a child so young can limit ones social and financial well-being (Penman-Aguilar et al. 2013, pg. 6). The researchers’ as well explained that teen motherhood has substantial costs for both the mother and the infant; teen motherhood can be considered that it is an indicator of suboptimal sexual health. According to Penman-Aguilar et al. (2013), social determinants of health are “complex, integrated, and overlapping social structures and economic systems are linked to lack of opportunity and to a lack of resources to protect, improve, and maintain health” (pg. 6), here it is explained that teen motherhood can be beyond the family or the individual. This was an important part of the opening of their research because it explains how there are possible theories about community-level socioeconomic factors may also contribute to teen
In the same year, the percentage of births outside marriages among teenagers aged 15-19 were as high as 94%. This assessment indicate that teenage mothers or parents to be are less likely to engage in marital actions until during, or after the end of pregnancy (hhs.org). 64% of unmarried teen mothers also become high-school dropouts, exposing themselves to the lack of job skills which will thus, lead to financial deficits (marchofdimes.org).
Like Amy and Loeber (2009), when it comes to the ecological paradigm of teenage pregnancy, Corcoran, Franklin, and Bennett (2000) also believe one’s socioeconomic status is a huge factor that contributes to this problem. A person’s socioeconomic status a lot of times determines “education, expanded family size, single-parent household structure, and lessened resources in terms of employment and income.” These three authors claim that educational performance and goals “dictate the potential costs of child bearing at a young age.” Their studies have also shown that teenage girls’ relationships with the school setting and poorer performance in school serve a greater risk for adolescent pregnancy.
Teen pregnancy is a very controversial social issue and the vast majority of Americans consider the outrageous rate of teen pregnancies a severe issue, certainly a problematic occurrence that is believed to be a moral decline in our country. Teenagers are physiologically capable of reproducing but not emotionally or financially prepared to be parents at such a tender age. Through various research studies a plethora of determinants has pin pointed teens unprecedented pregnancies. One cause of this problem is the apparent indication of social separation or disadvantage. Within this issue you would find poverty, single parent households, educational disadvantages on the parents behalf, a lack family/parental support, and unemployment. A child’s educational performance, inappropriate sexual acts, and inferior apprehensions about their futures play a vital role in teen pregnancies as well. Amongst the listed disadvantages the three that take precedent are lacks of family communication, sexual abuse, and poverty. Furthermore, teen mothers do not fit the ideal ideology of the normative scheduling of motherhood, therefore, ultimately resulting in negative consequences for them and society. What needs to be understood is, as to why the numbers of teens are becoming parents at such a vernal age.
The teen pregnancy rate had decreased by the maximum of about 55 percent. Most teen birth rates had also gone down about 64 percent, but yet teen pregnancies and birth rate for teenagers ages 15-19 in the U.S still remains one of the highest comparable countries. Due to parenthood, most of teen moms drop out of school. More than 50% of teen mothers never graduate to get their diploma. Sexually active teens that don’t use any type of protection has a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant within a year, 84 percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned.