Teen Pregnancy

The United States of America is known for many of its outlandish and outrageous statistics in comparison to other countries. Statistics regarding obesity, homicide rates, and political issues have displayed many of the nation?s weak points. However, the amount of teen pregnancy has become so excessive that it is becoming a cry for help and a statistic that is greatly standing out and can no longer be ignored. In 1999 about one million teenagers experienced a pregnancy. This rate was twice the amount in England, Wales, and Canada and nine times greater than that of the Netherlands and Japan. About 78% of these American teenage pregnancies were said to be unplanned.

    Dating back to the early 2000’s, over 1,000,000 teens a year have had children during high school (Source A). Teenagers are depending on others to rely on their children and not the effect of their education and their future career. As the years tick by, the teen pregnancy rate has reduced a solid 9%; becoming the lowest rate in over a hundred years (Source A). Since teen pregnancy has dropped and the amount of tax dollars have increased, the fight to find the time and place for their children's own education, is still a matter of struggles (Source

In today 's society, the rate of teen pregnancy is rapidly decreasing. This may be attributed to decrease in costs of contraception, costs and availability for abortion, and better sex education over time. “In 2014, a total of 249,078 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a birth rate of 24.2 per 1,000 women in this age group.This is another historic low for U.S. teens and a drop of 9% from 2013. Birth rates fell 11% for women aged 15–17 years and 7% for women aged 18–19 years” ("About Teen Pregnancy"). Abortion is a highly debated topic today, for many wonder if the woman should have the right to choose. Those who choose to get an abortion are practically putting themselves on trial in today 's society. To understand why this is so, one must look at both sides of the abortion issue, and compare the facts. Abortion is an extremely controversial issue for many, and polarized, or split, into pro-life

The end result of pregnant teen moms causes graduation rates to decrease. Only about two-thirds of children born to teen mothers earn a high school diploma, compared to

24 percent of women having abortions are unmarried teenagers. Pregnancy can be a scary and extremely stressful time in a women?s life. To force a woman who is not ready for a child to go through with the birth is not the answer. Stress is not good for the fetus at all, and could lead to complications in the pregnancy, or even a miscarriage. People also seem to forget about a women?s mental health in these situations. A woman could be haunted for her lifetime of giving birth to an unborn child.

"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.

Not only will birth control decrease risk for disease and teen pregnancy, it will increase the rate of teens receiving a high school diploma. Teenage girls are more at risk of dropping out if they become pregnant; however, if they had birth control, a higher quantity would not get pregnant and drop out. Saras Chung, author of “New Study Links Teen Pregnancy and Dropout, Spotlight Solutions,” asserts, “Teen pregnancy and high school dropouts are linked.” This expert opinion displays that vital consequences are linked to teen pregnancy. Chung also listed some statistics in the same article. She affirms, “One in three teen mothers earned neither a diploma nor a GED” (Chung). Some teenage mothers do not go on

Teen pregnancy is a growing epidemic in the United States. Teen girls are becoming pregnant at an alarming rate, with a lot of the pregnancies planned. With television shows broadcasting shows such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”, it is giving teenage girls the idea that it is alright to have premarital sex and become pregnant. It is in a way condoning teen pregnancy.

Teen pregnancy nearly 24.4 births for every 1,000 females age group 15-19 years old have given birth to a child. 89 percent of these births have been nonmarried. (Trends in Teen pregnancy and childbearing) It is common around this age group to develop hormones that invest in sexual activity. 41 per 1,000 Hispanic girls, 39.0 per 1,000 black girls, and 18.6 per 1,000 white girls reported pregnant in 2013.

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

What is Teen Pregnancy? Teenage pregnancy is pregnancy in human females under the age of 20. A girl can become pregnant from sexual intercourse after she has begun to ovulate which can be before her first menstrual period, but usually occurs after the onset of her periods. In well-nourished girls, menarche usually takes place around the age of 12 or 13. Most teenage girls don 't plan to get pregnant, but many do. Teen pregnancies carry extra health risks to both the mother and the baby. Often, teens don 't get prenatal care soon enough, which can lead to problems later on. They have a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure and its complications. Risks for the baby include premature birth and a low birth weight.

Impregnated teens often must resort to dropping out of school to care for their child; out of the total number of high school dropouts, a third report parenthood as their reason (Tara Culp-Ressler). By the time the teen mothers are 22, only 50% of them have received a high school diploma, and an even lower percentage has completed a 2-4 year college program (youth.gov). As a result there is a drop in education rates amongst the Arizona public. This hinders the jobs available to state residents and ultimately hurts the economy, affecting the majority of the population. As a result, more people ultimately contribute toward a society unprepared for future careers setting our state and country

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.

What is Teen Pregnancy? It is the pregnancy of adolescent girls from the ages of 13-20. Teen Pregnancy is one of the most trending things happening in today’s society. Statistics shows that 1,000,000 girls become pregnant every year (Garth). Being that the United States is in the highest percentage of teen pregnancy, 40% will have government assistance (Garth). The teen birth rate from 1990-1995 per 1,000 girls was 64 in the United States from 15 to 19 year olds, 13% in Germany, 9% in France, and 7% . The rate of teen abortion in the United States is higher than Europe with statistics showing that 17% per 1,000 girls, 7.9% in France, 5.2% in Netherlands. Germany is the second highest abortion rate ranking at 8.7% for women ages 15-49.( Sex Education Can Prevent Teen Pregnancy).Because of these statistics, Sex Education and SexualAbstinence should be taught in America to prevent teen pregnancy.

As a result of unprotected sex, young people are also at risk of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV infection. The highest rates of STIs worldwide are among young people aged 15 to 24. Some 500,000 become infected daily (excluding HIV). Two in five new HIV infections globally occur in young people aged 15 to 24. Surveys from 40 countries show that more than half their young people have misconceptions about how HIV is transmitted. Married adolescent girls generally are unable to negotiate condom use or to refuse sexual relations. They are often married to older men with more sexual experience, which puts them at risk of contracting STIs, including HIV.