African American Teenage Pregnancy

When we look at influences, it is hard to say what precisely is the main pressure of teen pregnancies in the United States is. Each year, almost 750,000 teenage women, in the United States of America, ages 15 to 19 become pregnant (U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics, 2006). Worldwide, rates of

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 cross-contextual analysis and evidence, adolescent pregnancy seems to be a glaring issue. This is due to the fact, that all statistical findings point to the same direction: expressions practiced among the ethnic/racial groups towards the issue. Therefore, will provide analysis on the external factors: programs, policies, and social conditions in the following

Birth rates in African American and Hispanic teens are substantially higher than whites, a trend that has persisted for decades. Even though pregnancy rates among teens are at an all time low. It is still a major issue but mostly affecting the urban communities. In this research paper I will be comparing and demonstrating the relationships between teenage pregnancy, social issues, and education.

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.

Often times the young African American mothers end up being young African American single mothers. The father’s involvement impacts many aspects of young African American mothers’ parenting. In a study by Cynthia O Lashley, Sydney L Hans, and Linda G Henson “Young African American mothers’ changing perceptions of their infants during the transition into parenthood”, Lashley et al. included research from McElroy & Moore stating “although most African American teenage mothers are not married to their children’s fathers, there is great variability in the patterns of involvement young men have with their families”. According to Gee and Rhodes, Fathers are usually more involved close after birth, however involvement decreases as the child gets older (Lashley 482). Because the young parents are not married and the pregnancies are often unplanned there is a lot of strain on their couple relationship and the relationship could diminish due to the stress of parenthood, making it easier for the father to be non-present in the child’s

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)."

Although the rate of teen pregnancies has decreased since the early 90s, the rate of African-American teen pregnancies and Hispanic teen pregnancies is still significantly higher white American teens. “ According to the US Teen Pregnancy Statistics Among Black and Hispanic women 15-19 the nationwide pregnancy rate they both were higher than a white woman. Well It's because poverty plays a major role in why these teens are the higher ethnic group in teen pregnancy. A black or Hispanic girl are not as open, with birth control and some don't have the health care needed. Most teens aren’t as opened to telling their parents their having sex.

because to understand the African American mother one must first understand their plight, second race, third gender, and finally class characterization influences. African American mother have duties, they manage jobs, live in poverty and have parental duties. According to Collins (2009) single mothers with self-respect, lead with empowering their daughters to also exemplify independence. According to Karraker (1991) single mothers have a strong desire for their daughter to achieve higher education, even if it means her daughter has to postpone her marriage, to pursue higher education. As cited by Johnson (2016) over females living in a two parent household academic is stressed more.

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.

Akers, Borrero, Corbie-Smith, and Schwarz (2010) discussed the results of a study completed on African American family discussions with their adolescent children regarding family planning and contraception. The authors found this study important due to the extremely high rates of pregnancy in black adolescents, and suggests one of the solutions to this issue would be the communication between the parents are the children (Akers, Borrero, Corbie-Smith, & Schwarz, 2010).

This article is highly relevant to class discussion in terms of solving the teen pregnancy/sexual risk behavior epidemic within the African American community. As discussed in class, teen pregnancy is one of the chronic social issues of the African American society. The article gives statistical information in regards to narrowing down some specific reasons why this epidemic is occurring.

The incidence of teen births in the United States has reached a historic all time low throughout the last couple of years but teen girls are still giving birth to 1700 babies a week. However, minorities are still amongst the highest group of teenagers having children among the age group between 15 and 19 years of age. The highest ethnic groups were comprised of Hispanics and Non-Hispanic blacks making up 57% of all US teen births in 2011, according to a study done by the CDC in 2011. American Indians and Alaskan Natives had the third highest birth rates at about 36 births per 1000 females. The smallest occurrence of teen births per 1000 came from the Asian/Pacific Islander population. However, the continuously low population group with teen pregnancies involved White individuals so the question remains, why are most minority groups more likely to give birth within their teenage years?

An ongoing epidemic in the United Sates is teen pregnancy. In America, our society is run down by many problems. Most are caused by the older generation, but this problem has risen with the younger generation around the age of 15-19. The peak of the teen pregnancy trend started in 1990 when 60 teen girls out of 1,000 had a teen birth ("About Teen Pregnancy.”). For every 1,000 females in 2013, on average only 27 out of the 1,000 had gone through teen birth ("About Teen Pregnancy.”). Over the years, it seems that the trend is winding down and that less and less teens appear to becoming pregnant. In 2013, the teen pregnancy rate decreased by 10% since 2012 and 57% 1990 ("Teen Birth Rate | The National Campaign.”).

"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.