Does A Low Economic Status Raise The Chances Of Becoming A Teen Parent?

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

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

New Mexico has made significant progress in reducing the rate of teenage pregnancy but the rate remains high among other states in the country. The National Bureau of Economic Research report suggests that the reason for high level of pregnancy rate among American teenagers is an economic context of income inequality. Teenage pregnancy has many social, health and economic consequences that inhibit women from realizing their full potentials. This challenge imposes economic burden on the state in the form of assistance program for single mothers and lost income due to low level skills. For example, in 2010 teenage mothers’ public and health care assistance programs cost the United States government nearly $10 billion including lost income from lower educational attainment and reduce wage among children born to teenage mothers. Studies show that teenage mothers tend to have less education and are poorer than their peers who are not teenage parents. This implies that teenage pregnancy has intergenerational effects that can be seen in the overall development index in the larger

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.

This experiment began by diving deep into the lives of 262 low-income, single mothers in Philadelphia. Through conversations with these women, Edin and Kefalas found a common trend among teens regarding the causes and effects of getting pregnant as a low-income young woman.

It is very common for young adults in the United States to become young parents as early as fifteen years old. In 2014, approximately 24 young women out of a thousand got pregnant from the ages of 15-19. Although this is about a 9% drop sing 2013, teen pregnancy is still a major issue among young, developing adolescents (CDC, 2016). This lifestyle shift has raised many personal concerns within young mothers and fathers about how they will raise their child, but most importantly, how they will prevent another unwanted or unprepared pregnancy. Although prevention in the form of birth control and educational programs are available to young adults, it is common for teenage parents to become pregnant once again shortly after having their first

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

While evidence suggests that giving birth as a teenager is often associated with economic hardships, numerous researchers argue that these hardships were in place before the pregnancy and that the birth of the baby itself does not have a significant negative impact on the socioeconomic status (SES) on the adolescent mother. While women who give birth as teenagers are more likely

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).

Teen pregnancies can change their lives for the worse because teen parents are “less likely to complete high school, less likely to attend college, more likely to have large families, and more likely to be a single parent” (Kirby 144). When a teen becomes pregnant, it not only changes their life, but also the life of their unborn baby. Babies who are born with adolescents as parents have a higher probability to “have less supportive and stimulating home environments, lower cognitive development, worse educational outcomes, higher rates of behavior problems, higher rates of incarceration, and higher rate of adolescent childbearing themselves” (Kirby 144). Majority of adolescent are still growing and developing themselves, therefore it is more of a challenge to provide a baby with the not only an environment that sets them up for success, but also having the finical resource to support a child. This leaves tax payer to pick up the billion, costing them 9 billion dollars annually (Kirby). Having a baby as a teenage leaves themselves and their child susceptible to many harmful effects that can be prevented if they chose to abstain from sex and wait to have a child when there are finical and physically

It might reduce the number the number of pregnancies and births as young women found other outlets of their energies and activities which would be hindered by pregnancy and childbearing. (U. S Cogressional Budget Office, 1985) Believe there are some controversies that exists to what motivates adolescent to avoid sexual activity and early parenthood. They state that there is a belief that many adolescents particularly those who are poor have no motivation to avoid early parenthood as they do not feel employment opportunities offer them an alternative way of life. This indicates that employment opportunities are vital and should be provided especially to at-risk

Kearney and Levine (2012) explore two goals 1) understanding why the teen birth rate is so high in the US and 2) and understanding why it matters. The authors explore different sources of information to put current rates of teen births into perspective. Kearney et al. (2012) explore teen birthrates joint with pregnancy, abortion and “shotgun” marriage rates as a well as the antecedent behaviors of sexual activity and contraceptive use. The study found that being on a low economic route in life leads many teenage girls to have children while they are young and unmarried and that poor endings seen later in life are simply the extension of the low economic route (Kearney and Levine,

Poverty Causes Teen Parenting, Not the Other Way Around is an article that brings attention to Kempner makes a good argument that having children at a young age does not affect young women because these young women are already on a downward economic trajectory. She substantiates her point by evaluating that teens who get pregnant tend to come from more disadvantaged families than those who do not become pregnant, concluding that growing up with few economic prospects can lead young women to choose teen parenting.

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.

Teenage pregnancy is one of the issues in our country today. It is a major problem because many teenagers are not aware that having a child when you’re a child yourself comes with big responsibilities. Sometimes many teenagers feel like they must be sexual active to prove a point and sometimes teenagers are even pressured by their friends or even their soul mate. Teenage pregnancy is a very big problem and more needs to be done to prevent teen pregnancy and to educate teens about its consequences.