Single Mothers In New Mexico

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

Teenage pregnancy is linked to many critical social issues, such as poverty, lack of education, out-of-wedlock births, health issues, education, child welfare, and overall child well-being. These issues have been a social problem for decades, but it wasn’t until recent years when it emerged from being social invisibility to becoming an urgent crisis. “In 1995, in his State of the Union address, President Bill Clinton singled out teenage

Lone-parent families struggle to get social assistance from the government because of the welfare policies. Single parents lack affordable childcare with long waiting list, no available space, but if available, it is likely to be costly for single parents to afford. High quality regulated child care is inaccessible to single parent families, and it is not contested; in addition, Canada’s public funding for childcare is very low, consequently, the quality is not as high as it should be. Furthermore, they lack drug and dental benefits and of full time well paid employment, have made it difficult if not impossible for many single parents, as they struggle to balance the competing demands of caring for and providing support for their children.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of restrictive contraceptive legislation on unintended teenage pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy has declined steadily over the past 40 years, however in the past decade the rate of pregnancy among adolescents is rising. Restrictive contraceptive legislation such as abstinence only education, mandatory waiting periods, parental notification laws, or Medicaid funding restrictions could all play a part in the increase of pregnancy in teenagers. One study found funding for abstinence-only education programs were linked to increased birth rates among black and white adolescents (Yang & Gaydos, 2010). Another study found restrictive contraceptive legislation resulted in higher unintended pregnancy rates among adolescents. The implication of this review is state and federal policies should focus on improving education regarding contraception use and forming policies which improve access to abortion.

In the United States teenage pregnancy outside of marriage is labeled as a social problem. Society views young, poor, single teenage mothers as an liability and not an asset. Teenage mothers are stereotyped as (a) welfare dependent (b) irresponsible (c) lazy (d) ignorant and (e) promiscuous. However, the majority of society believes that their taxes were higher because of government benefits that teenage mothers and their babies receive.

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,

Thinking clockwise the most broadly affected stakeholders would be the taxpayers, which are indirectly affected by teen pregnancy. According to the Office of Adolescent Health, teen pregnancies cost the United States taxpayers $9.4-$28 billion a year though public assistance payments, lost tax revenue, and greater expenditures for public health care, foster care, and criminal justice services (Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing). There have also been many government-funded programs with the intent of preventing teen pregnancy. Until recent years the government’s thoughts were that the only way to be sure there are no teen pregnancies is to promote abstinence until marriage (Melby 1). With in the years of 2001-2009 3.1 billion taxpayer dollars were spent delivering this message to American

From doing research, it seems that women feel judged because of their choice or not their choice to have a child. They feel once they have a child they feel set back and end up in a lower social class because they don’t have an education. Some studies had shown that out of 4 U.S. cities, 165 full-time, low-wage workers felt education is the key to improve their economic position, even though they may be on welfare right now (Dill, 1998). This circle of low social economic class often repeats itself in future generations. When the single mom is working more than 40 hours a week at a minimum wage job, she has no wiggle room to obtain an education while also trying to be a parent all on her own. The lack of attention results in parenting skills that are often less developed and have negative effects on her

Statistical data confirms that unmarried single mothers deliver four out of every ten children born today to mothers under age thirty (Dawn). Women account for over 80 percent of single parent family heads with a majority living below poverty lines and receiving any number of state and federal subsistence (Dawn). In addition, these single parent homes habitually lack many basic needs, such as health insurance, and daily face a wide variety of economic hardships and personal problems, including, but not limited to, food insecurities and vulnerability to

As one considers a mother and her roles, one normally pictures her at home, cooking meals, cleaning the house, and caring for her children and spouse. After generations of oppression, women continue to struggle with getting the same opportunities as men, whether it be for jobs or for equitable distribution of parenting duties. In the past, it was more common to see the father work and provide for his family, but as time has progressed there have been more women who strive to be independent and make a life for themselves. The majority of American women are currently employed and experience economic independence; 70% of mothers are currently employed, compared to 42% to 47% in 1975 (Willis and Brauer). While the maternal employment has become

Adolescent motherhood should be a major concern for our country. Teens in the United States are more likely to give birth than any other industrialized country in the world. (Kearney & Levine, 2012) The article, Update on Adolescent Motherhood and Postpartum Depression states, “adolescent motherhood is a common and costly phenomenon with almost half a million American girls becoming mothers every year in the U.S.” (McGuinness, Medrano & Hodges, 2013) This is one reason why the topic of adolescent motherhood should be paid attention too. Why does the U.S. have the highest teen birth rate? Is it because of our sex education, by both parents and schools? Does economic opportunity contribute to the high teen birth rate? These are questions that come to mind when contemplating the U.S. teen birth rate; also teen birth rate varies in our own country. A teen in Mississippi is 4 times more likely to give birth than a teen living in New Hampshire. (Kearney & Levine, 2012)

What is the relationship between teenage pregnancy and social class? Teenage pregnancy rates in the United States have declined dramatically – 40 percent in two decades – but remain among the highest in the world. A new study claims American teens do not have more sex than teens elsewhere, but that they suffer more "despair" due to poverty (Hanes). The United States, one of the richest nations in the world, has higher poverty rates than any advanced Western country other than the former Soviet Union. It also has higher rates of teen births, especially unwed teen births. This proves that there is a relationship between teenage pregnancy and social class. Higher poverty rates in the United States means more teen births.

This would also explain why poverty areas have more teenage pregnancies than none poverty areas for instance. According to the United Nations Statistic Division, the teen birth rate has declined almost continuously over the past 20 years. In 1991, the United States teen birth rate was 61.8 births for every 1,000 adolescent females, compared with 24.2 births for every 1,000 adolescent females in 2014. Though teen pregnancy rates have decreased, female teens living in poverty are still more likely to become teen parents than other teens living in the U.S. Teens in the highest inequality states are roughly 5 percent more likely to give birth than teens in the lowest inequality states. What can be done to aid in the reduction of teen pregnancy to help impoverished teens that may or are contributing to the rising rate of teen pregnancy? Creating successful strategies could aid in the reduction of teenage pregnancies by targeting the inequalities in society as opposed to targeting teen pregnancy

Previous literature concerning the poverty rates of teenaged mothers include an analysis by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy titled “Socio-Economic and Family Characteristics of Teen Childbearing.” This study attempted to apply empirical evidence concerning the opinion of most

"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.