Teen Pregnancy And Birth Rates

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.

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.

One major problem in America’s society today is teen pregnancy rates. In fact, “teen sexual activity, pregnancy, and childbearing are associated with substantial social, economic, and health costs” (Sedgwick). However, this problem is not one without a solution. The rise of teen pregnancy rates can be prevented and reversed by providing better access to birth control for teens, eliminating the negative connotation that accompanies abstinence, and implementing more efficient sex education in public schools.

There was a substantial drop in the teen pregnancy rate for both 15–17-[year-olds] and 18–19-year-olds between 2008 and 2010, yet pregnancies among 18–19-year-olds made up the majority of all teen pregnancies (69%). During this same time period, increasing proportions of women aged 18–19 reported having ever had sex, yet fewer of them were getting pregnant. Changes in contraceptive use are likely driving this trend. There is evidence that contraceptive practices are improving among older teens: A recent study found that the proportion of 18–19-year-old women reporting use of long-acting reversible contraceptive methods tripled between 2007 and 2009, and promotion and acceptance of these methods for teens and young adult women has increased. Contraceptive use may

The teen birth rate over the years, has dropped incredibly. High school students reported more use of birth control of some type such as condoms, and other types of contraceptive methods. Birth rates between ages fifteen to seventeen dropped thirty-three percent between 1991 and 2003, contraceptive use also has improved among young teens in this time frame (Contraceptive 2006). Teen pregnancy has dropped over the decade because of birth control. Teens risk of pregnancy declined twenty-one percent over the twelve years. The largest improvements in contraceptive use and pregnancy risk occurred among ninth to twelfth grade students, and whites and blacks. In 2003, forty-six percent of pregnancy risk resulted from failure to use any method of contraception

The report states according to the Healthy People 2020, the birth rates of 15 to 17 year olds will decline from 40 to 36 out of 1,000 and that of 18 to 19 year olds will decrease from 116 to 106 out of 1,000 by the year 2020. The national goal is also to increase the number of sexually active teens who use condoms and/or contraceptives and open the lines of communication with parents and caregivers. There are no significant state-by-state trends, the demographics are grouped in race and age. The report reflects past research as far back as 1960 and compares the higher birthrates of the nineties hundreds to the lower teen birth rates of the twenty- first century. While culture was not a factor for these statistical purposes, ethnicity

In 2009, there was 39.1 teens (15-19) birth rate in every 1000 which was lowest. Younger teens from the age group of 15-17 also declined 7 percent from 2008 to 2009 which was significantly low since 2001. There was also decline in older teens from the age group of 18-19by 6 percent which was also a record breaking rate since 1971-72. Among this age group, birth rates in whites was 46.1, blacks 97.5,, and Asian Pacific teens was 25.7 per 1000. The program has been effective in using contraceptives effectively and educated about sex education. (Kraft, S.

While parents would like their children to wait as long as possible to begin having sex, the reality is that teens are having sex much younger than many parents think. Some teens, or preteens, begin having sex or engaging in sexual behavior in junior high. By the time they are seniors in high school, an estimated 65 percent of teens have had sex, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007. (Dawn, 2009). Unfortunately, a percentage of those teens will become pregnant. After more than a decade and a half of decline (a 27 percent drop from 1991 to 2000), teen birth rates rose again in 2006, which was the last year for which data are available. It is still unclear on what caused teen birth rates to rise again, with supporters of abstinence-only sex education programs and contraception-based programs each blaming the other side for the increase. However, a 2007 study in the Journal of American Public Health attributed the trend in decreasing pregnancy rates to improved contraception use among teens during that time. (Anderson Orr, 2009).

Statistics from recent studies suggest that only 13% of U.S. teens have ever had sex by the age of 15. But by the age of 19, seven in ten teens of both sexes have had sex. Between 1995 and 2006-2008, the percentage of teens aged 15-17 who had ever engaged in sexual intercourse declined from 38% to 28%. Among teens aged 18-19, it declined from 68% in 1995 to 60% in 2006-2008. The pregnancy rate among young women has declined steadily from 117 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in 1990 to 70 per 1,000 in 2005. However in 2006, the rate increased for the first time in more than a decade, rising to

While the rate of pregnancy in 15-19 year olds has been declining (59.9 births per 1000 women in 1990 to 24.2 births per 1000 women in 2014 (Office of Adolescent Health)), it is still quite high when compared to other developed areas of the world such as Europe. The reasons for rates of teen pregnancy is a complex issue with many causes, however, the leading causes for high rates for teen pregnancy are a lack of contraception availability and lack of knowledge (such as from fact based, comprehensive sexual education). The US is lacking in both (Berk). While nearly all US states teach about the benefits of abstinence, many states do not teach about other effective means

In the early 90’s, studies have shown that teen pregnancies occur on a regularly basis and has been severely increasing (Newsweek: Birth rates in U.S, 1991-96). As a result, this brings out a wrong impression of women to society.

Teen pregnancy rates have seen both falls and climbs in the past number of decades, and much of the time it has been difficult to pinpoint the cause of these rate changes. When the pregnancy rate decreases, both sides of the argument often take credit, one side saying that it was because of a lack of abstinence-only sex education, another side saying it was because of a reinforcement or fulfillment in abstinence-only sex education. In the Introduction to the Opposing Viewpoints series’ Teen Sexuality:

An issue that is currently plaguing American teenagers today is the access to different types of contraception. This lack of access can lead to higher rates of teenage pregnancy and an increase in sexually transmitted diseases among teenagers. The sexually active teenagers who have been given better access to contraception are less likely to become pregnant or contract an STD, in comparison to their peers who do not have access. With the prevention of teenage pregnancy, comes the prevention of future socioeconomic barriers and health issues.

"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.

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.