Essay Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy falls into the category of pregnancies in girls age 19 or younger (NIH). Although statistics have shown a decrease, the number of teen pregnancy in the U.S. is still relatively high compared to the rest of the world. Sexual health is one of the top priorities in early adolescence health in the United States. Consequences of having sex at a young age generally results in unsafe sex practices. The consequences can be due to the lack of knowledge about sex education, and access to birth control/contraception (NIH, 2005). Due to the lack of knowledge and access to birth control, adolescents involve in risk taking when they start to explore sexual intimate relationships.

Teen pregnancy has become a pandemic for teen girls in modern society. In 2015,a total of 229,715 babies were born to mother's between the ages of fifteen and nineteen. This is a birthrate of 22.3 per 1000 births(reproductive). This low-age birth rate increases health risks for the mother and child. Teen mother's are also unlikely to be living a life stable enough to support not only themselves but a child as well. Missed opportunity such as dropping out of highschool and failing to go to college contribute to why teens should not get pregnant. Health risks,instability, and missed opportunity are just a few reasons teenage girls should not get

Most developed countries have implemented programs meant to educate teenagers concerning the dangers associated with becoming pregnant at an early age. Even with this, some programs have had limited results and the number of teens who are becoming pregnant was not significantly reduced.

Sexually active teens that don’t use birth control have a 90% chance of getting pregnant within a year (Guttmacher Institute). Most teens refuse to use birth control for their own personal reasons. Teens use birth control to opt out of having protected sex” (Center for reproductive Rights 80). There is a high percentage rate of teens that actually use condoms during sex. 74% of females used contraception the first time they had sex (Guttmacher Institute). The percentage of teens that used more than one form of contraception is very low. Approximately 25% of sexually active teens use 2 methods of birth control during sex (Guttmacher Institute). The rate of teens that use condoms and still get pregnant is very low. During the first year of “typical use”, 20 of teens under the age of 18 using condoms for contraception get pregnant within one year (Abstinence Programs 75). It proves that abstinence programs reach teens that are not easily influenced by sex.

Nearly all teens are encouraged to use some form of contraceptive when discussing sexual activity, but many are not fully aware of the proper use and effectiveness of common contraceptive methods. Condoms are a highly effective method of contraceptive; however, condoms are not 100 percent

Teenagers have little awareness about how to prevent becoming pregnant. In a news article by Daniel Armbuster, he said, “It’s all about healthy relationships. That’s where we fail our kids is teaching them how to have a healthy relationship. In other words, teenagers have not heard anything about how to prevent teen pregnancy. Their

No one can deny that the number of pregnant teenagers has gone up in the last fifty years. Many teens are clueless of the consequences that sexual acts can have, “The CDC has found that over half of the STD’s contracted are by young adults.” (Steinmetz) Not only can it cause an unwanted pregnancy but it can also cause sexually transmitted diseases.

According to Trussell (1988), one out of every 10 women aged 15-19 becomes pregnant each year in the United States. Of these pregnancies, five out of every six is unintended, 92 percent of those conceived are premarital, and half of those conceived in marriage (Trussell, 1988). Researching teen pregnancy various studies suggests that teen pregnancy rates are determined by their sexual behaviors, with includes rates of sexual intercourse and condom and contraceptive use (Santelli, Orr, Lindberg, & Diaz 2009).

It has been receiving a great deal of public and official attention recently, including expressions of concern from President Clinton (Trad, 1999). However, the most extensive dilemma regarding the issue of adolescent pregnancy is the question of prevention. Preventing teen pregnancy includes such problems as the availability of birth control, sexual education among children and adolescents, and a greater sense of support for pregnant teens. However, before society can begin to successfully prevent pregnancies among teenage girls, the underlying causes and facts about the dilemma must first be exposed

Teen pregnancies is a major problem in the United States. Three in ten teens will get pregnant at least once before the age of 20. That’s nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies every year.Also about 32.8 percent of freshman, 43.8 percent of sophomores, 55.5 percent of juniors and 64.45 percent of seniors in high school are sexually active. Teen pregnancy is a result of many causes.

It is the age of the Pill, yet over a million teenagers will get pregnant. About 600,000 of these young women will give birth. In the 1950s, contraception was illegal in many states even for adults who were married. By the mid-1960s, contraceptive services also known as birth control were made available. By the 20th Century, teen pregnancy was the norm. The prevention of unintended adolescent pregnancy has become an important goal of our society. Although adolescent pregnancy and birth rates have been steadily decreasing, many adolescents still become pregnant. The purpose of this research paper is to review the history, current status, programs and the future of teen pregnancy.

Even though many are getting pregnant there are also many who don’t get pregnant. They aren’t getting pregnant because they are getting protection. Joyce Tsai states, “…teen pregnancy rates have declined 51 percent and teen births are down 61 percent…” (1) which is a big improvement for teens. Some teenagers are irresponsible and don’t use protection when they are having sex so the girl gets pregnant and they don’t know what to do. Schools are also helping teens be a little more prepared and responsible about their sex lives. A woman from Planned Parenthood in Mar Monte says “…the move to offer condoms to middle school students at school-based health centers, where nurses, counselors and trained professionals can help students make more responsible decisions, is more important than ever.”(Tsai 2). She explains that students will be more responsible if they get everything they need at school by professionals. There are parents who are outraged by this because they think giving students condoms is a bad influence for them to have sex. As a result of that research has proven giving condoms to these students does not encourage them to become sexually active in any way. One parent says it is their responsibility to teach their kids about sex, “I’m one of those parents that believes in being open with my kids… it comes down to parents to teach their kids values and morals…” (Tsai 2). Even though many teens are

Condom usage prevents numerous pregnancies. It is common knowledge that a condom is a protective layer of latex that traps semen and stops it from entering the vaginal canal, but many don’t realize the issues of having sex without a condom. Various people don’t have to access to this type of contraceptive, so they follow the drive and have unprotected sex which leads to unplanned pregnancies. An articles written by Alyssa DiSabito argues that “another reason teens have trouble obtaining contraception is that they are too afraid to purchase it in public” (1). If condoms were offered at school then teens would more likely to use them. With young adults having condoms more readily available to them, the number of unplanned teens pregnancies would decrease.

"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.