Teen Pregnancy Is A Serious Problem

Teen pregnancy is an issue in United States, it is one issue that should wait until teens are married and know what they are doing with their lives. This issue came about in the early in the 1950’s – 1960’s. Teen pregnancy is a teenage girl between the ages 13-19 (girls who haven’t reached adulthood) having unwanted or wanted babies. Janet Bode once stated in her book, “Emotions run everywhere, scared, sad, disappointment and preparation for what is about to happen” (Bode 51). If we do not act now, teen pregnancy will be out the roof. Teen pregnancy needs a stop put to it no matter what, teens are still children themselves and they are still learning how to take care of themselves:

There have been various attempts to stall this menace in the USA but the approaches have always looked at the issue of teenage pregnancy as a religious and family value issue hence missing the point at all times. There must be a cultural and social consensus that the issue of sexuality is a normal and healthy segment of an individual's life and that by wide and far, the sexual intercourse is part of the wider teen population life because at the age of 16 years, 40% of Americans have already had sexual intercourse. These are facts that cannot be ignored by any segment of the society.

One solution to preventing teen pregnancy would be to provide better access to birth control for teenagers. In Jacqueline Sedgwick’s article, “American Adolescents and Emergency Contraceptive Pill Access,” she argues that the American teenage pregnancy and abortion rates are higher than any other nation due to the irregular or improper usage of birth control. Many American teenagers are unaware of how to properly use the contraceptives and mistakenly find themselves in difficult situations, but with more knowledge about birth control, teens will be able to properly protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. According to the article, the federal court order the US Food and Drug Administration to make emergency contraceptive pills available to teens over the age of seventeen without a prescription (Sedgwick). Allowing easy access to birth control will enable teens to be prepared and inhibit them from unintended pregnancies that are likely

Society in general is currently addressing the social problem of teen pregnancy in several ways. One of the most important is an increase in parent’s willingness to not only bring the issue up and discuss it with their children, but also allowing educators to address the issue in schools.

Teen pregnancy and the risk of it remains a serious issue for today’s adolescents. In 2015, there were 229,715 babies born to women from the ages of 15 to 19 (Martin). Accidental teen pregnancies could be prevented if more comprehensive sex education was taught at school and birth control was more accessible and affordable for teens. Guttmacher Institute lead a study on the issue of birth control and teens. The results showed that an 8% increase in use of contraceptives related to a 42% drop in pregnant teenagers over the course of seven years (Spadafino). Even though birth control has been proven to lower the risk of unwanted pregnancies, our society still views it as a taboo topic.

Teen birth rates are higher in the United States than any other country. In 2010, over 600,000 teens were impregnated; however, in following years, the number was reduced by half (Werner, 2014). These statistics show a decline in teen pregnancy; nonetheless, teen births continue to be an unsolved epidemic in the United States. There are no simple solutions to end this epidemic, as there are many contributing factors. For the United States to continue to see a reduction in teen births, Americans must remain vigilant in attacking some of the leading influences.

To truly understand how to lower teen pregnancy, one has to look at the statistics. The following quote from Stranger-Hall’s essay exemplifies this; “After accounting for other factors, the national data show that the incidence of teenage pregnancies and births remain positively correlated with the degree of abstinence education across states: The more strongly abstinence is emphasized in state laws and policies, the higher the average teenage pregnancy and birth rate.” (Stranger-Hall, 6) Variations on how strongly abstinence is emphasized also leads to variations in effectiveness of reducing teenage pregnancy. Abstinence only education emphasizes that the only way to prevent an unwanted pregnancy is to completely abstain from sex until marriage. These programs typically don’t cover means of contraception, and if they do it is usually only to discuss its ineffectiveness. Where comprehensive education differs is that while it too covers abstinence, it also discusses various methods of birth control, as well as sexually transmitted diseases. Despite what the U.S. government supports, it has been shown that comprehensive sexual education does in fact lower teenage pregnancy

Parents should consider speaking with teenage daughters about the necessity of birth control to bring awareness of sexually transmitted disease, pregnancy, and teen drop outs. It’s stated that 10,000 teens and young adults are contracting HIV between the age of (13-24), and many of them have multiply partner which puts them at a high risk of contracting a STD or HIV. So many teens are sexually active, but are not using protection which causes them to become pregnant. Statistic states that children who are born to teenage mothers has a high chance of having health problems, dropping out of school, incarcerated, and giving birth at a young age. Teenagers who get pregnant in high school tends to drop out. If they drop out that will not have the skills and credentials to function in today’s society and work place.

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.

‘’Of all the teenage women who become pregnant, 35% choose to have an abortion rather than bear a child. (National Abortion Federation 1)’’ As teen pregnancy increases in America so does the rate of abortions. Teen abortion is a major problem in our country that can be solved by informing them about abstinence and other safe sex practices.

Teen pregnancy is a current, ongoing issue within the United States. While the rate of women between the ages of 15-19 has dropped by 11%, this issue, as a whole, is still unresolved.1 Teen pregnancy costs taxpayers millions of dollars each year with increasing numbers in foster care and health care related expenses.1 I will propose three different prevention strategies that can be applied to this issue.

Teen pregnancy is a huge problem in the United States and it mostly as to due with the lack of sex education. In other countries sex education is not shyed away from and children have open discussions with their parents about the ins and out of sex, pregnancy, transmitted diseases and infections and even love. The country proclaims to be free and self-righteous yet many people hold on to conservative outlooks when it comes to having these important conversations with their children. Teen pregnancy is inevitable, especially with hormones kicking in and children having little to no knowledge of how to navigate them will always result in teen pregnancy. However there could be a dramatic fall in the rates if as a nation we decide to educate the children about the topic. Because whether America likes it or not the children of today will be the future doctors and caretakers, so caring for them now will be much more beneficial in the long

How many pregnant teens have there been? Over the years more girls are becoming teen moms. In Oklahoma teen pregnancy has become a problem. Recently Oklahoma has had a pregnancy rate of 47.5% (Tulsa World). Not only is it an issue in Oklahoma but an issue in the United States as a whole. The lack of awareness and how to prevent pregnancy is a reason to blame for the increasing numbers. The more we don’t make people aware of the increasing teen pregnancy rate and how to prevent then the numbers will continue to rise into an astonishing amount. Helping teens know of the different ways to prevent pregnancy can make an enormous difference in teen pregnancy. The issues that have an effect on teen pregnancy rates have been to the use of

Many teenagers are now becoming parents these days. In fact, from the ages of 15-19, there were 249,078 babies born in the United States. (1) Many of these unwanted pregnancies can be prevented with the help sexual education. Yes, in some schools there is sexual education. But, if it was in every school many of these could have possibly been prevented. At the school I attend, sexual education is not offered. We are faced with several unwanted pregnancies, and with sexual education, I think these could be prevented.

"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.