Essay on Teen Pregnancy: More Education is Needed

Each year, more than 600,000 teens become pregnant, and 3 in 10 will become pregnant before they reach age 20 (Secure et al., 2015). Rates are higher among black and Hispanic teens, with 4 in 10 becoming pregnant by 20 years of age, compared with 2 in 10 white teens (Secure et al., 2015). Even though over time the overall rate of teen pregnancy has decreased, it’s still very high and has a large impact on the teen parents as well as the families.

In today 's society, the rate of teen pregnancy is rapidly decreasing. This may be attributed to decrease in costs of contraception, costs and availability for abortion, and better sex education over time. “In 2014, a total of 249,078 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a birth rate of 24.2 per 1,000 women in this age group.This is another historic low for U.S. teens and a drop of 9% from 2013. Birth rates fell 11% for women aged 15–17 years and 7% for women aged 18–19 years” ("About Teen Pregnancy"). Abortion is a highly debated topic today, for many wonder if the woman should have the right to choose. Those who choose to get an abortion are practically putting themselves on trial in today 's society. To understand why this is so, one must look at both sides of the abortion issue, and compare the facts. Abortion is an extremely controversial issue for many, and polarized, or split, into pro-life

Abortion is one of the most talked about topics in teenage pregnancies. When researching abortion, you find many different view points and ideas to the situation. Some of the more obvious view points are those that are well known such as pro-life and Pro-Choice. Although people have abortions they don’t understand the side affects that come along with them.

Seeing how high the number of abortion is, it is the job of a public health official to provide both women and men with the education and necessary resources to make decisions about their sexual behavior. In 2010, 18% of majority of pregnancies in our nation sadly ended in an abortion. Even though this study was on such a wide age range, the 20s have been found to consistently majority of the abortions. It is key to keep observing the adolescent pregnancies and abortion rate. In hopes that with the education and the resources help the influence of abortions to decrease. From Abortion Surveillance, public health officials are able to observe changes, evaluate pregnancy rates, analyze the effectives of local programs throughout the U.S. and be able to recognize the types of common characteristics in women who are getting

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.

Based on the readily available images broadcast from films, MTV and other mass media, one might assume that the teen pregnancy epidemic is on the rise. In one respect, this health risk condition has rarely been more culturally visible than it is right now. However, it does bear noting that teen pregnancy has actually been on the decline in the United States over the last two decades. According to the source provided by Sheets (2012), "from 1990 to 2008, the teen pregnancy rate decreased 42 percent (from 117 to 68 pregnancies per 1,000 teen girls)."

One of the main reasons for high rates of teenage pregnancy in the U.S. is the continuation of ineffective abstinence based education (Bell, 2009) and not allowing teenagers to make abortion related decisions. In the U.S. Eighty two percent of the teenage pregnancy is unintended and 37 % of total unintended pregnancies result in abortion. Teenagers choose to abort babies because of shame, staying focused on career, unstable financial status to support babies and not getting emotional and economic support from parents. Twenty two percent of pregnant teenagers choose not to tell their parents (ACLU, 2001).

24 percent of women having abortions are unmarried teenagers. Pregnancy can be a scary and extremely stressful time in a women?s life. To force a woman who is not ready for a child to go through with the birth is not the answer. Stress is not good for the fetus at all, and could lead to complications in the pregnancy, or even a miscarriage. People also seem to forget about a women?s mental health in these situations. A woman could be haunted for her lifetime of giving birth to an unborn child.

Out of the 3,988,076 child births recorded in the United states in 2014 alone, approximately one-sixteenth or 249,078 of those babies belong to females between the ages of 15 to 19 (National Vital Statistics Reports). Although the amount of teenage pregnancies have declined in recent years, concerns involving a young woman’s capability to care for a child at a fragile age remains bold especially with the consistent controversial topics that coincide with teenage pregnancies such as abortion. Teenagers impregnated by accidental or forceful means often turn to the procedure as a safety route out of their current situations. Now that the topic of abortion has made its arguable reappearance into almost all aspects of human development, including

This year in America, over one million teens will become pregnant. More than 80% of these pregnancies will be unintended (North Carolina PRAMS 2009). Unintended pregnancy is commonly defined as “a pregnancy that is reported to have been either unwanted (that is, the pregnancy occurred when no children, or no more children, were desired) or mistimed (that is, the pregnancy occurred earlier than desired)” (CDC 2015). Though some teen pregnancies are intentional, these are rare in occurrence. Unplanned pregnancy leads to an increase in the number of abortions and abandoned children by mothers who are not in suitable financial, physical, or emotional states to take care of their children. It also puts young mothers and their babies at increased risk for complications during childbirth. Access to sufficient education and access to contraceptives impacts the rate of teen pregnancy. As the number of these potentially dangerous pregnancies inflates, it becomes clear that something must be done. Unintended pregnancies, especially in teens and young adults, are an epidemic in America; however, Americans have the potential change the path they are on.

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.

Teen abortion is something that everyone should take seriously. One in four teens that are pregnant have an abortion. That means that every 25% of teen pregnancies come to an end. Out of all the different ages of abortion teens make up 18% of the 100%. 82% of all teen pregnancies are accidental. Juggling school and a baby can be very hard on the mother and her family. About one half of all teen mothers graduate high school and get their diploma. Most of the time mothers drop out just to take care of their baby (choicespregnancy).

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

"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.

Teen pregnancy is a very controversial social issue and the vast majority of Americans consider the outrageous rate of teen pregnancies a severe issue, certainly a problematic occurrence that is believed to be a moral decline in our country. Teenagers are physiologically capable of reproducing but not emotionally or financially prepared to be parents at such a tender age. Through various research studies a plethora of determinants has pin pointed teens unprecedented pregnancies. One cause of this problem is the apparent indication of social separation or disadvantage. Within this issue you would find poverty, single parent households, educational disadvantages on the parents behalf, a lack family/parental support, and unemployment. A child’s educational performance, inappropriate sexual acts, and inferior apprehensions about their futures play a vital role in teen pregnancies as well. Amongst the listed disadvantages the three that take precedent are lacks of family communication, sexual abuse, and poverty. Furthermore, teen mothers do not fit the ideal ideology of the normative scheduling of motherhood, therefore, ultimately resulting in negative consequences for them and society. What needs to be understood is, as to why the numbers of teens are becoming parents at such a vernal age.