Teen Pregnancy Essay example

Many studies show that MTV’s “16 and Pregnant” led to fewer teen births. It is thought to be that when teens tune into the show, they learn to practice safer sex. “16 and Pregnant” was named one of the best ways to campaign about the issue of teen pregnancy. The show was a way to attack the issue of teen pregnancy head on. Comparing to all fully developed countries, the U.S, has the highest rates of teen pregnancy. This was seen as a major problem to many that was aware of the problem. Even though the number of teen pregnancies was high, there was nothing really being done to expose the harsh reality of being a teen mom. Lauren Dolgen, President of MTV’s series development, felt as if the situation needed to be addressed. Her goal was to give teen moms out there a chance to have a voice and to tell their stories.

See a young mother the age of sixteen; with her baby living off welfare and begging for more assistants. Teen pregnancy overall is a raped on going occurrences in our society. Teen girls cannot just rely on themselves, these girls rely on their parents and/or the state. Having a child just brings more complication into their lives. To help stop this ongoing occurrences by law, the state should have to sew up the vagina of all young girls from the age twelve to twenty-five and married.

In the 1960s and early 1970s, more unmarried women who became pregnant decided not to get married. As more teenage mothers remained single, public concern increased. Teen pregnancies were, often presented as a medical problem to be, treated with more access to clinics, birth control and abortion. There was a shift from viewing teen pregnancy as a moral problem to that of seeing it as a psychological or health problem (Adams, 1997).

Teenage pregnancy has long been acknowledged as an important health, social and economic problem in the United States, one that creates hardships for women and families and threatens the health and well-being of women and their infants. Unintended pregnancies span across age, race and religion, with a specific negative impact among the teenage population. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC, 2016) In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. Birth rates are also higher among Hispanic and African American adolescents than any other race. In 2014, Hispanic adolescent females ages 15-19 had the highest birth rate of 38 births per 1,000

In 2005, nearly half of all high school students have had sexual intercourse. Plainly stating that abstinence programs do not work (USA Today). Abstinence programs were beneficial many years ago, but since they are ineffective in delaying teen pregnancy, then teen pregnancy rate has increased. Abstinence programs teach the “no sex until marriage” clause, but they don’t teach teens about birth control and the consequences of having sex at before they’ve matured. Although many studies argue that abstinence programs are educational and beneficial, other studies will show that they don’t delay teen sex, they don’t prevent the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and are a waste of taxpayers’

The opponents of birth control to teens overlook the fact that providing birth control to teenage girls would make sex much safer. Certainly, the unsteady rate of teenage pregnancies would decrease. In previous times, girls between the ages of 16-17 would get pregnant unintentionally. However, in this era, 13 and 14 year old girls are having babies-teens who are completely unprepared to give birth and raise a child. In these instances, if the child is not given up for adoption, the responsibility usually becomes that of the parents. In addition, when teenagers are protected from unwanted pregnancies the number of teen abortions taking place each year could be reduced significantly. According to Guttmacher.org, some states in the U.S have reported that 50 percent of pregnant teens receive an abortion. Not only is this a costly procedure, but it is also

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.

“It looks so easy, I want one too.”1 In 2011, Time Magazine published an article, “Teens Answer: Why I had a Baby”. The magazine hired a consultant to interview current and former teenager students in the South Bronx (New York) to get their perspective on why teens chose to have a child. Overall, the responses reflected that at that age teenagers are “impulsive, naive, not very self-reflective and poor at planning.”2 Teen pregnancy is a problem in the US. “Of the nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies in the U.S. each year, 82% are unintended.”3 With this alarming number of teenage girls getting pregnant, all birth control options should available for a teen and not restricted. The reasons for making birth control options available are: Will reduce teen pregnancy; will reduce the number of teenage abortions; and will give the teenager more responsibility. The opposing view believes abstinence is the answer. Making birth control more assessible will help teenagers finish their high school education then get a good job instead of forcing many into a cycle of poverty.

Teenage birth rates, defined as live births per one thousand 15-19-year-old US females, declined by 10% from 2012 to 2013 from 29.4 to 26.5. In fact, the birth rate has been on a steady decline over the past 20 years, from 61.8 in 1991 to 26.5 in 2013. Teenage pregnancy represents both a health and social inequality in our society. Specifically, teenage childbearing is a public health issue because teenage mothers are more likely to experience negative social outcomes such as dropping out of school. This is a self-reinforcing cycle, as children of teenage mothers face higher chances of poor academic achievement as well as getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant in their teenage years (CDC). Although the overall rates of teenage pregnancy have dropped, ultimately, the variations in the rates reflect the intersecting disparities regarding race and ethnicity, income inequality, geography, and environmental factors, which in turn affect access to medical care, education, and resources.

In the United states, three out of ten teenagers are pregnant by the age of 20. Of these, over fifty percent of teen mothers will never earn their high school diploma. A teenager is constantly exposed to peer pressure that drives them to make the risky decisions that can result in pregnancy. From there, they are faced with a series of harsh decisions and situations. They are discriminated by their closest friends, and the adults in the community often looks down on these unfortunate teenagers due their past choices. The discrimination placed against these teenagers drives them to extinguish their problems through abortion; however, they do not understand the full gravity of that choice. Our plan is to significantly lower teen pregnancy rates

Each year around 90,000 adolescents become pregnant in the United States. Around 51% of adolescents pregnancies end in live births, 35% end up in induced abortions, and 14% result in miscarriage or stillbirth (Frick, 2007). Historically, the highest teen pregnancy rates in the United States were during the 1950’s and 1960’s before the legalization of abortion and the development of many the current forms of contraception(Frick, 2007). Rates enlarged steadily until 1991; since then, the birth rate among teenagers has decreased 35% for 15-17 year olds(Frick, 2007). Three in 10 teen American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20. That is nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies every year. In 2013, there were 26.6 births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19, or 274,641 babies born to females in this age group. To prevent teen pregnancy, we should teach them abstinence, safe sex by using protection, and communication skills to discuss prevention from peer pressure.

In the past three decades, the number of infants born to teen mothers has decreased from “84.1 births per 1,000 teens aged 15–19 years in 1991 to an all-time low of 29.4 in 2012” (Cox et al.). This trend is promising for even further decline in the decades to come. However, there are things that could be done, like increasing teenagers’ awareness on safe sex, to help lower current teen pregnancy rates because even though the number of teen pregnancies has lowered overall, the United States “teen pregnancy rate remains up to seven times higher than in some developed countries” (Romero et al.). Steps need to be taken to change these statistics. While teen pregnancy is an issue in other countries besides the United States, it is not nearly as prominent. A study was completed using data from 2011, or the most recent year prior, to compare the rate of teen pregnancy among a variety of developed countries (Sedgh et al.). This study compared the number of teen pregnancies ages fifteen to nineteen among a variety of developed countries, and the United States had substantially higher rates. For every 1000 teens ages fifteen to nineteen, 57 gave birth in the United States, compared to eight in Switzerland (Sedgh et al.). Though these numbers have declined in recent years, there is more that could be done to prevent teen pregnancies, including increased

"Over one million teenage girls become pregnant each year. In the next 24 hours, about 3,312 girls will become pregnant. In addition, 43% of all adolescents become pregnant before the age of 20. These are incredible statistics when you consider that there are only 31 million females. The United States has the highest adolescent pregnancy rate in the developed world. As statistics show one in nine women between the ages of 15 through 19 become pregnant each year. Also, every 26 seconds a teenage girl becomes pregnant and every 56 seconds a child of a teenage mother is born."

Abstinence –only programs received more than $100 million in federal funding annually and $50 million in federal funding was given to states that utilized such programs (Medical News Today). James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth thinks that abstinence-only programs deny young people life-saving information about condoms and other forms of prevention. They should be taught all of their options about being safe from an unwanted pregnancy and STD’s, because by teaching abstinence only obviously is not working.

"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.