Teen Pregnancy among the Latino Community

According to this perception of “Latino culture,” it can be assumed that teen pregnancy was acceptable and was something that all Latina girls aimed for. Minerva, one of the girls interviewed, described this when she stated, “... they talk down to us, like, ‘Okay, we know that in the Hispanic culture it's okay for girls to get pregnant young and become mothers, but not in American culture, okay?’” (Garcia, 2012: 63). This connection to “Latino culture” also emphasized the gender inequality between men and women. Embedded into the courses was a justification of machismo, a “..strong and exaggerated sense of masculinity specific to Latinos”(Garcia, 2012: 63). Rather than explain the prevention of pregnancy as a group effort, Miriam reported that her sex education teacher, “...started talking about Latino culture and saying that because of machismo, guys were always gonna try to control us and tell us how many babies to have, and that they were too macho to wear condoms” (Garcia, 2012: 63). The idea portrayed when blaming “Latino culture” is that the sexuality of young Latina women is a problem that needs to be fixed but the sexuality of Latino men is acceptable. The efforts of the teachers, as reported by the girls, focused on changing how women pursued their sexuality. However, this perception of sexuality in Latina girls is false, and was grounded on the negative stereotypes

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.

“The national Hispanic teenage pregnancy rate is twice that of non-Hispanic whites, and in California, Hispanic adolescents are four times more likely than whites to become parents”. (guttmacher.org, 2004) . This rapid growth in Hispanic population and high rate of teen pregnancies is putting pressure on the educational and health care systems to address the needs of Hispanics. Many young Latina/Hispanic girls face discrimination, poverty, and limited access to healthcare and most importantly cultural challenges, which can place them at a high risk for unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. Thus there is a clear need for teenage pregnancy

Mexican American women for over 20 years have had the highest rate of teen pregnancy compared to Anglo women. Teenage birth rates have decreased as a whole, but even with teenage births decreasing Mexican American women are still at the top, having the highest teen birth rates with 46.3 births for every 1,000 teens that are females. There are several reasons for this startling fact; this paper is going to illustrate some of the misconceptions when dealing with Latina sexuality and reproduction and also the negative results that came from it. To illustrate this alarming issue, some misconceptions about Mexican American sexuality and reproduction will be shared. Such as, most Mexican American teenage or adolescent mothers may lack knowledge.

For about the last 20 years Mexican American females have had the highest rates of adolescent teenage childbearing. Although the teenage birthrates have decreased as a whole, Mexican American women are still at the top, having the highest teen birth rates (46.3 births per 1,000 teen females). The Mexican American adolescent mothers have a lot in common when it comes to their reasons, knowledge, risks and prevention of pregnancy. However, there are some misconceptions when dealing with Chicana sexuality and reproduction.

The majority of the pregnancies are not planned or not wanted; these young teens are usually between 18 and 19 years old (Mann, Cardona & Gomez,2015). As the family is the primary source of support and identity, family dynamics affect the choices made available to Latina teenagers. Culturally, women are encouraged to remain chaste until marriage. Motherhood is the primary identity in the Chicano women's life and Latina girls are expected to uphold these traditions. Many Latina girls find themselves in a sticky situation where their religion holds them to a pro-life decision regardless of the consequences to them or the baby. A Latina teen does not have open access to contraception or abortion (Mann, Cardona and Gomez, 2015). The Catholic church has already placed restrictions on abortion availability. The right to an abortion is a government decision and church and state should remain separate. This rise in unprepared pregnancy will eventually trickle down to government assistance programs like welfare and even programs like SafeHaven. SafeHaven is a place mothers can drop off infants with no questions asked. These places are in many states and are often at hospitals and fire stations. Schools also will discern an increase along with foster care and domestic adoptions. Not all of these areas are negative, but bringing a life into the world that is not wanted is not an

In the Hispanic/Latino culture health care is most commonly sought after when symptoms appear, and in may cases only when those symptoms cause the individual’s incapacitation. Working through discomfort is considered the norm, dwelling on discomfort or mild pain is seen as weakness and seeking medical attention when not ill, such as preventive care, is almost unheard of, unless it is required by one’s employer. Culturally engaging in premarital sex is frowned upon for girls, though not so much for males, abstinence may be the only birth control ever discussed at home, for fear of implying consent. This significantly increments the danger of teen age pregnancy, abortion is rejected, mostly for moral and religious reasons, thus the high rate of teen age birth.

The main ethnic/racial groups affected by the health issue are non-Hispanic African American females, Hispanic females, and Native Americans/Native Alaskans. There were key study findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found that U.S. birth rates for adolescents vary considerably by race and Hispanic origin (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Thus, this provides even more clear evidence on the difference of ethnic/racial groups. Additionally, in 2008, the birth rate for Hispanic adolescents was approximately five times the rate for Asian/Pacific Islander adolescents, three times the rate for non-Hispanic white adolescents, and somewhat higher than the rates for non-Hispanic African American and Native American/Native Alaskan adolescents (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011).

Culturally, engaging in premarital sex is frowned upon for girls, though not so much for males, abstinence may be the only birth control ever discussed at home, for fear of implying consent. This significantly increases the danger of teenage pregnancy, abortion is rejected, mostly for moral and religious reasons, thus the high rate of teenage birth. Vaccinations since not curative, are almost never considered and even if desired, it would require funds to pay for the service or access to a public health clinic. Severe pain, injury, or an impending delivery, will be the triggers for seeking health care. This is why so many Hispanic

Birth rates in African American and Hispanic teens are substantially higher than whites, a trend that has persisted for decades. Even though pregnancy rates among teens are at an all time low. It is still a major issue but mostly affecting the urban communities. In this research paper I will be comparing and demonstrating the relationships between teenage pregnancy, social issues, and education.

Despite teenage pregnancy rates dropping more than fifty percent in recent years, it is within the Hispanic community that teen pregnancy continues to remain a serious public and social issue. When compared to other ethnic sectors in the United States, Hispanic females continue to hold a higher birth rate than others, being twice more than that of non-Hispanics. In general, there are the many apparent obstacles and consequences when dealing with this situation. Young adult parents must overcome educational, financial, and emotional problems months before their child is born.

In today 's society, the way sexual values are passed on varies among many families, cultures and religious group. Some people say sexual activity is okay if you love the person, other people would say it’s only okay if it’s in a marriage. It all comes down to a person’s morals and values. Latino women are not expected to be highly active in sexual activites, yet studies show that Latina women don’t exactly follow their cultures values. According to “Sexual Values and Risky Sexual Behaviors among Latino Youths,” by: Tschann, Jeanne MFlores, Elena.Ozer, “Latino youths have received scarce attention. Yet they merit attention, as Latina women in the United States are at higher risk for adolescent pregnancy than are their non-Latina white counterparts. Latinas are 2.8 times as likely as non-Latina whites to give birth at ages 15–19; overall, they have the highest pregnancy rate and birthrate among all ethnic groups in the United States. Although Latina women initiate sexual intercourse at later ages than non-Latinas, they are less likely to use contraceptives once they begin having sex...Sexual communication may also reflect cultural values. Among adult Latina women, acculturation is positively related to sexual communication with partners, which is positively associated with condom use. However, because Latina women are expected to be chaste or naive, sexual communication between men and women is often considered inappropriate and is therefore limited. (24). Islam is a

Mexican American women for over 20 years have had the highest rate of teen pregnancy compared to Anglo women. Teenage birthrates have decreased as a whole but even with teenage births decreasing Mexican American women are still at the top, having the highest teen birth rates with 46.3 births for every 1,000 teens that are females. There are several reasons for this startling fact; this paper is going to illustrate some of the misconceptions when dealing with Latina sexuality and reproduction and also the negative results that came from it. To illustrate this alarming issue, some misconceptions about Mexican American sexuality and reproduction will be shared. Such as, most Mexican American teenage or adolescent mothers may lack knowledge. Meaning they lack the proper prevention information and the risks that come along with engaging in intercourse. When talking about issues dealing with any person form the Mexican American community one can not forget the stereotypes that come with being a part of the group. With that being said there are some false statements when talking about the reproduction of Mexican American women that can change a persons view on these young women and it is one of the several reasons there is an issue. One cannot pin point the reason why exactly Mexican American women have the highest rate of teen pregnancy. There are many forms and ways that an issue or issues can cause damage.

Teen pregnancy has always been an issue and even with the decrease in the last few years New Mexico continues to be the highest ranked state (The office of adolescent health). Teen pregnancy is an issue because the proper information is not being given to sexually active teens. Not only can teens become pregnant from being sexually active but they can get sexually transmitted diseases as well. Teens between the ages of 15 to 19 are not informed of the emotional and physical support needed if they become pregnant. Teens that become pregnant at a young age generally don’t finish high school making it even harder to support themselves and their new responsibilities of being a parent. There are many resources available to teens such as the teen

"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.