The Decline Of Teen Pregnancy Rates

Although popular opinion sometimes indicates otherwise, according to a statistical analysis from the US Department of Health and Services (2014), teen pregnancy rates have been steadily declining for the past twenty years. In America, most teenagers are not yet fully independent

Teen pregnancy is still a major issue regardless of the declining pregnancy rate. In 2006 birthrates among teenage girls age ranging from 15-17 were more than 3 times as high as

The United States of America is known for many of its outlandish and outrageous statistics in comparison to other countries. Statistics regarding obesity, homicide rates, and political issues have displayed many of the nation?s weak points. However, the amount of teen pregnancy has become so excessive that it is becoming a cry for help and a statistic that is greatly standing out and can no longer be ignored. In 1999 about one million teenagers experienced a pregnancy. This rate was twice the amount in England, Wales, and Canada and nine times greater than that of the Netherlands and Japan. About 78% of these American teenage pregnancies were said to be unplanned.

Research has shown that since the 1990’s teen pregnancy has significantly fallen: “pregnancy rate peaked among teens ages 15-19 in 1990, at 116.8, and had fallen 44% by 2009.”4 What has contributed to this decline? The Pew Research Organization found that “While the overall share of teens using contraception at first sex has not changed significantly, the use of some forms of highly effective

When a female becomes pregnant during her teenage years, it can have a lasting effect on the rest of her life. The Tennessee Department of Health states that when an adolescent becomes pregnant, she is "more likely to drop out of school, remain unmarried, and live in poverty" compared to someone who waits to have a child later in life (www.tn.gov). Currently, the teen pregnancy rate is declining in Tennessee. It went from a whopping 53.8 in 2008 down to 33.0 in 2014 (www.tn.gov). However, the teen pregnancy rate for Tennessee is still higher than the national average of 24.2. Stanhope and Lancaster state that decreased teen pregnancy is due from having less sexual activity and using contraception. Teen pregnancies still have an enormous impact on communities around the United States even though the pregnancy rate for teens is at its lowest since 1976 (Stanhope & Lancaster p.415). Prevention of teen pregnancy is the ultimate goal. With the proper education and resources, I believe teen pregnancy will continue to decline in the future.

In the 1950s, the frequency of teenage births in the United States was already high, and since that, time has decreased, although the number of births outside marriage has increased. Thus, in 1990 the rate was 61.8 births, pregnancy rate - 116.9 per 1,000. The incidence of teenage pregnancy has decreased significantly in the 1990s. This decline is observed in all racial groups, but Teenagers, African Americans and Hispanic teens remain higher frequency compared with Americans of European and Asian origin. Guttmacher Institute, about 25% of this decline carried her share of sexual abstinence and 75% - on the effective use of contraceptives. However, in 2006 the first time in 14 years, the incidence of teenage births has increased. This would imply that the incidence rates of teenage pregnancy are also on the rise, but marked by the rise could be linked to other sources: for example, reducing the number of abortions or a decrease in the number of abortions.

The Journal of Adolescent Health stated that the decline numbers in teen births between 2007 and 2012 is attributable to developments in the use of contraceptives. Researchers found an increase in contraceptive use by adolescent of "highly effective methods [of contraception], particularly the pill. According to the Journal of Adolescent Health, the number of teenagers girl uses contraception pill increased from 78 percent to 86 percent (2016). The majority of adolescent pregnancies are unintended. These declines are to be celebrated in that we are doing a better job of helping teenagers to avoid unintended pregnancy. Also, researchers wrote that the increased of educational and employment opportunities for women and progress in contraceptive technology may possibly account for the decline in the adolescent

The state I looked at for this assignment was Ohio because it is where my hometown resides. The teen birth rate in my state was at about 56 percent, meaning it was ranked at a 28 with 50 being the highest. The birth rate certainly was not too high but could be lower than it is. Between 1991 and 2014/2015 the teen birth rate has declined a significant 62 percent in Ohio. That is outstanding to me at how much the teen birth rate had decreased when I thought it would have increased. What I found interesting was that in 2015, there were 23.2 births per 1,000 girls, less than what I had predicted. In my high school, there was always a girl who was pregnant, which is why I figured the number would be much higher. However, I did not take into consideration

While parents would like their children to wait as long as possible to begin having sex, the reality is that teens are having sex much younger than many parents think. Some teens, or preteens, begin having sex or engaging in sexual behavior in junior high. By the time they are seniors in high school, an estimated 65 percent of teens have had sex, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007. (Dawn, 2009). Unfortunately, a percentage of those teens will become pregnant. After more than a decade and a half of decline (a 27 percent drop from 1991 to 2000), teen birth rates rose again in 2006, which was the last year for which data are available. It is still unclear on what caused teen birth rates to rise again, with supporters of abstinence-only sex education programs and contraception-based programs each blaming the other side for the increase. However, a 2007 study in the Journal of American Public Health attributed the trend in decreasing pregnancy rates to improved contraception use among teens during that time. (Anderson Orr, 2009).

According to Clemmit(2010), although there is still a lot of hype surrounding teen pregnancy and birth rates, teens have been less sexually activity, they have been using contraceptive, and getting fewer abortions more recently than they did in earlier decades. This shows that the current generation is using prevention techniques that were previously not being adopted by teens. To illustrate, teen births and pregnancies have been declining in the United States since the late 1950s. Although that might sound like the problem has subsided, the teen birth rates remain much higher in the U.S. than in many other industrialized societies, such as Canada and Western Europe. To illustrate, in 2007, Germany 's rate was about one-quarter the U.S. rate, France 's was one-sixth and the Netherlands ' one-ninth(Cemmit, 2010).

In just the year of 2014 249 hundred thousand babies were born by women ages fifteen-nineteen (CDC.Gov). This many babies being born by women this age are adding a large dependency ratio in america. Teen pregnancy is a declining problem in America but it is still a problem that should not be ignored.

Effectively preventing teenage pregnancies would not only spare the health and well being of many infants and young girls, but public costs related to this issue would decline significantly (since costs are "currently estimated at $10.9 billion" worldwide) (Hamilton, 2012). Even though global teen birth rates have been steadily decreasing over the years (as seen in figure 1), the birth rate United States still prevails as one of the highest out of all industrialized countries, as one can see in table 1 above (Hamilton, 2012). Figure 2 shows the results of a survey conducted on teens in Austin, Texas, which provides a clear indication of what specific risk factors today 's youth face when it comes to preventing pregnancies. These include, but are not limited to: a lack of access to contraception, a lack of supportive partners, and a lack of education about contraceptive use (Brazeal, 2015). All sexually active teenage girls, regardless of race, wealth, or location, are at risk for an unintended pregnancy. This intervention will hopefully aid in reducing the number of women affected by this issue.

In reviewing the literature of multiple studies and reports, I found that there is significantly more data and research in regards to the problem of teen pregnancy and the associated problems that are attributed to adolescent childbearing than there are specific to the effectiveness and efficacy of second chance homes. Second chance homes help teen mothers and their children comply with welfare reform requirements under the 1996 law (Housing and Urban Development, 2016). Second chance homes can also support teen families who are homeless or currently residing in foster care (Housing and Urban Development, 2016). In addition, research has shown that over 60% of teen parents have experienced sexual and physical abuse by household member requiring the need for alternative housing options (Housing and Urban Development, 2016).

The problem to be addressed by this proposal is the issue of teenagers pregnancy rates are increasing. Since 2007 we have steadily be rising by 1% every year (Center for Disease Control). In addition we are ranked as the number one nation in the world for having the most teenagers becoming parents. Are teenagers being prepared and educated adequately in the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases and the risks of pregnancies? In my experience no, just last year I had a freshman student who gave birth in October. This incident was shocking and alarming. Also to be determined if teens are in fact adhering the abstinence only lessons. If not, determining if the curriculum needs to change.

Her name is Isabel . She got pregnant at 14 and brought forth a little girl at 15. One night her and her boyfriend decided to engage in sexual relations. After that night her life changed drastically . After 4 weeks she figured out she was pregnant. Isabel conversed with a trusted auntie and she took her to go get checked. She peed in a container and yup those 2 lines came up. Isabel took a gander at her Aunt and she didn 't generally recognize what say. She told Isabel that it would have been alright. I am regularly frightened when I see an amazingly youthful young lady encountering parenthood during a period when her fundamental concerns ought to be far not exactly those of raising another person. The truth of the matter is that consistently more high schoolers are having youngsters at an alarmingly youthful age. This issue brings up the issue of what should be possible to forestall and bring down the rates of teenage pregnancy. Keeping in mind the end goal to avert high school pregnancy, young people need a complete comprehension of restraint, preventative strategies, and outcomes .Young people who are pregnant can 't typically bolster the youngster all alone. Teenage Pregnancy is a developing issue all around the globe. Despite the fact that the numbers have brought down, it is still an issue in our general public. At the point ,when teenagers become pregnant their associations with their family, companions, and the father of the infant can change a considerable