The Effects Of Teen Pregnancy On Teens

Over the last few decades the rates in teen pregnancy have been a debate; did they rise over the past few years or did they actually decline? Contrary to some doctors and politicians the numbers associated with teen pregnancy have decline over the last couple of years. Although there are still people out there who believe this to be an issue it’s made more of an issue than it actually is. The ads and commercials are set out to scare teen-agers into believing that were at an all time high for this issue, but realistically its actually the exact opposite. Teen pregnancy rates haven’t dropped on there over the course of the years. There are a few major factors that have contributed a great deal to this change. Those changes include but are not limited to: more resources being available to these teenagers to prevent themselves from becoming pregnant, society is more open to talking about this issue as well as the religion and culture change aspect of families today. Despite the beliefs of others, teen pregnancy rates are at an all time low for the first time in decades.

Despite the fact, that our teen pregnancies rates have declined over different parts of the United States, there remains a steady rate among Mississippi’s teens. Mississippi has one of the highest rates in the United States and has failed to implement an effective plan that will confront and eliminate teen pregnancies. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (U.S. HHS), “when compared with children born to older parents, children born to teen mothers are more likely to have poorer educational, behavioral, and health consequences throughout their lifespan” (Negative Impacts of Teen Childbearing, 2016). Therefore, this paper will outline our nation’s teen pregnancy history, but most importantly, evaluate teen pregnancy in Mississippi, the implementation of our current teen pregnancy plan and conclude an outlining of a social policy plan that could possibly decline numbers and other social issues as well.

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.

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

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)."

Oklahoma has been ranked number two in teen birth rates according to a Tulsa World article. Teen pregnancy has always been a problem in America. More and more teens are becoming pregnant every day. Most of them can’t afford the expenses of birth control. Others do not know how to prevent it. Teen pregnancy can also cause education problems with the teen. Teen moms are not mature enough to handle raising a kid. Many kids who have parents who were young when they had them are more than likely going to grow up to be just like their parents. These children and today’s teens need to be educated on how to have a healthy relationship. Oklahoma has found many different ways to get the teen pregnancy rate down. Teen pregnancy is one of the highest

In 2010 Mississippi had the highest teen pregnancy rate with 55 out of every 1,000 girls pregnant

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.

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.

The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births in the western industrialized world. Teen pregnancy costs the United States at least $7 billion annually. Family First Aid has stated that “thirty-four percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 — about 820,000 a year. Eight in ten of these teen pregnancies are unintended and 79 percent are to unmarried teens.”

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

"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.

The teen pregnancy rate had decreased by the maximum of about 55 percent. Most teen birth rates had also gone down about 64 percent, but yet teen pregnancies and birth rate for teenagers ages 15-19 in the U.S still remains one of the highest comparable countries. Due to parenthood, most of teen moms drop out of school. More than 50% of teen mothers never graduate to get their diploma. Sexually active teens that don’t use any type of protection has a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant within a year, 84 percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned.