The Problem Of Adolescent Pregnancy

An ongoing epidemic in the United Sates is teen pregnancy. In America, our society is run down by many problems. Most are caused by the older generation, but this problem has risen with the younger generation around the age of 15-19. The peak of the teen pregnancy trend started in 1990 when 60 teen girls out of 1,000 had a teen birth ("About Teen Pregnancy.”). For every 1,000 females in 2013, on average only 27 out of the 1,000 had gone through teen birth ("About Teen Pregnancy.”). Over the years, it seems that the trend is winding down and that less and less teens appear to becoming pregnant. In 2013, the teen pregnancy rate decreased by 10% since 2012 and 57% 1990 ("Teen Birth Rate | The National Campaign.”).

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.

For decades teen pregnancy has been a social problem in our society. According to Paschal, Wodarski and Feit (2006), “Nearly one million teen pregnancies between the ages of 15 and 19 take place each year in the United States. A majority of the available research is focused on the teen mother.” (p.106). Even though we have seen a decrease over the past decade; teen pregnancy continues to be an issue of concern with a higher number of pregnancies seen in the African American community. The United States reports a greater number of teen pregnancies compared to other countries. In recent years, the United States has had the highest rate of adolescent pregnancy of any of the world’s developed nations (Santelli, Lindberg, Finer, and Singh, 2007).

Teen Pregnancy is a very serious issue in America. There are many statistics and facts about teen pregnancy and how it is such a big problem in America. So, in my paper I want to talk about teen pregnancies and ways to prevent it. I want to explain that teen pregnancy is not the end of the world and that pregnant teens have a future. I want to also talk about my experience and how having a child at a young age changed my life in many different ways.

Whether it is buying a new seventy dollar pair of jeans or attending the latest hit artist’s concert, teenagers are always trying to fit into their ever changing society and will do just about anything to have a feeling of belonging with their peer groups. With Teen Mom, Sixteen and Pregnant, and Juno airing on a weekly basis it is not too hard to determine that teens are influenced by these highly praised young mothers. The Teen Mom cast may make $65,000 to $140,000 just to be filmed for the thirteen MTV series, but a teen mom in a small town may make, on average, $20,000 to $40,000 a year. The reality of teenage pregnancies can cause many disturbances in an adolescent 's life. High school pregnancies are not glitz and glamour like television may portray, in reality, expecting teenage mothers are not exposed to that fashionable life that most teenagers strive for. A student 's normal like will be affected by problems with friends, family, and emotional experiences.

In the United States, teenagers face problems everyday from peers, parents, and their environment. He or she is heavily influenced by their feelings. Feelings are overwhelming, confusing, and also conflicting. If he or she is influenced by their friends, then most likely experiments will occur. The teenager can agree or disagree with the situations and dilemmas. However their choice is influence by what the popular crowd is saying and doing. It is a battle of fitting in or being different. The popular crowd can be involved in two main options, sex and drugs. The results of sex without protection and knowledge is teen pregnancy and possible a sexual transmitted disease. Teen pregnancy is a constant never ending problem in this country. The main idea of this paper is to provide statistics about teen pregnancy, what are the social conditions of teen pregnancy, and find a relationship between

There is a wide variation of causes that give rise to teenage pregnancy, which consists of family, community and social dysfunctions. The U.S. has the highest frequency of teen pregnancy. However, there is an extensive geographic disparity in teenage pregnancy across the United States. The Northeast has lower teen birth rates that the Southern part of the country. The Southern part of the

Teenage pregnancy is a common thing here in America. It seems teens are getting pregnant more than the average married couple. There are some risk factors teen moms face and there is also another great turn outs. There is a major difference between the two. It’s important to tell teens the turnouts of teen pregnancy for the good and bad parts. There are risks of having sex, teen moms can make a difference for her and the baby, the risk of having HIV and/or any other STD’s, and the effects on the baby and mom. The numbers are inconceivable for studies:

Some things in life are just thrown at you without any warning and you simply may not be ready to tackle the task at hand. Pregnancy is one of those many things that are thrown into your life that can be a major issue for many people, especially teen girls. Finding out that you 're pregnant is big news whether you are happy about it or not. The decision of what you 're going to do with the baby is what makes it so life changing. Many possibilities arise for one to think about; one could choose to parent that baby, abort it, or put it up for adoption. For most people it 's an easy decision because they want to keep that baby and raise it as one of their own, but for some, it can be the most difficult decision of their life. Many of these people are young women who get pregnant without trying to be. For those young women who have this problem arise, they get stuck thinking about their future and they feel that pregnancy may ruin what they previously sought out for themselves. Because of this many of them abandon the thought of ever keeping the baby and turn to having an abortion. What many may not know is that adoption is a better way to handle this controversy. Adoption should be chosen over abortion so that the young woman will not be harmed during or after the process, the baby can be given a second chance at life, and those who can 't have children of their own can experience the life of parenthood.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT Adolescent pregnancy has long been a worldwide social and educational concern for the developed, developing and underdeveloped countries. Many countries continue to experience high incidence of teenage pregnancy despite the intervention strategies that have been put in place. In 1990 approximately 530,000 teenagers in the United States became pregnant, 51% of whom gave birth (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998).

The issue of teen pregnancy is a fact that can no longer be overlooked in terms of its magnitude in the society today. Despite the widespread sex education and peer counseling and guidance, there still is a wide prevalence of teen pregnancy, a challenge that does not only affect the teenagers but the society at large.

Teenage pregnancy is a huge problem that the United States faces today. Amongst other countries the United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy (Ayadi, Kuo, Adams &

Like Amy and Loeber (2009), when it comes to the ecological paradigm of teenage pregnancy, Corcoran, Franklin, and Bennett (2000) also believe one’s socioeconomic status is a huge factor that contributes to this problem. A person’s socioeconomic status a lot of times determines “education, expanded family size, single-parent household structure, and lessened resources in terms of employment and income.” These three authors claim that educational performance and goals “dictate the potential costs of child bearing at a young age.” Their studies have also shown that teenage girls’ relationships with the school setting and poorer performance in school serve a greater risk for adolescent pregnancy.

Teen pregnancy is a worldwide controversy that has become a major predicament in the society that we live in today. Each year, almost half of all pregnancies among American women are not intended. The lack of sex education in schools may be the cause of why teen pregnancy is at an uprise. Young women try to find solutions to stop pregnancy, birth control is one form of preventing pregnancy. Other people choose to get an abortion. Sex education classes in high school can also help and inform teens about STD’s and HIV/AIDS. The history of sex education and its controversy began in the U.S. It began as early as 1912. The National Education Association put teachers in training programs for sex education. Some people saw this as unnecessary and thought that this did not have to be taught in school’s. In 1960 to about 1980, sex education programs were described as the Christian Crusade. “Sex education programs in public schools proliferated, in large part due to newly emerging evidence that such programs didn’t promote sex but in fact helped delay sexual activity and reduce teen pregnancy rates” (Pardini,Priscilla). Many teen’s in America get the education they need about sex, but they are not aware of the consequences of having a child at an early age. Teen pregnancy can be prevented by using a condom or birth control. When these products fail, teens are not sure on what to do with the baby. Some solutions

Teen pregnancy rates have seemed to be increasing remarkably in the United States, as oppose to westernized countries. Influences linked to affecting teen