The Problem Of Teen Pregnancy

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.

Teen pregnancy falls into the category of pregnancies in girls age 19 or younger (NIH). Although statistics have shown a decrease, the number of teen pregnancy in the U.S. is still relatively high compared to the rest of the world. Sexual health is one of the top priorities in early adolescence health in the United States. Consequences of having sex at a young age generally results in unsafe sex practices. The consequences can be due to the lack of knowledge about sex education, and access to birth control/contraception (NIH, 2005). Due to the lack of knowledge and access to birth control, adolescents involve in risk taking when they start to explore sexual intimate relationships.

Teenage pregnancy may not be one of the bigger issues of the world, like war or drug abuse, but it still holds credibility. It also does not have a high declining rate. All of the world teenagers still get pregnant, whether it be by a small or high percentage, and the government has no way to stop it. However, the government can control what happens afterwards, when the baby is born. Obviously, teens would have trouble in raising a baby on their own because they are not yet adults so they need both financial and supportive help. So the government created Acts to help and states carried out assistance programs as well. However, there has been controversy in whether or not teenage mothers deserve all of this help. Teenage mothers should be

Teen pregnancy has become a problem over the past decade. This issue can be looked at using sociological imagination. C. Write Mills explaing the idea of sociological imagination as the ability to see the connection between personal experiences and larger society. On a personal level, teens with children experience many difficulties juggling the responsibilities of parenting, school, work, and everything else. The teenage years can be very complicated, but adding a child to the mix can really impact young men and women’s relationships, emotions, and future. Looking at this problem on a public level, society has a huge role in preventing teen pregnancies. Also, the media plays a large role in influencing teenagers to engage in sexual activities.Many

Teenage pregnancy is one of many issues that the United States has. It is one issue that can be fixed easily and should be waited upon until teens are married and know what they are doing with their lives. This issue came about in the early in the 1950’s – 1960’s. Teen pregnancy is a teenage girl between the ages 13-19 (girls who haven’t reached adulthood) having unwanted or wanted babies. Janet Bode once stated in her book, “Emotions run everywhere, scared, sad, disappointment and preparation for what is about to happen” (Bode 51). If we do not act now, teen pregnancy will be out the roof. Teen pregnancy needs a stop put to it no matter what, teens are still children themselves and they are still learning how to take care of themselves:

For many years teen pregnancy has been a national social problem. Views have changed over the years as society has started to adapt to the thought of teen pregnancy. “Growing evidence suggests that pre-existing academic and economic hardships play a role in the continuing struggles of teen mothers. While 85% of young women who delay having their first child until at least twenty or twenty – one obtain a high school diploma or GED, only 63% of mothers who give birth by age seventeen do so” (Crosson- Tower p255)

In fact, a article called Teen Pregnancy In The U.S stated that in 2004, a total of 249,078 babies were born to women between the aged of 14-19 years. The rate of unwanted child birth is very high. Unplanned pregnancy can lead to poverty and joblessness. The majority of teen girls rather get an abortion then to tell their parents they are pregnant. Birth control should be available

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.

According to the CDC (2017), the teen pregnancy rate in the United States is substantially higher than in other western industrialized nations. In addition, childbearing adolescents are less likely to finish high school, more likely to rely on public assistance, more likely to be poor as adults, and more likely to have children similarly affected, which consequentially affects the parents themselves, their children, and society (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Adolescent Health [USHHS/OAH], 2014). Alarming statistics and factual information like this clearly indicate that there is a serious issue for the nation to address. Therefore, an excellent point that was mentioned, and one that I would like to expand upon is

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).

The number of teen pregnancies keeps getting higher and higher as the years go by. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, nearly 800,000 women under the age of 20 have gotten pregnant. Although it has declined, the rate of teen pregnancies in the United States is the highest of all the nations. It is degraded by society in most places and there is a stereotype that those who become pregnant always drop out of school and ruin their future and career goals. In some places people think it would be better for teen moms to not go back to school. Teen moms have the right to an education just like everybody else. Although it is hard for teens to keep getting an education and pursuing a career, it should still be an option and can be done with

Teen pregnancy is one of the many problems that America could honestly do without. In fact, America has the worlds highest teen pregnancy rate. Teen pregnancy increases the population, however, this is completely unnecessary. the economy would also improve without teens getting pregnant, in fact, teen pregnancy is a problem no one should have to go through.

Teen pregnancy is a problem that is plaguing the U.S., as well as other countries. This social problem affects teens of every ethnic and economic background. Before we discuss what some organizations are doing to help, let’s look at some of statistics surrounding teen pregnancy. Even though this is a serious problem, the good news is that teen birth rates in the United States have dropped almost continuously since the early 1990s — including a six percent drop from 2011 to 2012 — further decreasing from 2011's historic lows. Teen birth rates declined for all races and for Hispanics except for 18–19 year old Asian/Pacific Islanders, for whom rates did not change. The decline was greatest for Hispanic teens, with a drop of 11% from 2010. The U.S. teen pregnancy, birth, sexually transmitted disease (STD), and abortion rates are substantially higher than those of other western industrialized nations. Non-Hispanic black youth, Hispanic/Latino youth, American Indian/Alaska Native youth, and socioeconomically disadvantaged youth of any race or ethnicity experience the highest rates of teen pregnancy and childbirth. Together, black and Hispanic youth comprised 57% of U.S. teen births in 2011 (CDC, 2012).

Teenage pregnancy is a hot-button issue in the United States that has lured the attention of citizens for many years. Since its peak in 1990, teen pregnancy has declined significantly, but is still held as the center for much controversy, especially with recent reality television shows that many claim are “glorifying” teenage pregnancy (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, 2014; Henson, 2011). Although numbers of pregnant teens are down, certain areas continue to struggle with this issue, and are seeking new ways to get the message across. This case study focuses on a series of print and transportation advertisements that were distributed in Milwaukee and Chicago from approximately 2009 through 2013 (Murray, 2013). The following study also showcases the stigmas surrounding the ads and links relevant coursework from chapters two, three, and four via the campaign’s choice of tactics.

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.