Essay about The Underlying Causes of Teen Pregnancy

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.

What if you were 16, had many opportunities that others don't get? For example free education, an amazing family, and great friends that you can go out with. All that can be gone because you decided to have unprotected sex. Now you're 16 and scared because you don't know how to tell your parents. You don't know whats going to happen your life. You don't know if your significant other will support you. If your parents will. You don't know if you're going to keep it. What now?

Multiple factors influence the rate of teen pregnancy. Some of the most important factors influencing pregnancy rates are socioeconomic status, education, and family income. With low socioeconomic status and income, parents may not always be present in their children’s lives in order to educate them on sex. School districts, then, take on the responsibility to educate teenagers on sexual intercourse and safe practices, but some fail. Stanger-Hall, K. F., & Hall, D. W. provided statistics showing that while many schools push abstinence-only programs, they show little to no positive impact on preventing teen pregnancies (Stanger-Hall, K. F., & Hall, D. W. (n.d.)). While abstinence may work for some, it is not realistic to believe that all teens will abide by it. Teens need a comprehensive sexual education with emphasis on safe sex practices, which is where Be Safe, Not Sorry comes into play. The comprehensive program will cover all

One major problem in America’s society today is teen pregnancy rates. In fact, “teen sexual activity, pregnancy, and childbearing are associated with substantial social, economic, and health costs” (Sedgwick). However, this problem is not one without a solution. The rise of teen pregnancy rates can be prevented and reversed by providing better access to birth control for teens, eliminating the negative connotation that accompanies abstinence, and implementing more efficient sex education in public schools.

It has been receiving a great deal of public and official attention recently, including expressions of concern from President Clinton (Trad, 1999). However, the most extensive dilemma regarding the issue of adolescent pregnancy is the question of prevention. Preventing teen pregnancy includes such problems as the availability of birth control, sexual education among children and adolescents, and a greater sense of support for pregnant teens. However, before society can begin to successfully prevent pregnancies among teenage girls, the underlying causes and facts about the dilemma must first be exposed

Teenage pregnancy is a growing problem in the United States today. As of 2010, 57.84% of 15-19 year old girls will become pregnant, which is especially high as compared to the rates of other developed countries. (Kost, 3) Why are unplanned pregnancy rates in teenagers so high? There are various factors that contribute to these high teen pregnancy rates, but one major factor is the type of sexual education that teenagers receives. While attention to abstinence in sexual education can be beneficial, it is when sexual education focuses solely on abstinence that teen pregnancy rates increase. Comprehensive sex education in schools has been shown to lower the rates of teen pregnancy more than abstinence only sex education has, and therefore should

The United States holds the title of one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the western industrialized world. It causes many setbacks for the young girls and boys that have to take the role of being a teen parent. Becoming a parent is the lead reason that teenage females

Teens that become pregnant while still going through high school have a significantly higher dropout rate according to Michael Frank, a professor at Stanford University . Not graduating combined with a garnished wage can seriously stall an individual's growth in the world. The family of a teen mother is burdened by the weight of another child and pour their money into child care and other expenses. Having to care for a child, can influence a teens day so that they no longer have time for school or work. Child care in the United States of America can cost upwards of 10,000 dollars a year which is more than many teens make in all of high school (Diobrat 1). Teens rely on loans or their parents to help them pay for a child. Sexual education in schools is very basic and lacks details and specific courses that teach abstinence only are recommended by parents (Diobrat 3). Abstinence is the practice of not engaging in sexual activity and is the only 100% efficient way to prevent teen pregnancy and the spread of STD's. With abstinence only education, teens are not taught about birth control or other forms of contraceptives. Parents argue that if teens are not given the "OK" for sex, by teaching about contraceptives, they will never wonder about sexual activity and not want to engage in casual

Teenage pregnancy is a new form of epidemic that is sweeping across the nation worldwide. No one can actually point fingers on who is to blame or why this situation has increased in numbers over the past years. As years progress and society changes, people have been adjusting to the fact that teenagers are getting pregnant, and that there is nothing we can do to change it. Although many think that teenagers make mistakes and that pregnancy is an automatic consequence, there is a way to prevent this outcome from happening. By introducing different kinds of sex education programs at an earlier age, the teenage pregnancy rate will decrease. Even though we cannot eliminate the problem, we can educate our teenagers so that this issue can be

Teen pregnancy has been a serious social issue for quite a while. Often, a teen pregnancy is detrimental for both the teen and the child involved. Both a teen mother and her child are more susceptible to complications during the pregnancy and birth than and adult mother and her child. Unfortunately, a teen mother and her infant are also less likely to pursue and receive healthcare to alleviate these health risks (Teen Pregnancy). Moreover, “teen pregnancy is often cited as a factor that perpetuates the cycle of poverty, since teen mothers are likely to be poor in the first place, and their children are likely to grow up to be poor” (Teen Pregnancy). While there is no argument that teens should be educated to prevent teen pregnancy, there is a debate on how it should be done. Currently, there are two forms of education focused on reducing teen pregnancies: abstinence-only education and comprehensive sex education with birth control. However, sex education and birth control are clearly the superior option, due to its effectiveness and the futility of abstinence-only education.

In 2002, Pamela K. Kohler, R.N. conducted a nationwide study regarding teens aged fifteen-nineteen years old, and the effects of the types of sex education that they received. She published a medical journal that found that those who were in programs that failed to provide accurate information such as abstinence-only programs, or who were not enrolled in a sex education course at all, reported higher teen pregnancy rates than those who had attended comprehensive sex education classes (Kohler 1). Kohler’s 2002 research also showed that teens who had completed a comprehensive sex education course were 60% less likely to be a teen parent (3). After publishing her journal, Kohler stated, "There was no evidence to suggest that abstinence-only education

“Among American adolescent girls who have ever had intercourse, approximately one in six becomes pregnant” (Ventura et al., 2008). Teen pregnancy is an ongoing dilemma that concerns the baby, parents, and other family members. Anyone under the age of eighteen years old is considered to be a child and every year approximately 750,000 women aged fifteen to eighteen become pregnant (Guttmacher Institute, 2006). Also, teen pregnancy represents eleven percent of all births in the United States (Guttmacher Institute, 2006). The underlying cause of teen pregnancy is mainly the lack of education on sexual and reproductive health and not enough being taught about how to use contraceptives. To help educate this knowledge it is dependent on not only

About 727,000 U.S. teenage girls (12,000 of them younger than 15)-an estimated 20 percent of those who had sexual intercourse-became pregnan in the most recently reported year. Three factors heighten the incidence of adolescent pregnancy: effective sex education reaches too few teenagers, convient, low-cost contraceptive services for adolescents are scarce, and many families live in poverty, which encourages young people to take risks without considering the future implications of their behavior. Teenage parents are much more likely to be poor than those that choose to postpone parenthood. The lives of expectant teens, already troubled in many ways, tend to worsen in several aspects after the baby is born. Education is harder to attain, only about 70

Every young girl who is sexually active is at risk for teen pregnancy. Children of teen parents are very likely to become teen parents themselves, this shows higher correlation in places of poverty and low income families. Unplanned teen pregnancy is more than just an unexpected expense than to just the parents, it is an expense to society. In America according to the National campaign, each year 9.4 billion dollars in taxpayer money is spent on teenage childbearing assistance. (2016). These costs include many things for both the child and the parents needs as well. The norms, values and beliefs of families also play a large role in the current social issue. Some families who were teen mothers themselves might be more or less educating to their child based on their experience. Also a large factor is that some religions do not believe in birth control or sex before marriage, therefor the parents of the children do not allow them to take contraceptives and then they accidentally get pregnant.

"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.