Teen Pregnancy

FYI: Most young people:

dont have sex before they are 16 dont get pregnant because they intend to use contraception and do so want fulfilling relationships and to get on in the world if they do get pregnant or have an STI do so when they are older teenagers Teenage

Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group

FYI: Most young people:

regret first sex if it was had in risky situations want to have adults in their lives that they can talk to and be listened by them

want young people friendly confidential, accessible and relevant services

want to be part of the solution

if they become young parents want to parent their child well

Four in ten girls get pregnant at least once before age 20.

Source: National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy analysis of Henshaw, S.K., U.S.. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics, New York: Alan Guttmacher Institute, May, 1996; and Forrest, J.D., Proportion of U.S. Women Ever Pregnant Before Age 20, New York: Alan Guttmacher Institute, 1986, unpublished.

FYI:
75% of teenage pregnancies are unplanned 46% under 18 conceptions end in abortion
STIs highest in 16-19 year old women
Teenage Pregnancy Independent Advisory Group

Teenage Pregnancy Statistics

About 860,000 teenagers become pregnant each year, and about 425,000 give birth Teen mothers are more likely than mothers over age 20 to give birth prematurely High teen birth rates are an important concern because teen mothers and their babies face increased risks to their health

Teenage Pregnancy Statistics

About 17% of teen mothers have a second baby within 3 years after the birth of their first baby About one in three teenagers becomes pregnant before age 20 In 2002, 11% of all U.S. births were to teens ages 15 to 19

Other Consequences
A child born to a teenage mother is 50% more likely to repeat a grade in school, and is more likely to perform poorly on standardized tests and drop out before finishing high school. A child born to an unmarried teenage high school dropout is 10 times as likely as other children to be living in poverty at ages 8 to 12. Teens may not have good parenting skills, or have the social support systems to help them deal with the stress of raising an infant.

Other Consequences
Teen mothers are more likely to live in poverty than women who delay childbearing. Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of high school than girls who delay childbearing. Over 75 percent of all unmarried teen mothers go on welfare within 5 years of the birth of their first child.

Mothers Health Risk

A teenage mother is at greater risk than women over age 20 for pregnancy complications such as premature labor, anemia and high blood pressure These youngest mothers also may be more than twice as likely to die of pregnancy complications than mothers ages 20 to 24 3 million teens are affected by sexually transmitted diseases annually, out of a total of 12 million cases reported

Mothers Health Risk

Teens too often have poor eating habits, neglect to take their vitamins, and may smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs, increasing the risk that their babies will be born with health problems Pregnant teens are more likely to smoke than pregnant women over age 25 Pregnant teens are least likely of all maternal age groups to get early and regular prenatal care. In 2002, 6.6 percent of mothers ages 15 to 19 years received late or no prenatal care

Babys Health Risk

In 2002, 9.6 percent of mothers ages 15 to 19 years had a low-birth weight baby (under 5.5 pounds), compared to 7.8 percent for mothers of all ages Low-birth weight babies may have organs that are not fully developed Low-birth weight babies are more than 20 times as likely to die in their first year of life as normal-weight babies

The consequences of teen motherhood are many:

Less likely to complete high school - Only 32 percent of teen mothers get their high school diplomas Dependence on welfare Single parenthood More likely to have more children sooner on a limited income More likely to abuse or neglect the child
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (1997). Whatever Happened to Childhood? The Problem of Teen Pregnancy in the United States. Washington, DC: Author.

Risks to children of teen mothers

growing up without a father low birth weight and premature school failure mental retardation insufficient health care abuse and neglect - The children of teen mothers are at greater risk of abuse
and neglect.

poverty and welfare dependence

Source: Maynard, R.A., (ed.), Kids Having Kids: A Robin Hood Foundation Special Report on the Costs of Adolescent Childbearing, New York: Robin Hood Foundation, 1996.

Thank you

Works Cited

Teenage Pregnancy Statistics

http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/681_1159.asp http://www.familyfirstaid.org/teen-pregnancy.html