Teen Pregnancy Prevention : One Of The Most Controversial Subjects

Teen pregnancy is an issue in United States, it is one issue that should wait 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:

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:

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the teen pregnancy rate was 61.8 births per 1,000 teen girls in 1991, but as of 2014, it is at about 24.2 per 1,000 girls. While the rates have declined over the past few years, specific areas in the United States, such as Texas, retain high rates of teenage pregnancy. As of 2011, Texas is in the top 5 states for highest teen pregnancy rates with a rate of 37.8 per 1,000 girls (2014).

Society in general is currently addressing the social problem of teen pregnancy in several ways. One of the most important is an increase in parent’s willingness to not only bring the issue up and discuss it with their children, but also allowing educators to address the issue in schools.

According to 2013 data, 11% of females in the US will give birth before age 20. This statistic is differentially distributed by race and ethnicity—8% of white teenage females, 16% of African American teenage females, and 17% of Hispanic teenage females. While Hispanics have the highest teen birth rate, there has been a drastic decline. Since 2007, the birth rate for Hispanics has declined by 45%, whereas the birth rate for African Americans has declined by 37% and 32% for whites

Parents, especially from minority groups who did not have the opportunity to pursue and education, often times do not have the proper resources or time to give advise to their children about sexual health. A research study in the form of a survey in six Boston high schools was conducted about what high school students think about teen pregnancy prevention. The sample of students consisted of half female and half male. The study concluded that 32% of students wanted more parental communication about sexual health to prevent unwanted pregnancies. This shows that if parents were more involved in their children’s lives, they would be influences positively to make the right choices when choosing to have sex at a young age (Hacker, 1999). It may seem impossible for some parents to talk to their teens about sex due to their schedules, education, or simply embarrassment, but having a thirty-minute conversation about sex is a lot better than having their children give birth to children.

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

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.”).

One issue Americans must focus on is the lack of parental guidance in households. Some parents tend to allow their teens to raise themselves without any set rules; thus, giving teens too much independence before they are ready. Parents must be available and involved in every aspect of their kids’ lives. They should know their daily activities, where they are, and with whom they are hanging around. Parents are children’s role models and they have a duty to establish guidelines and standards to protect their child.

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

It is the age of the Pill, yet over a million teenagers will get pregnant. About 600,000 of these young women will give birth. In the 1950s, contraception was illegal in many states even for adults who were married. By the mid-1960s, contraceptive services also known as birth control were made available. By the 20th Century, teen pregnancy was the norm. The prevention of unintended adolescent pregnancy has become an important goal of our society. Although adolescent pregnancy and birth rates have been steadily decreasing, many adolescents still become pregnant. The purpose of this research paper is to review the history, current status, programs and the future of teen pregnancy.

Endersbe, “Almost 500,000 babies are born to teen mothers each year.”(Endersbe,1) but many teen parents do not plan for a child or even consider wanting one. There are more girls getting pregnant now than there was 20 years ago and most schools in the US have a course that can inform them on the precautions in having sex at a young age and that teen pregnancy is something that they can prevent. These courses or programs teach young adults to be safe and hold off on sex. However, schools are enforcing the use of contraceptives if teens do choose to engage in sex. Because Americans encourage safe sex they want to teach young minds to be safe and use protection. With the knowledge that teens developed about safe sex, there are now “78% of teens using contraceptives during sexuual intercourse.” (Endersbe, 6) which is a good

"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.