Teen Pregnancy Research Paper

Each year, more than 600,000 teens become pregnant, and 3 in 10 will become pregnant before they reach age 20 (Secure et al., 2015). Rates are higher among black and Hispanic teens, with 4 in 10 becoming pregnant by 20 years of age, compared with 2 in 10 white teens (Secure et al., 2015). Even though over time the overall rate of teen pregnancy has decreased, it’s still very high and has a large impact on the teen parents as well as the families.

Texas has the third highest number of unplanned pregnancies in the United States. Most of these unintended pregnancies are greatly concentrated among unmarried teenagers from low socioeconomic areas. In 2014, there were 35,000 teen pregnancies in Texas for a rate of 73 per a thousand women ages 15-19.

Teen pregnancy is still a major issue regardless of the declining pregnancy rate. In 2006 birthrates among teenage girls age ranging from 15-17 were more than 3 times as high as

According to U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Teen pregnancy rates by age, racial, ethnic group, and region of the country. Most teenagers who have gave birth are between 18 or younger; in 2014, 73 percent were 18 and 19 years old teens. Birth rates are increasing in the Hispanic community. Latino are experiencing these issues due to the lack of communication

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).

Teenage pregnancy is not a new concept, having been around since the dawn of humanity. Most humans, at a certain point, will hit a stage in life called puberty. During this time,

In twenty twelve, there were twenty nine point four births for every one thousand adolescent females ages fifteen through nineteen. That equals out to three hundred thousand three hundred eighty eight babies born to females in this age group. (Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing, 2014). The twenty nine point four birth rate was a decline of six percent from two thousand eleven. (Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing, 2014). Many different things affect teen birthrate, things like age, racial and ethnic group, and region of country. Teen birthrate is higher in African Americans and Hispanics than in Caucasians. According to (Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing, 2014), about eighty two percent of these teen pregnancies are unplanned, meaning that most teens are having intercourse just to have it, and are not planning on, or ready for a baby. In my opinion, you should only have intercourse if you fully understand the outcome, and are ready to have a child or are prepared for all outcomes. An estimated fifty nine percent ended in a live birth, fourteen percent of birth ended in miscarriage and twenty six percent ended in abortion. That

Teen pregnancy is a growing epidemic in the United States. Teen girls are becoming pregnant at an alarming rate, with a lot of the pregnancies planned. With television shows broadcasting shows such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”, it is giving teenage girls the idea that it is alright to have premarital sex and become pregnant. It is in a way condoning teen pregnancy.

There are 61 million U.S. women in their childbearing years at risk of unplanned pregnancy. The risk is greatest among 15-19 year olds (18%).

Based on the readily available images broadcast from films, MTV and other mass media, one might assume that the teen pregnancy epidemic is on the rise. In one respect, this health risk condition has rarely been more culturally visible than it is right now. However, it does bear noting that teen pregnancy has actually been on the decline in the United States over the last two decades. According to the source provided by Sheets (2012), "from 1990 to 2008, the teen pregnancy rate decreased 42 percent (from 117 to 68 pregnancies per 1,000 teen girls)."

1. In the study conducted by Sedgh and co-researchers (2015) of the Guttmacher Institute in New York, among 21 countries with teen pregnancy estimates for 2008–2011, the pregnancy rate was the highest in the United States with 57 pregnancies per 1,000 adolescents in 2010.

"Over one million teenage girls become pregnant each year. In the next 24 hours, about 3,312 girls will become pregnant. In addition, 43% of all adolescents become pregnant before the age of 20. These are incredible statistics when you consider that there are only 31 million females. The United States has the highest adolescent pregnancy rate in the developed world. As statistics show one in nine women between the ages of 15 through 19 become pregnant each year. Also, every 26 seconds a teenage girl becomes pregnant and every 56 seconds a child of a teenage mother is born."

Teen pregnancy is an epidemic that has swept our nation for many years. It can alter the lives of teenagers in extreme measures. It is almost normal to see a teenager with a baby in today’s society. Getting pregnant while you’re a teen will definitely cause you to have to change your life style to accompany a child. This could mean not going to school or potentially dropping out of school permanently. Teen pregnancy will have a negative effect on the education of the teenager because it will force them to be committed full time to the concerns and needs of the child.

Three out of ten adolescent young ladies will end up getting pregnant before the age of twenty. That is rounded to about seven hundred and fifty thousand high school pregnancies consistently occurring. Over half of the teenage mothers to be, never finish secondary school. Planned Parenthood determined that eighty two percent of teenage pregnancies are not thought out nor planned for. Contrasted with the adolescent birth rates in other created nations, America's are the most elevated: twice as high as Australia's and Canada's, three times as high as France's, three and a half circumstances as high as Germany's, six times as high as the Netherlands', and seven times as high as Japan's.

There are many factors when it comes to which teenagers are most likely to get pregnant. These factors consist of race, the country they live in, and economic status. Starting with race, whites have a significantly lower rate of teenage pregnancy than those who are Hispanic or African American. White and African American teenage pregnancies have both gone down while Hispanic teenage pregnancy has gone up in the last 15 years (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998). Even though Hispanic teenagers tend to be sexually active later in their adolescence, studies have proven that they are less likely to use birth control; increasing the likelihood of becoming pregnant. Once pregnant they are less likely to abort than Whites or African Americans leading to a higher rate of Hispanic teenage pregnancies (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998). While race plays a big role, what country you live in also contributes to your chances of being pregnant as a teenager. “In fact, at the beginning of this decade, the rate of teenage births was almost twice as high in the United States as in the country with the next highest rate, Great Britain; more than 4 times greater than those of Sweden and Spain; 7 times greater than those of Denmark and the Netherlands; and 15 times greater than that of Japan” (Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998, p. 152). Some researchers argue that because the United States is so diverse the teenage pregnancy rate is much higher but White teenagers in the U.S. still have higher pregnancy