Teenage pregnancy in the United States deals with girls under 20 who are pregnant. 89% of these births occur outside of marriage. In the 2000s and 2010s, teenage pregnancy has declined almost continuously.
Video Teenage pregnancy in the United States
Pregnancy
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 4 out of 5, or 80%, teenage pregnancies are undesirable. In 2010, most pregnancies in adolescent women in the United States, about 60% ending in live birth, 15% ending in miscarriage, and 30% in abortion. In 2012, there were 104,700 maternity hospital care for pregnant teenagers; the number of hospital admissions for teenage pregnancy decreased 47 percent from 2000-2012.
By 2014, 249,078 babies are born to women aged 15-19. This is the birth rate of 24.2 per 1000 women. However, most of the teenagers who gave birth were over 18 years old. By 2014, 73% of adolescent births occur at the age of 18-19 years. Pregnancy is much less common in women younger than 15. In 2008, 6.6 pregnancies occurred per 1,000 teens aged 13-14. In other words, less than 1% of teenagers aged less than 15 years pregnant in 2008. Pregnant teenagers tend to weigh less than older mothers, due to the fact that they are still growing and struggling for nutrition with babies during pregnancy.
Teenage pregnancy is defined as pregnancy in women under the age of 20, regardless of marital status. Adolescent pregnancy rates have fallen by 9% since 2013. Between 1991 and 2014, adolescent birth rates fell 61% across the country.
The birth rate of adolescents, compared to pregnancy, peaked in 1991, when there was 61.8 births per 1,000 adolescents, and that number declined in 17 of the following 19 years. 3 out of 10 American girls will get pregnant before the age of 20 years. That's almost 750,000 pregnancies a year. Nearly 89% of adolescent births occur outside of marriage. Of all women, 16% will be teenage mothers. The greatest increase in unwanted pregnancies is found among women who live together, are lowly educated, and have low incomes.
Maps Teenage pregnancy in the United States
Based on ethnicity
Blacks, Latinos, and Indian Americans experience the highest levels of teenage pregnancy and childbirth. Studies show that Asians (23 per 1,000) and whites (43 per 1,000) and have lower pregnancy rates before the age of 20 years. Rates of pregnancy among black teens declined 48% between 1990 and 2008, more than overall US adolescent pregnancy rates declined over the same period (42%). Decrease in teen birth rate broken by race in 2014 from 2013:
- 7% for Non-Hispanic White
- 11% for Non-Hispanic Blacks
- 9% Hispanic
- 11% Asians/Pacific Islands
- 12% Native American Indian/Alaska
By region
The birth rate of adolescents in the United States is higher than in many other developed countries.
In 2013, the lowest birth rate is reported in the Northeast, while the highest level lies in the south east. For example, a 2001 study by UNICEF found that US adolescent birth rates were the highest among the 28 OECD countries in the review; in a 1999 comparison by the Guttmacher Institute, teenage pregnancy and adolescent birth rates were the second highest among the 46 developed countries studied. In 2002, the US ranked 84th out of 170 member countries of the World Health Organization based on adolescent fertility rates.
Teens who are sexually active in the US tend not to use any method of contraception, including condoms, and especially less use of highly effective hormonal methods, especially pills, than their counterparts in other countries. Among adolescents who have sex in the past month: nearly 25% of men and 40% of women do not use condoms. The study also found that US pregnant teenagers were less likely to choose abortion. This could be due to the fact that resources for abortion are not available. 75% of women in rural areas must drive at least 50 miles for abortion services. 87% of United States states do not have an abortion provider.
Birth and abortion numbers of women and girls age 15 - 19, 2014
Parenting as a teenager
There were 334,000 births among girls aged 19 years or younger in 2011, representing 8% of all US births. Birth for teenage mothers peaked in 1991 at 62 births per 1,000 girls. This figure is halved in 2011 when there are 31 births per 1,000 girls. About 25% of teen mothers have a second child within 24 months of the first birth.
Adolescents become better contraceptives because they realize that their sexual partners may not be reliable coparents. Marital figures during the 1990s to 2010 with teenagers have dropped dramatically because of this awareness. Because contraception becomes more accessible for teenagers, they prevent unwanted pregnancies.
For every 1,000 black children in the United States, 29 of them are fathers, compared with 14 per 1,000 white boys. Adolescent fatherhood rates declined 36% between 1991 and 2010, from 25 to 16 per 1,000 men ages 15-19. This decrease is more substantial among blacks than among whites (50% vs. 26%) and about half of the rate among adolescent girls. Almost 80% of teenage fathers do not marry their teenage mothers. Teenagers have 10-15% annual income lower than teenagers who are not fathers of children.
Most of the girls reported that they would be very angry (58%) or slightly annoyed (29%) if they were pregnant, while the remaining 13% reported that they would be little or very happy. Most teenagers report that they will be very angry (47%) or slightly annoyed (34%) if they get a pregnant person, while the remaining 18% report that they will be little or very happy.
Being a parent as a teenager has a detrimental effect on children. Children born to teenage mothers are more likely: born prematurely, 50% more likely to repeat classes, live in poverty, and suffer higher levels of torture. The teenage boys' sons are 13% more likely to end up in jail, and girls of teenage mothers are 22% more likely to be teen moms. More than 25% of adolescent mothers live in poverty during their 20s.
Teen pregnancies impose enduring difficulties on two generations: mother and child. Evidence from US research suggests that women who give birth to their first child at an early age give birth to more children quickly and have more unwanted and unmarried births. Children of teenage parents are more likely to have lower academic achievement and tend to repeat the early marriage cycle and early childbirth.
Since the Great Recession, young people have taken three times longer to gain financial independence than they needed for young people three decades ago. It is much more difficult for teenage parents to be able to support the family compared to the past because of the competitive work environment.
Supporting teenage parents
More than 50% of teen moms do not graduate from high school. Some high schools in the United States offer programs for pregnant teenagers and become parents to continue their education. This is sometimes referred to as "Teen Parent Programs".
There are several benefits to this school-based program, the number one benefit of being a teenager can continue their secondary school education. Research has shown that when teenage parents stay in school after pregnancy, they have a better chance of graduating high school. Less than 2% of adolescent mothers earn a bachelor's degree by age 30. Many of these programs offer childcare on campus. Some even require teens to become pregnant and parents to attend nursing or practicum classes. The upbringing class offers a place for these young parents to learn about a child's basic needs. Meanwhile, the practicum classroom offers hands-on experience of caring for children at the parenting center.
Statistics show that less than 10% of teenage parents get their high school diploma on their eighteenth birthday. These programs try to change the statistics. Currently (2016), San Diego County has 7 high schools offering this teenage parenting program.
Prevention
The United States has the highest rates of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in developed countries. The two main reasons given by teenagers for not using protection are that the chances of getting pregnant are small, and failure to anticipate sexual intercourse. Adolescent pregnancy can be prevented. The best method to reduce the consequences of teenage parents is to provide reproductive health services to prevent teenagers becoming pregnant in the first place. Prevention is not only beneficial at the micro level but also useful on a more macro scale. Nationally, teenage pregnancy weighs on average taxpayers $ 9.4 billion each year. These costs are related to health care, foster care, criminal justice, public assistance, and lost tax revenues. Teenage pregnancies can be prevented by increasing access and education about appropriate use of contraception, as well as parental involvement. The best prevention method is to integrate sex and STD education into high school and high school curricula as well as overcome the effects of teenage pregnancy in the social science curriculum.
International comparison
There is a big difference in teenage pregnancy rates among developed countries such as Canada, France, Britain, Sweden and the United States. The United States has the highest number of teenage pregnancies and the highest STD count compared to the other four countries. In France and Sweden in the late 90s, pregnancy was 20 per 1,000 women by the age of 15-19.
In Canada and the UK the rate is twofold, and the United States is 4 times higher with 84 per 1,000 pregnant teenage women. Possibility of pregnant teenage girls who have abortions in four different countries and exclude miscarriages. At the rate of US abortion for 15-19 years is 35% while in Sweden 69%. Leaving United Kingdom with 39%, Canada with 46% and France with 51%.
It has been suggested that teenage pregnancy rates of U.S. are higher because of the prevalence of only-abstinence sex education. As a result, these teens are not fully aware of how to respond to sexual activity if it comes their way. The mentality of some educational systems in America has the idea that if they do not teach safe sex, teenagers will refrain from sex. As the data conclude from above that compared to other developed countries America is four times more likely to have teenage pregnancies. But the US also uses fewer contraceptives, has more abortions and more prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases than other developed countries.
In America all countries engage in sex education, but every country has a difference in what they teach. Some countries choose to specify others just cover the base. Which includes 39 countries that require "some" education related to sexuality. There are 21 states that are required by law to teach STD sexuality and education. 17 countries only need teaching STD and not sexual education. There are also 11 countries that have no requirements and submit it to the state to decide whether they teach sex education or not.
Modern descent
Although, there is a marked decline in teenage pregnancy. the current rate is still 2-4 times more than in the other four countries. The biggest difference in pregnancy rates in the United States compared to other countries is that in America there is an unexpectedly high pregnancy rate. This undesirable pregnancy rate is higher than the total teenage pregnancy rate in all four countries.
In 2010 there was a rate of 57 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-19 years. Most of them reported that it was an unplanned pregnancy. This indicates a 15% decline in pregnancy from 2008 to 2010. There is a large decline in teenage pregnancy for the nation as a whole. The cause of this decline is due to no use of sex or better use of contraception. Birth rates among younger adolescents aged 15-17 also fell more rapidly - down 50%, compared with 39% reduction among older adolescents aged 18 and 19 years. Researchers have concluded that this reduction comes from increased use of contraception.
See also
- Prevalence of teenage pregnancy in the United States
- Minors and abortion # United States
- Native Americans and reservation inequality # Teenage pregnancy
References
Further reading
- Ventura, Stephanie J., Brady E. Hamilton, and T. J. Mathews. (2013). "Pregnancy and childbirth among women aged 10-19 years - United States, 2007-2010". CDC Health Disparity and Inequality Report - USA, 2013 . Morbidity and Mortality of Weekly Report . 62 . pp.Ã, 71-76.
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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