In light of the recent release of the movie Juno (which I haven’t seen yet) and hype from recent announcement of Lynne Spears, I decided to do a three-part series on teen pregnancy. Today’s will be an introduction to teen pregnancy.
Here are some statistics taken from Guttmacher Institute as to the prevalence of teen pregnancy:
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Each year, almost 750,000 women aged 15-19 become pregnant. Overall, 75 pregnancies occur every year per 1,000 women aged 15-19; this rate has declined 36% since its peak in 1990.
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The majority of the decline in teen pregnancy rates is due to more consistent contraceptive use; the rest is due to higher proportions of teens choosing to delay sexual activity.
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Black women have the highest teen pregnancy rate (134 per 1,000 women aged 15-19), followed by Hispanics (131 per 1,000) and non-Hispanic whites (48 per 1,000).
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Eighty-two percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned; they account for about one in five of all unintended pregnancies annually.
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Two-thirds of all teen pregnancies occur among 18-19-year-olds.
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Teen pregnancy rates are much higher in the United States than in many other developed countries-twice as high as in England and Wales or Canada, and eight times as high as in the Netherlands or Japan.
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Eleven percent of all U.S. births are to teens.
Once a teen finds out they are pregnant, what are questions they must ask themselves?
Sara Eisen director at the teen center writes about considering options. She outlines three options:
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choosing to raise the baby
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giving the baby up for adoption
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having an abortion
Once a teen decides to have a child, what are some things that teens must understand?
American College of Obstetrics and Gynocology has an online pamphlet outlining important steps for teens. The steps include:
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prenatal care
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nutritional changes
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healthy lifestyle
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financial support
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postpartum assistance
Tomorrow’s article will be on how the teen tells their parents, as well as how a parent reacts to the teen.
