More on Teen Pregnancy

More on Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy - http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/ How big is the problem? Teen pregnancy and births rates declined steadily during the 1990s. However, despite these declines, four out of ten girls in this country still get pregnant at least once before age 20. There are nearly one million teen pregnancies each year and about half as many teen births. Why should we care about teen pregnancy and childbearing? Compared to women who delay childbearing, teen mothers are less likely to complete high school and more likely to end up on welfare. The children of teen mothers are at significantly increased risk of low birth weight and prematurity, mental retardation, poverty, growing up without a father, welfare dependency, poor school performance, insufficient health care, inadequate parenting, and abuse and neglect. U.S. taxpayers shoulder at least $7 billion annually in direct costs and lost tax revenues associated with teen pregnancy and childbearing. What are the current trends in the teen pregnancy and birth rates? After increasing 23 percent between 1972 and 1990, the teen pregnancy rate for girls aged 15-19 decreased 19 percent from its all time high in 1991 to 94.3 pregnancies per 1,000 girls aged 15-19 in 1997 (the most recent year that national data are available). The teen birth rate increased 24 percent between 1986 and 1991. Since then, the rate has fallen 20 percent to 50 births per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in 1999. How does the United States compare with other countries? The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and birth - by far - of any comparable country. Why has the teen pregnancy rate declined? Both less sex and more contraceptive use are making important contributions to the decline in the teen pregnancy rate. That is, teen pregnancy rates have been declining because a smaller proportion of teens were having sex and the pregnancy rate among sexually active teens decreased due to better contraceptive use (and also, perhaps, to less sexual activity among those with some sexual experience). How many teen pregnancies are intentional? The vast majority (78 percent) of pregnancies among teens are not fully planned or intended. How many teen mothers are married? At present, 79 percent of births to teen mothers are out-of-wedlock - a dramatically different picture from 30 years ago when the vast majority of births to teen mothers were within marriage. In fact, nearly half of all non-marital first births in the United States occur to teens. Is teen sexual activity declining? Between 1970 and 1990, the proportion of teen girls aged 15-19 who were sexually experienced increased from 29 to 55 percent before declining to 51 percent in 1995. The proportion of never-married teens males aged 15-19 who were sexually experienced decreased from 60 percent in 1988 to 55 percent in 1995. Are teens having sex earlier? Two of the most reliable measures of teen sexual activity (the National Survey of Family Growth and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey) both indicate that teens are having sex earlier. In fact, sexual activity has declined among all teens except for those under the age of 15. And, according to 1999 YRBS data, 8.3 percent of students report having had sex before age 13 - a disturbing 15-percent increase since 1997. What about teen contraceptive use? Contraceptive use among teens is a very mixed bag. While the percentage of teens using contraception the first time they have sex has been steadily increasing since 1982, the percent of teens using contraception the last time they had sex is declining. Between 30 and 38 percent of teens that use contraception use it inconsistently. Additionally, three out of 10 teen girls were completely unprotected the last time they had sex. How does the American public view teen pregnancy? The overwhelming majority of adults and teens believe that teens should not be sexually active but those who are should have access to contraception, according to a 2001 National Campaign survey. However, a clear national consensus exists that school-age teens should not have sex - more than nine of ten adults (95 percent) and teens (93 percent) said it is important that teens be given a strong abstinence message from society. Advocating abstinence while also providing teens with information about contraception is not a "mixed message," according to large majorities of adults (70 percent) and teens (74 percent.)