The United States teen pregnancy rates are higher than any other industrialized and westernized nations in the world. Although the rates have recently started to decrease, teen pregnancy and childrearing substantially effect teens and teen parents with immediate and long term impacts.
Some impacts of teen pregnancies and childbearing is that it increases high school dropout percentage for girls. Only about half of teen mothers receive a high school graduation diploma whereas 90 percent of teen girls who didn’t give birth during their adolescence received a high school diploma. Additionally the children of the teens have risk as well. They could very likely have health problems that could be physical and emotional as teens are not usually ready to take on childbearing in their adolescence. The children are also most likely to be incarcerated at some point in their teenage years as they do not have a great example set for them. In addition to these risks, the child is likely to follow in the footsteps of the teen parent which means that he/she could have lower academic achievement, drop out of high school, face unemployment, or even give birth themselves as a teenager. However, as of the past few years teen birth rates have been steadily decreasing, lowering the risk of teens and their children.
The reason for decreasing teen birth rates is unclear but a good sign to the world and the people in it. However, there are some known reasons that have been responsible as a contribution to higher teen birth rates. Teens in lower socioeconomic conditions such as low education level and low income in the teen’s family have been considered to contribute to high teen birth rates. Furthermore, teens in welfare systems have an increased risk of teen pregnancy. For example, teens in the foster care system are twice as likely to get pregnant than those not in foster care. This has to deal with the teens’ emotional states to be less strong as they do not have parents in their lives to guide them as strong role models. Teens in less fortunate situations have so much to handle to make their lives better due to their health disparities. In order to help prevent more teen pregnancies, CDC and other organizations are providing resources to areas with the greatest need.
Many teen pregnancy prevention programs have been designed by various health organizations in order to keep the rates as low as possible. These programs include sexuality education programs, youth development programs, abstinence education programs, clinic-based programs, and programs specifically designed for diverse populations and settings. In addition to these programs, teens need friendly contraceptive and reproductive health services, such as Planned Parenthood, and support and an understanding attitude from parents and trusted adults to help them make the right and best decisions when coming to a teen’s relationships, sex, and birth control. These needs are essential to teens especially when they need the help and can help make their lives and healthier and better for them.
A Better Future 