Teenage Pregnancy in the United States in 2012

Teenage pregnancy has long been an issue in the United States.  Other countries similar to the US have drastically lower rates of teenage pregnancy.  Why is their such a difference?  Is it because European schools talk openly about sex and options for prevention?  Perhaps, it is because parents in other countries communicate more openly about this topic.  Then again, it could be that religion plays a greater part in the lives of teenagers outside of the US.  Why teenage pregnancy happens is a BIG question that is as varied as the teenager’s pregnancy story. 

The Candies Foundation is committed to prevention of teenage pregnancy.  On their website, you can read the stories of young girls who became mothers at a young age.  Some became pregnant on purpose but for most it was a total life altering shock (Real stories, 2011). The reality in America is that 3 out of 10 girls will become pregnant by 20 years of age (Shuger, 2012).  Teenagers between the age of 18-19 have higher prevalence rates than their younger counterparts.  They are also more likely to state they are in a serious relationship more than those between 14-17 years of age.  Teenagers in their senior year of High School are making decisions that will affect them the rest of their life.  Where they go to school, what their major will be, will they leave the state or stay close to home, financial concerns on how to afford their college education, do they even want to go to college, what about their first job, and the car they dream about owning are just a few of the choices they are faced with.  This stage of transition into young adulthood is characterized with fear, stress, optimism, and a growing realization that reality is not what you thought it was. Just imagine putting a newborn into the mix and the potential stress level is astounding.  The level of responsibility for these young mothers changes overnight.  They were hanging out with friends and then instantly they are different from their peers.  It is the perfect set-up for depression to sneak in and grab hold.  Maternal depression affects girls that are young, have little education, poor perceived support, and are relatively poor.  I do not know a single teenage girl that has earned a doctoral degree and their first million by the time they are 19 years old.  Some young women are incredibly smart and go to graduate school early compared to their peers.  Most teenagers just want to be “normal” and do what their friends are doing.  Acceptance is a term used with this age group.  They don’t want to be the one that is left out or different because they are too smart, have glasses or an acne issue.  They definitely feel the influence from their friends and peers at this age and will make some decisions that are not wise or prudent.  Yet, life lessons learned through the prism of failure can keep teens moving in a positive forward manner.    

According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a teenagers parents influence them to a greater degree than perhaps parents realize.  In fact when teenagers are asked who influences them the most they say their parent’s followed by their friends.   Parents and teenagers may not know how to talk about this sensitive subject with each other.  This difficult subject may make young girls uncomfortable and uneasy when their parents talk to them openly about it.  They may act as if they don’t care but if they become pregnant it is too late to talk about prevention.  Parents have a difficult time as well addressing the possibility that their teenage daughter might one day become pregnant.  They may not have the right words or be able to confront their daughter about the possibility of pregnancy.  For this reason The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has created a discussion guide titled “Too Young” to help parents be prepared to talk openly about this sensitive subject (Too young, 2004).  Perhaps this will help open communication lines and allow young girls to talk more openly with their parents about not only sex but also drugs, their friends, and their emotional well-being.   

I have included the following two video because it shows just how devastating teenage pregnancy is  with facts.  I also wanted to show that these are real people just like you and I, dealing with real overwhelming problems.  You may say that they should have known better, but that doesn't change the fact that they will live with their choice the rest of their life.  It also shows just how prevalent teenage pregnancy is in the United States in a very effective way.  So watch and let me know what your thoughts are on this issue.  

References

Real stories: Diary of a teen mom. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.candiesfoundation.org/RealStories1/realstories.html

 

Shuger, L. (2012).  Teen pregnancy and high school dropout: what communities are doing to address these issues.  Washington, DC: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and American’s Promise Alliance

Too young (2009) The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy  http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/tooyoung/too_young_discussion_guide.pdf 

I left the hyper links active so that you can access this guide  and any of the websites if you need to.