Subjects:
within the past few years, it is still an enormous problem that needs to be addressed.
These rates are still higher in the 1990's than they were only a decade ago. The United
State's teenage birthrate exceeds that of most other industrialized nations, even though
American teenagers are no more sexually active than teenagers are in Canada or Europe.
Recent statistics concerning the teen birthrates are alarming. About 560,000
teenage girls give birth each year. Almost one-sixth of all births in the United States are to
teenage women are to teenage women. Eight in ten of these births resulted from
unintended pregnancies. (Gormly 347) By the age of eighteen, one out of four teenage
girls will have become pregnant. (Newman 679)
Although the onset of pregnancy may occur in any teenager, some teens are at
higher risk for unplanned pregnancy than others. Teenagers who become sexually active
at an earlier age are at a greater risk primarily because young teenagers are less likely to
use birthcontrol. African-American and Hispanic teenagers a
. . .
manage the task of caring for a baby and studying, and a teen father usually chooses a job
over school so that he can pay bills and provide for his child. Although the rate of teenage pregnancy is higher among low-
income African-Americans and Hispanics, especially those in inner city ghettoes, the
number of births to teenagers is highest among white, nonpoor young women who live in
small cities and towns. New York: Glencoe-McGraw-Hill, 1995. Teen mothers may have limited social
contacts and friendships because they do not have time for anything other than their baby. (Calhoun 309) In some cases, teen mothers may
also receive help like Medicaid, Food Stamps, and "Aid to Families with Dependent
Children" (AFDC). (Johnson 5) Low birth weight is the most immediate health
problem.
Many of these health risks are due to inadequate prenatal care and support, rather than
physical immaturity. (Gormly
347) Poor eating habits, smoking, alcohol and drugs increase the risk of having a baby
with health problems. (Calhoun
310) "The death rate for babies whose mothers are under fifteen years of age is double
that of babies whose mothers are twenty to thirty years old. Adolescents with little schooling are often twice as likely as those with more
education to have a baby bafore their twentieth birthday. Low birthweight
babies may have immature organ systems (brain, lungs, and heart), difficulty controlling
body temperature and blood sugar levels, and a risk of dying in early infancy that is much
higher than that of normal weight babies (five and one-half pounds or more). Others say that it is because of the
involvement of conservative religious groups in the public debate over sexual behavior. (Berk 190)
Teenage pregnancy does cause many problems for the mother, child, and economy.
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