hown
             in the social consequences of early parenthood. Adolescent parents (mostly mothers) may
             find that they have a "lost or limited opportunity for education." (Johnson 4) The
             higher a woman's level of education, the more likely she is to postpone marriage and
             childbearing. Adolescents with little schooling are often twice as likely as those with more
             education to have a baby bafore their twentieth birthday. Some 58% of young women in
             the United States who receive less than a high school education give birth by the time they
             are twenty years old, compared with 13% of young women who complete at least twelve
             years of schooling. (Tunick 11) Teens who become pregnant during high school are
             more likely to drop out. (Calhoun 310) A teen mother leaves school because she cannot
             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. (Johnson 4) Teen mothers
             usually have fewer resources than older mothers because they have had less time to gather
             savings or build up their "productivity" through work experience, education, or training.
             (Planned Parenthood 1) Because of this, teen mothers are generally poor and are
             dependent on government support. (Newman 679) The welfare system is usually the
             only support a teen parent will receive. Welfare benefits are higher for families with
             absent fathers or dependent children. (Calhoun 309) In some cases, teen mothers may
             also receive help like Medicaid, Food Stamps, and "Aid to Families with Dependent
             Besides educational and financial problems, teenage mothers may face a great deal
             of emotional strain and may become very stressed. Teen mothers may
             ...