About 750,000 girls aged 15 – 19 per year become pregnant, although the numbers have gone down by 36% since the peak in 1990. (Guttmacher Institute, 2006)
But that study only included data from 1990 to 2002. Since then, a newer study by the National Center for Health Statistics showed the declining numbers had leveled off and rose slightly in 2006. Those data showed teen births rose from 414,593 in 2005 to 435,427 in 2006. Abortion rates also declined, along with a small decline in contraceptive use. (Moore, National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (NCPTUP)
From “U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics” (Guttmacher), abortion rates between 1988 and 2000 dropped by 50%. Between 1990 and 2002, the pregnancy rate dropped 28%.
Among races, comparing 1990 and 2002, the pregnancy rate for black girls aged 15 – 19 fell 40%; white girls lowered by 34%; Hispanic girls of any race dropped 19%.
Numbers change from state to state, depending on abortion laws, social norms, availability of birth control information, etc. Some abortion numbers are probably skewed, with lower numbers for states where abortions are difficult to obtain, whereas the corresponding rise in nearby states is probably partially due to girls who crossed state lines.
Abortion rates ran up to 50% and higher in NJ, NY, MA and D.C. Fewer abortions occurred in Utah, KY, SD, (fewer than 17%) and ND. ND also had the lowest pregnancy rate (42 girls per 1000). (Guttmacher)
The Southern states have the consistently highest pregnancy rates, averaging about 71 to 77 per 1000: Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky and South Carolina.
There was a slight increase in pregnancies across ages and race/ethnic groups in 2006, but new statistics won’t be out until 2010 (with 2009 stats) that might determine if the numbers are on the rise again or if it was a simple blip in the overall numbers.
Hispanic teens show the highest rate of teenage pregnancy and birth, but are also a growing proportion of the teen population. Immigrants from Mexico, Africa and Europe often include girls from nations with high fertility and early childbearing backgrounds, which could account for the slight rise in some of the 2006 numbers. (Moore, from Child Trends)
Teen birth rates, by race/ethnicity, per 1000 girls in 2006, were 26.6 for whites, 63.7 for blacks and 83.0 for Hispanics. (Moore, National Center for Health Statistics: “Birth/Natality.” http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm.)
The National Association of School Nurses (NASN) is on the front lines of working with teenage girls and knows that nurses are often the first step in “supporting adolescent parents and promoting positive parenting programs in school settings.
School nurses are working with the reality that 35% of young women become pregnant before the age of 20 and about 79% of the babies are born to out-of-wedlock girls. About 14% of high school boys admit to causing at least one pregnancy. (NASN Brief, Nat’l Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy “NCPTP,” 2003)
According to the NCPTP, contributing factors to teenage pregnancy include “substance abuse; the need for love and belonging; impoverished environments with few opportunities for advancement and lack of school and community connectedness.” (NASN Brief, July 2004)
School nurses have also learned that if the girls continue school after giving birth, there is a reduced likelihood of another pregnancy. Other things that can delay adolescent pregnancy are “social support and school-based programs that provide counseling, health care, health teaching, and education about child development to young parents.” (Williams and Sadler, 2001; cited by NASN) Nurses can promote responsible parenting once a birth occurs.
Children of teenage mothers are at greater risk of abuse and neglect (Joyce Brothers); their daughters are more likely to become teenage moms; their sons are more likely to end up incarcerated (Maynard, 1996, in the NASN Brief). The need to promote delaying sexual initiation and possible pregnancy include teaching academic and employment skills. One goal is to interrupt the “intergenerational cycle of adolescent parenthood.” (NASN)
The NASN tries to make a difference by providing confidential preventive health information for teen parents and their children; and supporting young parents “in finding community-based resources to meet financial, social, and family needs.”
According to Dr. Joyce Brothers, the well-known psychologist/columnist, although many schools are equipped to handle pregnant teens, about 60% to 70% of pregnant girls still drop out of school because the pressures of motherhood and growing up are too much for most to handle. Only about 10% of the fathers marry the girls, but the mothers still have a harder time managing than the girls “who continue to live at home and have parents and other relatives helping to bring up the baby.
Fathers are responsible for child support in all 50 states. “While it is considered macho in some circles to father a baby while in high school, boys often are encouraged by peers to avoid responsibility, much less marry the mother.” (Joyce Brothers)
Brothers also said that, based on a study about “Children of Adolescent Mothers” in Adolescence, (Buchholz and Korn-Bursztyn, 1993), teen mothers have a suicide rate up to seven times higher than other girls their age. Stress and depression also are predictors of abuse and neglect of the child, whether or not a teenage mother is married.
Abstinence programs have failed; many girls have sex but aren’t equipped to prevent pregnancy because they simply don’t pre-plan. Abstinence programs could be included along with other programs since “comprehensive sex education focusing on safe sex and pregnancy prevention is thought to be a more effective way to deal with preteens and teenagers.” (Brothers)
Dr. Brothers also noted that teenage girls often don’t get enough sleep and don’t have proper diets; their bodies haven’t finished developing, so a pregnant teen should get prenatal care ASAP. But many girls don’t admit to a pregnancy and don’t tell their parents or get early medical care until they are forced to admit to their condition.
“Long-term consequences for early childbearing include decreased likelihood of school completion and advanced education, contributing to decreased likelihood of future employment, and greater dependence on public assistance. In addition, approximately 30% to 50% of all adolescent mothers have repeat births within two years of the first birth.” (Williams and Sadler, 2001; cited by NASN)
Emotional and financial support of teen parents “is a mitigating factor in the experience of adolescent parenthood. The young father’s financial insecurity or confusion about childcare is the most likely cause of disinterested parenting.” (Rhein, et al, 1997, as cited in the NASN Brief)
The School Nursing Brief concludes with several suggestions for nurses who can help parenting-teens:
(1) Offer education and support for young fathers about the responsibilities of fatherhood
(2) Provide confidential preventive health information for teen parents and children
(3) Partner with school or community groups to sponsor parenting effectiveness workshops
(4) Provide opportunities for mentoring such teens as they assume parenting responsibilities and set goals for their future
(5) “Create a parent-friendly school culture for teens parenting children”
(6) Respect student confidences while keeping parents of adolescents aware of serious issues affecting children and
(7) Support comprehensive school-site child-care facilities so that teens can complete high school.
Obviously, the burden of teaching teens does not only fall to school nurses. Parents, teachers, pastors, youth counselors, TV and news media, and everyone that works with youth or acts as mentors to them must share responsibility.
It takes a nation to support its youth and help educate teens about all of the above. Parents must talk to their teens and make their own values known. Teens should know about the choice and safety of abstinence, but they must also be aware of how to practice safe sex. Pregnant teens should be strongly encouraged to seek prenatal care early on if they suspect they need it. All teens should know what school and community resources are available to them.
The U.S. has a rate of pregnancy and births that is the highest in the industrialized Western world. (Brothers) No one can afford to stick his/her proverbial head-in-the-sand and avoid this national problem. We have a national duty to protect and teach our youth and to prepare them for responsible sexual involvement. Beyond that, we must have something ready for the babies that are inevitably produced by the unready, the scared-to-death, the naive teens who are caught in a nightmare from which they can’t awaken.
Sources:
Brothers, Dr. Joyce. “Quiz Topic: Teenage Pregnancy: What Are They Thinking?” ArcaMax article dated November 19, 2008. Includes reference to “Children of adolescent mothers: Are they at risk for abuse?” by Buchgholz, E. S. and Korn-Bursztyn, 1993. “Adolescence,” 28 (110), 361.
Guttmacher Institute, 120 Wall St., NY, NY. U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics. National and State Trends by Race and Ethnicity (1986 – 2002). Updated September 2006. 20 pages. Retrieved 10-25-09.
Moore, Kristin Anderson, Ph.D., Social Psychologist and Senior Scholar and Senior Program Director at Child Trends in Washington, D. C. Teen Births: Examining the Recent Increase. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, October 2008. www.thenationalcampaign.org/resources/pdf/TeenBirths_ExamIncrease.pdf. 19 pages.
National Association of School Nurses Issue Brief: School Health Nursing Services Role in Health Care. The Role of the School Nurse in Supporting Adolescent Parents. July 2004. Silver Spring, MD. Retrieved 10-25-09. Http://www.nasn.org.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (Multiple Years). With One Voice. Washington, D. C. Http://www.teenpregnancy.org/resources/data/polling.asp.
National Center for Health Statistics: Birth/Natality. Http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm.
