Teen Pregnancy Essay example -- Teenage Pregnancy Essays

Every year approximately one million teenage girls become pregnant in the United States. Of theses pregnancies only 13 percent are intended. As a result, about a third of these teens abort their pregnancies, another 14 percent lose their pregnancies to miscarriage, and the remaining 52 percent teens bear children. Of the half-a-million teens that give birth annually, 72 percent are unmarried and 75 percent are giving birth for the first time. More than 175,000 of these new moms are age 17 years or younger. The teen pregnancy rate in the United States is higher than most other industrialized countries and is ten times as high as the rate of Japan and the Netherlands. Although the pregnancy rate for teenagers has been reduced in the past twenty years, the number of teenagers has increased and therefore so has the number of teen pregnancies and births (www.agi-usa.org/pubs/fb_teen_sex.html). Throughout the years, the issue of teenage pregnancy has continued to be a controversial topic in many arenas including national politics and welfare reform, the media, educational institutions, the public health movement, and religious institutions. It is therefore important to look at policy implications for teen mothers and their children. Teenage pregnancy has become an important public policy issue as it has been defined as a social problem rather than an individual concern. Policy intervention regarding teenage pregnancy will only be useful if it were determined that reducing teen pregnancy and motherhood would improve the lives of teen mothers, their children, and society at large. Although there are several health risks and biological problems related to teenage pregnancy, some of the strongest concern... ...gnition for the very hard task they face. There are many ways that society and policy can support teen moms and their children so that the cycle of poverty in not perpetually repeated and everyone can have a fair chance to reach their potential in society. Works Cited A National Strategy to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/hsp/teenp/intro.htm Facts in Brief: Teen Sex and Pregnancy, 1999. http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/fb_teen_sex.html Issues in Brief; Risks and Realities of Early Childbearing Worldwide www.agi-usa.org/pubs/ib10.html Klepinger, Daniel, Shelly Lunderberg and Robert Plotnick. "Adolescent Fertility and the Educational Attainment of Young Women." Family Planning Perspectives. Vol. 27, No. 1; January/February 1995. Poverty and Teenage Pregnancy. http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/n/nxd10/adparent2.htm#Mastrocola Teen Pregnancy Essay example -- Teenage Pregnancy Essays Every year approximately one million teenage girls become pregnant in the United States. Of theses pregnancies only 13 percent are intended. As a result, about a third of these teens abort their pregnancies, another 14 percent lose their pregnancies to miscarriage, and the remaining 52 percent teens bear children. Of the half-a-million teens that give birth annually, 72 percent are unmarried and 75 percent are giving birth for the first time. More than 175,000 of these new moms are age 17 years or younger. The teen pregnancy rate in the United States is higher than most other industrialized countries and is ten times as high as the rate of Japan and the Netherlands. Although the pregnancy rate for teenagers has been reduced in the past twenty years, the number of teenagers has increased and therefore so has the number of teen pregnancies and births (www.agi-usa.org/pubs/fb_teen_sex.html). Throughout the years, the issue of teenage pregnancy has continued to be a controversial topic in many arenas including national politics and welfare reform, the media, educational institutions, the public health movement, and religious institutions. It is therefore important to look at policy implications for teen mothers and their children. Teenage pregnancy has become an important public policy issue as it has been defined as a social problem rather than an individual concern. Policy intervention regarding teenage pregnancy will only be useful if it were determined that reducing teen pregnancy and motherhood would improve the lives of teen mothers, their children, and society at large. Although there are several health risks and biological problems related to teenage pregnancy, some of the strongest concern... ...gnition for the very hard task they face. There are many ways that society and policy can support teen moms and their children so that the cycle of poverty in not perpetually repeated and everyone can have a fair chance to reach their potential in society. Works Cited A National Strategy to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/hsp/teenp/intro.htm Facts in Brief: Teen Sex and Pregnancy, 1999. http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/fb_teen_sex.html Issues in Brief; Risks and Realities of Early Childbearing Worldwide www.agi-usa.org/pubs/ib10.html Klepinger, Daniel, Shelly Lunderberg and Robert Plotnick. "Adolescent Fertility and the Educational Attainment of Young Women." Family Planning Perspectives. Vol. 27, No. 1; January/February 1995. Poverty and Teenage Pregnancy. http://www.personal.psu.edu/faculty/n/nxd10/adparent2.htm#Mastrocola