In honor of Halloween, here are ten TERRIFYING things I learned about teen pregnancies in the U.S. while doing research this week.
1. Three-quarters of a million teens between 15 and 19 become pregnant each year.
2. Very few teens who become mothers plan on doing so. Out of all teen pregnancies, 82% are unintended. Teen pregnancy accounts for 20% of all unplanned pregnancies every year.
3. Two-thirds of teen pregnancies occur among teens 18-19 years old.
4. Teen mothers account for 11% of all births in the US.
5. Out of all teen pregnancies, 57% end in birth. Another 14% end in miscarriage. If you do the math, that means that about 217,500 teenage girls have abortions every year.
6. Only 74% of girls use protection the first time they have sex. Girls who do not use protection the first time are more likely to get pregnant in the future.
7. For young women age 15-19, black teens are most likely to become pregnant (134 per 1,000 women). Slightly lower rates occur among Hispanics (131 per 1,000) followed by non-Hispanic whites (48 per 1,000).
8. Although teenage mothers today are more likely to finish high school or earn their GEDs than in the past, pregnant teens are less likely to attend college than teens who do not become pregnant.
9. US rates are twice as high as in England and Wales or Canada, and eight times as high as in the Netherlands or Japan. And all the Japanese think about is sex.
10. Teen pregnancy rates declined between 1991 and 2005 but are on the rise again. A December 2007 report by the Centers for Disease Control shows a 3% increase in teenage pregnancy from 2005 to 2006.
And you thought vampires were scary.
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Scary statistics to put it lightly.
ReplyDeleteIn honor of this, and on a personal note, I shall share a story:
I come from a very rural, small town in Northern Arizona where the teen pregnancy rate is astronomical. At one point our high school had one of the highest pregnancy rates in the United States (terrifying!).
Entering into a school with this type of reputation was awful. No joke, there was a running bet on who would be the first girl from my class to give birth. When I graduated there were 7 girls currently pregnant walking the night of graduation, and we only had 107 walking graduates. This does not include those that had given birth during our 4 years at CVHS.
To accompany this, starting in middle school there was strict abstinence only sex education.
Another sad fact, I was congratulated by teachers for making it through my education without getting pregnant.
After graduation I was asked to take a survey from a former middle school administrator. "Question # 3: Did you had any children during your high school career?"
I tell you this story only because it is the Halloween holiday weekend and you put up some very scary statistics that ring home for me. Many people from my class never graduated due to pregnancy, and only a handful went to a 4 year higher education institution.
So...
What type of information did you find on the reasons/causes for the rise in pregnancy rates again? Does the CDC attempt to track the reasons? And, what is the difference between rural verses urban areas in terms of statistics?
Since you are looking into abstinence education and Twilight; How does the abstinence only sex education fit into the mix? Are there higher pregnancy statistics because kids are not being taught how to have safe sex?
Interesting stats. Where did you get them, BTW? (Sorry, but since it is a research class, you should cite your source :-)). How do these statistics change your thinking about your project?
ReplyDeleteI'd like to push against a few of these items or complicate the "scariness" of them. I, in no way, am implicating you, Courtney, in my critiques of these items. Just things I would like to consider as we read them.
Number 8: What I find unacceptable is that society bemoans the number of teen pregnancies on the basis of the educational deficiencies of teen mothers and sometimes their dependence on state support. But yet many institutions (financial, educational, and state) make parenting and education extremely incompatible. For example, single mothers cannot be on welfare and go to school full time. In fact, the system forces mothers to take low-wage jobs (minimum wage) in order to remain eligible, thus making them more likely to be Welfare dependent (since you can't actually live on minimum wage, let alone raise a child). Wouldn't it be better to allow welfare mothers to go to school full time where they can earn a degree that eventually earns them a sustainable income that would allow them to be independent and educated? This is just one example. Can you think of how structures of other institutions make it difficult for teen mothers to pursue their educational goals? Think of the lack of campus child care and lactating centers.
Number 7: I am unsure why we should be "scared" of this item. I question this racialization of teen mothers. It is this type of statistic that creates very prevalent racist discourses about how non-white girls are "more promiscuous/less responsible" than white girls. Perhaps there is a link between teen pregnancy and socio-economic status that is being obscured through a focus on race.
What do you think, Courtney? Can you provide your thinking about this instead of just a list of 10 stats? Get critical!!