Welcome to Pregnancy Guide
Teenage Pregnancy Information Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
You may also listen to this article by using the following controls.
Teenage Pregnancy Rates in the US
from:Roughly 40% of females in the United States become pregnant before they reach 20 years of age. Half of these pregnant teens give birth each year, while around 45% have abortions. 18-19 year old women have the highest birth rate among adolescents; in 1996, for instance, the birth rate for 18-19 year olds was 86.5 births per 1000 women, while the birth rate for 15-17 year olds was 38.7 per 1000 women. Fortunately, only a few births were registered for teens under 15 years of age (1.2 per 1000).
Teenage pregnancy rates seem to vary across racial lines in the United States, though this is most likely due to the socio-economic status in which many minorities unfortunately find themselves. Black teenagers were at the greatest risk for pregnancy in 1991, but between 1991 and 1996, the birth rate for teenagers between the ages of 15 and 19 in this group decreased by 21%, a greater percentage than for any other group. However, there is a disparity between birth rates for white teens and that of minorities. In 1996, the birth rate for Black teenagers between 15 and 19 years old was 91.7 births per 1000, compared to 50.1 births per 1000 for white teens. In 1996, the highest rate of teen pregnancy, 105.5 per 1000, was registered among Hispanic teenagers aged 15-19.
In 2002, teenage pregnancy rates hit their lowest mark in 30 years, down 30% since their peak in 1990. It seems that increased abstinence, but also increased exposure to information about contraceptives, contributed to this decrease. Indeed, the teenage pregnancy rates among girls who did have intercourse dropped 28% between 1990 and 2002. The teenage birth rate in 2002 was 30% lower than the peak rate of 1991.
Even though the birth rates for all groups and across all states in the United States have been decreasing over the past several decades, teenage pregnancy rates in this country are still substantially higher than in most other industrialized countries. Teen birth rate in the US is twice that of the United Kingdom, the country with the highest teenage birth rate in Europe; it is more than four times that of Spain and Sweden; it is seven times that of Denmark and the Netherlands; and it is 15 times greater than the birth rate in Japan.
Studies have shown that teenage sexual activity in these countries with lower teenage pregnancy rates is not significantly different than it is in the US. As usual, according to researchers, the problem is twofold. How the US treats teenage sexuality and the lack of dialogue concerning all thoughts and behaviors relating to sex is failing to deal with the issue of teenage pregnancy, as is the extent of adolescents (and their families) living in poverty and therefore being denied access to education and proper health care.
Warning: file(http://www.searchfeed.com/rd/feed/TextFeed.jsp?trackID=Q3835304521&pID=62408&cat=teenage+pregnancy+information&nl=5&page=1&excID=) [function.file]: failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 404 Not Found
in /home/cwatchco/public_html/preparents/teenage/datas/searchfeed.php on line 8
Teenage Pregnancy Information Specific links
Teenage Pregnancy Information News
Norfolk teenage pregnancy rate hits 12 year low, but three districts are above the national average
Contraceptive advice from health visitors has helped cut the rate of teenage pregnancies in Norfolk to its lowest level for 12 years, Norfolk County Council has said.
Read more...Viewers' family background affects how they react to MTV shows 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom
( Indiana University ) Two popular MTV programs about teenage pregnancy -- "16 and Pregnant" and "Teen Mom" -- were met with national debate. Critics said the shows glamorized teenage pregnancy, while supporters said they discouraged it. A new study by an Indiana University professor suggests they're both right.
Read more...Shock rate of Leeds teenage pregnancy
ONE in 10 teenagers in a part of Leeds will become pregnant by the age of 18.
Read more...Youth Radio -- Youth Media International: Teen Ambivalence Towards Pregnancy Points To Social Problems, Says Study
By: Robyn Gee A new report by Melissa Kearney and Philip Levine at the University of Maryland, suggests that common ideas about teenage pregnancy might be backwards....
Read more...State's teen-pregnancy rate still too high
Although there is some good news in recent reports that teenage birth rates are declining nationwide, there is still much work to be done, particularly in Oklahoma. According to a report released last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Oklahoma has the fifth-highest teen birth rate in the nation.
Read more...Teenage girls who have had at least EIGHT abortions 'are being let down in the most appalling way' as 38,000 undergo ...
For one in seven teenagers who had a termination in 2010, it was not their first. Among the cases was Lucy Lanelly (pictured), who had her first abortion aged 12 then more at 13, 15 and 16.
Read more...May is Teen Pregnancy Month
In 2010, teenage pregnancy rates reached record lows. However, teen pregnancy, birth and abortion rates in the U.S. for teens between the ages of 15 and 19 (approximately 400,000 teens give birth every year in the United States.) are still the highest in the industrialized world.
Read more...