Teen pregnancies are up, but WHY?
The big news yesterday was that the U.S. teen pregnancy rate rose in 2006 for the first time in more than a decade, reversing a long slide.
According to Reuters: “The overall teen pregnancy rate was up 3 percent in 2006, with a 4 percent rise in the rate of births and a 1 percent rise in the rate of abortions, according to the report by the Guttmacher Institute.”
But the questions for today are: Why is the rate up? And what can parents do to stop their daughter from becoming a statistic?
There are many interesting theories floating around as to why the increase in teen pregnancy. Here is a sampling:
Larry Finer, Guttmacher’s director for domestic research, said in a telephone interview with Reuters: “We’re not quite sure yet whether this is just a blip or whether it’s the beginning of a longer upward trend. It’s interesting to note that this flattening out of the rate and the increase in the rate is happening at the same time that we’ve seen substantial increases in funding for abstinence-only programs.”
“We do know that when we saw the big decline in the ’90s, that a lot of that decline was due to improved contraceptive use among teens.”
From the U.S News and World Report:
” ‘This new study makes it crystal clear that abstinence-only sex education for teenagers does not work,’ Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, said in an E-mailed statement. ‘It should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who still believes that teenagers aren’t sexually active or that abstinence-only programs curb the rate of teen pregnancy.’ She’s happy that President Obama eliminated abstinence-only education funding and has instead set aside $100 million for comprehensive sex education programs to prevent teen pregnancies.”
However from the same story another quote:
“Valerie Huber of the National Abstinence Education Association told the Washington Post that she blamed the increase on ‘an oversexualized culture, lack of involved and positive role models, and the dominant message that teen sex is expected and without consequences.’ ” …
“But Heather Boonstra, Guttmacher’s senior public policy associate, tells me the reasons for the increase are probably complex and multifold. ‘We’ve been seeing declines in contraceptive use,’ she says, probably at least in part because of complacency about the HIV virus that fueled a rise in condom use among teens in the 1990s. She also says teen pregnancy seems to be more acceptable in many American towns and cities as teens flock to blockbuster movies like Juno (which positively portrays a pregnant teen) and see pregnant peers in their classes, something that was rare several decades ago.Decline in contraceptive use – people less afraid of AIDS – Also believe the pregnancies could be the result of domestic violence in dating relationships.”
Another possible reason: domestic abuse that results in pregnancy. One-third of teens say they’ve been in an abusive relationship at some point.
The second part to this equation is what do parents do now that the number is rising? How can you prevent you daughter from becoming pregnant?
My 8-year-old has recently become very interested in pregnancy outside of marriage, and I think we will be having the sex talk pretty soon. She’s not understanding why some women are married when they have kids (we were married for seven years, I think, before we had her) and others are not. (She caught a few scenes of MTV’s “Teen Mom” one night after I feel asleep and was very interested in that show. She also saw on TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress” a woman trying on her wedding dress announcing she was pregnant. She’s very curious about how you control this.)
I actually think the “Teen Mom” series is a very good deterrent for teens. It shows just how much having that cute baby changes your world. You can’t go out. You’re You can’t finish your education. You’re stuck in many cases with the loser guy that knocked you up. I think it does a good job showing the harsh reality of life after that one night of passion.
I also found this other article in U.S. News and World Report talking about eight personality and behavioral traits that were associated with both abstinence and academic achievement.
Here’s the list from Bernadine Healy, M.D.:
“But maybe it’s more. The researchers identified eight personality and behavioral traits that were associated with both abstinence and academic achievement—traits that to some extent may be inborn but can also be taught and reinforced regularly at home and at school:
- Future orientation, with a focus on long-term goals
- Willingness to postpone current pleasures for larger future rewards
- Perseverance, as in the ability to stick to a task or commitment
- A belief that current behavior can positively affect the future
- Impulse control, including ability to control emotions and desires
- Resistance to peer influence
- Respect for parental and social values
- Sense of self-worth and personal dignity”
So what do you think: Why do you think the pregnancy rate has ticked up? What methods or teachings will help keep your daughter out of this situation?
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January 28th, 2010
7:12 am
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Betsy
January 28th, 2010
8:25 am
Again, Tiger proves he’s an atheist and doesn’t believe in God or the sanctity of human decency. All he cares about is doing stuff that feels good.
Enjoy it now Tiger, cause you’ll burn forever.
Active Duty Mom
January 28th, 2010
8:32 am
Nurse and Mother, I hear you! In the military hospital where I work, we have quite a few young mothers coming in to L&D and unfortunately some of the infants coming into the NICU. Regarding the infant simulator mentioned earlier, it is called “Baby Think It Over” (web link to product here: http://www.realityworks.com/realcare/realcarebaby.html) and it was used successfully at one base that I worked at overseas. We implemented it with the younger sailors, since there was a large incidence of unintended pregnancies among that population back in 2000-2001 and since you cannot obtain an abortion in a military hospital, most of the younger sailors kept the baby. The program was a great success and it was then implemented in the high school on base. What was scary though was seeing the number of infant simulators who had registered that the simulator was shaken. There is also a great book that my parents gave me and that I have provided to my kids called “Changing Bodies, Changing Lives”, by Ruth Bell which goes over just about everything associated with puberty and adolescence, including changes that are occurring in your body, contraception, HIV/AIDS, homosexuality, what to do if you are sexually assaulted, what your choices are if you do become pregnant, etc. in a no-nonsense way. Regarding the show “Teen Mom”, I would like to see these same girls who kept their children filmed 2 years from now when the cute cuddly baby has changed into a screaming toddler, complete with full-blown temper tantrums. With many of the TV programs and movies that are produced about teen pregnancy there seems to be more emphasis on the cute baby stage and not as much with the toddler/pre-school/school age part that lasts much longer and is more demanding and expensive.
Tiger needs me on his PR team
January 28th, 2010
9:54 am
Awwww Betsy…you’re so cute in how much you enjoy the thought of me burning in hell.
TechMom
January 28th, 2010
11:47 am
To say the matter of teen pregnancy is caused by one or two issues is absurd. It happens for a lot of reasons. I had my son at 16 and wish I could come up with a great reason for why I chose to have sex @15. I honestly can’t give you one. I was an honor student, over-achiever, popular but not overly popular, didn’t come from a rich or poverty-stricken family, my step-dad was in the military, my mom talked to me about sex from the time I was in elementary (as soon as I asked questions), she always said I should wait until I’m done with college but never pushed it from a religious point, she was not a teen mom (she had my brother and I in her 20s after she got married). I knew getting pregnant was a risk but didn’t really think it would happen to me (kind of like getting struck by lightning, sure it can happen but is it really going to happen to me?) I knew not one personally who had been a teen mom and it certainly wasn’t glamorized (mid-90s) at the time. I had been babysitting since I was 11 and had no desire to have a baby and in fact had even told my mom the year before I got pregnant that I wasn’t even sure if I ever wanted kids. I wasn’t “in love” and didn’t even intend to have sex. It was like the situation presented itself and I didn’t really know how to say no. We’d had sex a couple of times before and then I told him I didn’t want to do it anymore. [I obviously wasn’t impressed.] Several months past and I even broke up with the boy. But it so happened that we were alone and the opportunity presented itself and I didn’t say no.
Was there something my parents could have done to prevented me from having sex? The only thing I have ever been able to come up with would have been to help keep me busy with other activities and things that would not have involved the boy. I had too much free time that summer.
Clueless
January 28th, 2010
12:05 pm
When you have unwed mothers working as teachers, coaches, and paraprofessionals in our schools – role models, so to speak – what do you expect?
jd
January 28th, 2010
3:38 pm
mgm – He had a summer job and came in early that day but either way, I wouldn’t have trusted him to care for a 6 and 4 year old at that age nor would I have putten him in that position. I had the children and it was my responsibility, not his.
jd
January 28th, 2010
3:38 pm
And Tiger, thank you, you have a pardon from hell :)
JATL
January 28th, 2010
4:27 pm
@DB -you know, just because you don’t think it works doesn’t mean it doesn’t work -right? My husband and I lived together for 2 years and have been married for 10. I guess we have no incentive to make a marriage work, huh? I WANT my kids to live with someone first to make sure they’re compatible in all the ways you need to be to live together successfully -financially, sexually, housekeeping, etc.
Tiger needs me on his PR team
January 28th, 2010
7:03 pm
@jd…Not if Betsy is standing watch that day! but you’re welcome, none the less :-)
fk
January 28th, 2010
7:31 pm
you can talk, talk, talk, but you just don’t know for certain if they hear you. if we are successful parents, our kids will be exposed to outside influences other than just family. that doesn’t mean they succumb to them, but they might. we can’t control who they fall for or their emotions, especially when they’re away from us. let’s face it, there is the curiosity factor and sex is in their faces from a very early age, everywhere they go or to whatever it is they tune in to. we guide them to the best of our abilities, and hope and pray a lot once they’ve taken flight. i think it’s unrealistic to expect that most of these kids won’t have sex before marriage. i think a good & frequent discussion includes the parental point of view, but also responsibility, accountability & preparedness. when the opportunity does present itself, seriously, who is thinking clearly? a lot of times, it happens without a plan, so, at the very least, be prepared. if you expect them to come to you to talk about being ready for sex, by time they do that, they’ve probably already experienced it, imo. i’m neither encouraging nor condemning here, i just want my kid, & everyone else’s, to be safe and have a long & happy life.
mom of three precious kids
February 7th, 2010
10:01 pm
I only want to say that i have read the post and i agree and disagree.
I myself was a teen mother having my first daughter at 18. My husband and I were engaged but did not marry until the next year,four months from having our second child. Now three years and one more child later(the last may I mention)we are still together and taking care of our little ones the best we know how without government assistance. I will as a mother be there to listen and advise my children to the best of my abilities. We both are very big on our kids knowing they can come to us with anything, big or small. I plan to teach waiting using our situation as example. While we love and respect each other, i work two jobs and am a full-time student aspiring to finish and become a dentist and he a mechanic. We are both so tired that we often get upset not meaning too. Do we regret our kids? No. Wish we would have waited absolutely!
mom of three precious kids
February 7th, 2010
10:16 pm
But i do feel that there is something wrong with our system. I feel that we enable girls to have as many kids as they can and we will still give out assistance like its going out of style. For instance i have a relative who has four kids with four different dads and no job. There is something wrong with that picture. She is able to work just like i am and until this recession had no excuse not to be working. We worry how we will put ours through college and how we will be able to afford cars. Do people not think of things as this when deciding to keep having children. While i am thinking of this i should add little keelan our baby, was concieved while using Depo. (a form of birth-control)
PS
February 10th, 2010
12:46 pm
First and foremost, it is time for us to get our kids in church and stay in church! This worldly act of pregnancy outside of marriage has to be taught. They need to know the foundation of life. Many adults wonder around aimlessly because they are trying to operate in the world without a clue. Life will issue out its set of problems, but when armed with the right weapons, the problems can be resolved. Stop telling kids its okay to have sex outside of marriage. Because of this miscommunication, our children are in trouble. The Bible is our handbook for living, and when we go against that, the world as we know will continue to be upside down. If we continue to promote sin, the world will continue to erupt.