Analysis of the Statistical Record of the Teen Pregnancy Rate in the United States - Essay Example

Teen Pregnancy [Academic Level Teen pregnancy has become a worldwide phenomenon increasing in its rate, especially in industrialized countries. The United States of America has the highest rate so far of teenage pregnancy, although it has dramatically decreased in previous years. Development of contraceptives variably influenced the decreasing rates; yet, statistical surveys show that they are not dependent on contraceptive usage. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the statistical record of the teen pregnancy rate, particularly in the United States, and the factors that possibly contribute to such changes. Additionally, this paper will discuss the contributing factors that commonly influence the growth of teen pregnancy rates, why this has become the society’s problem and recommendations on possible prevention of teenage pregnancy. Teen Pregnancy It is so disheartening when a teenage girl, still a child, becomes pregnant yet unmarried. Yes, teen pregnancy touches everyone in some way. Sadly, it is so widespread that it has become a global dilemma. In fact, as what statistics reveal, it has become an epidemic. UNICEF (2001) remarked in its statistics report that in the world’s rich nations, more than three quarters of a million teenagers will become mothers in the next twelve months (p. 1). This conclusive remark of UNICEF was drawn on the institution’s findings on study made on thirty developing member nations of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the group of industrialized nations among the world. As a result, it reported that nearly 1.25 million teenagers are becoming pregnant every year in 28 OECD nations, wherein approximately half a million will try for abortion and about 750,000 will become teenage mothers. Moreover, based from their study in 10 of 12 developed nations with available data, about 70 percent of their teenage population has sexual intercourse while still in their adolescence stage. Whereas, the ratio in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States shows more than 80 percent. No wonder teen pregnancy is truly an epidemic phenomenon. So far, the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate among other developed nations as revealed by the surveys conducted by various researchers. Analyzing its statistics report, the rates of teen pregnancy in the United States relatively decreases as the years go by, but still, it has the highest teen pregnancy rates among the industrialized nations. Based on the survey conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) on pregnancy outcomes and births of teenagers in the US, the latest findings in 2009, the birth rate of teen pregnancy for ages 15-19 was 39.1 births per 1,000 teenage females. This is relatively low compared to the previous years, but still remarkably high compared to other developed nations, such as Canada, which had the record of 14 births per 1,000 teenage females, Germany, which had the rate of 10 per 1,000, and Italy, with 7 only per 1,000. The US latest statistical record of 2009 was said to be relatively low because it reflects a significant decline of 37% from the highest teen birth rate of 61.8 births in 1991. However, a significant decrease was also recorded in the year 2005 which was 40.5 births per 1,000 teenage females, then a sudden 5% increase again by the year 2007, then dropped again in the year 2009. The CDC, using the same methodology, also reported an estimated age-specific pregnancy rates that include fetal losses such as miscarriages, stillbirths and induced abortions. Their data revealed that teen pregnancy rate in 2005 was 71 per 1,000 females at ages 15-19, which is 39% lower than 1990 rate of 116 per 1,000. For teenage girls of age group 15-17, the rate in 2005 was 40, a significant declined from 77 per 1,000 in the year 1990. For age group of 18-19, the rate also declined in 2005, from 168 by year 1990 into rate of 118 in 2005 (Martinez, Copen & Abma, 2011). Surprisingly, what may be the possible factors that influenced this declining rate of teen pregnancy? Or is this due to increased usage of contraceptive drugs and methods? Oral contraceptives were introduced on the market after the FDA granted the approval on June 23, 1960. The first available birth control pill was named Enovid, being manufactured by Searle Company. Since then, oral contraceptives or birth control pill played the most important role in the unrestraint sexual behavior of the majority of women. They enjoyed the liberty of having sex without the fear of pregnancy because the pill contains hormones that suppress the ovulation so that no egg is being released by the ovaries for sperm fertilization (Cornforth, 2009). Petigny (2010) also remarked same assessment regarding women’s sexual behavior upon introduction of birth control pill, as he said, “by the time the birth control pill became available to the masses of American women, the proverbial horse was already out of the barn” (p. 7). However, according to his observation based on vital statistics, rates of illegitimacy rose by more than 250% for white females and more than 300% for all females in between 1940s to 1960s. In specific terms of rates, single motherhood births increased into 9.2 births per 1,000 from a very low rate of 3.6 births per 1,000 unmarried white women, while among all women there was an increased recorded rate of 21.6 from 7.1. Why there is such an increased rate despite introduction of the contraceptive pill? Petigny explained that most doctors would simply have refused to prescribe the birth control pill to a woman who wasn’t married (p. 11). Thus, even until 1965, contraceptive pill was particularly used by married women only. Even until 1970’s, as he continued to remark, unmarried women did not initiate in using pill in large numbers. In fact, on the first survey done in 1971 regarding teenage usage of birth control, only about ten percent of the sexually active teenagers were taking the pill. The CDC compiled report may give us clear details on the determinants that largely affect the decrease on teenage pregnancy rates since mid 1990s. From 1995 onwards, their compiled reports show that more than 96% of sexually active female teenagers had never used a contraceptive method. In 2002, when the contraceptive patch was newly introduced, about 2% of teenagers were using it and significantly increased into 10% by the year 2006-2010. Regarding injectable hormonal contraceptive, since 2002 until 2006 -2010, females using it remained stable at 20%. Usage of emergency contraception also significantly increased from 8% into 14% by the year 2006-2010. Even those sexually experienced teenaged females that were using the calendar rhythm method showed an increase from 11% in 2002 into 15% by the year 2006-2010. Also, CDC survey record reported that among teenaged females in the year 2006-2010, 78% admitted that they used contraceptive method at their first intercourse, wherein 68% particularly use condom, and 16% used the contraceptive pill. Additionally, CDC reported that age of female at first intercourse greatly influenced the ratio of using the contraceptive. Mostly, younger girls, aging 14 and lower, are less likely to use contraceptives, wherein 7% only were using pill, while 53% were using condom. Then, ages 15-16 showed increased rate of using contraceptives, about 70% were using condom and 17% used pill. Further increased rate for ages 17-19, wherein 80% were using condom and 23% pill (Martinez et al., 2011). Hence, aside from contraceptive usage, sex and contraceptive education may be considered as some underlying factors that may possibly influenced the decreasing rates of teenage pregnancy. Contributing factors of teenage pregnancy It is very important to discuss what are the contributing factors that may lead some teenagers to be indulged in sexual immorality resulting into unintended pregnancy. The societal evidence indicates that teen pregnancy involves a number of complex social and emotional issues. Most probably, many teen mothers come from dysfunctional families. Dysfunctional families may set the stage for teen pregnancy. Barley (2011) narrated that single parents, especially divorcee mothers, often need to work for longer hours to support their children’s financial needs. Then, their female children are most likely susceptible to be involved in early sexual relationships that may result to unintended pregnancies. While some other girls become unwed mothers as a result of rape or being victims of sexual abuse. Due to traumatic emotional pain brought about by being early victims of sexual abuse and molestation, some teenagers hated themselves and were easily indulged into sexual promiscuousness that would result in early pregnancy. On the other hand, some youths become victims of early pregnancy because of their own overconfidence and curiosity. Some teenagers were triggered to experiment with sex because of mere curiosity, while their confidence boost them that nothing bad will happen because they strongly believe that things are within their control. Ignorance on the consequences of sexual activity may also be a contributing factor. Some youths seemingly do not grasp the connection between sex and pregnancy. They just thought that having sexual relationships are innocent pleasures. Lack of knowledge regarding contraceptives is a menacing factor as well. The socioeconomic status is also a contributing factor that influences susceptibility to teen pregnancy. According to Ireland Psychology Today (2011), poor girls are more likely to become pregnant. Due to poverty, some girls may tend to be out-of-school youth, less educated and have no access to contraception. Race is also a key factor because as what statistics revealed, some races, such as Black and Hispanic, are more prone to teen pregnancy. According to Guttmacher Institute, Blacks have 126 ratio of teen pregnancy for every 1,000 girls and Hispanic have 127, while non-Hispanic Whites ratio is 44 only. The last, but not the least, young females who are not spiritually nourished are prone to early pregnancies. Since they are not religious, they do not subjugate their lives to strict laws on chaste morality, thus, they easily engage themselves to sexual immorality. Why teen pregnancy is a social problem? First and foremost, as teenage pregnancy continue to rise, rates of abortion may seemingly rise too, since some mothers prefer to abort their babies than bearing a child out of wedlock. As babies are continued to be born out of wed lock, more single-parent families will be formed in the society. This will affect the socio-economic status of a nation because single-parent families commonly raise their children in a tight economic situation. Maggie Gallagher (1999) reported that children raised by single parents are likely to be five times poorer, twice to be drop-out in school, and two or three times more likely to become criminals when become adult. These children out-of-wedlock are also more susceptible to become victims of crime and child abuse. She also quoted in her report the abstract formed by Bronfenbrenner, a nation’s leading family scholar, regarding children born out of wedlock, as stated: “Controlling for associated factors such as low income, children growing up in such [father-absent] households are at greater risk for experiencing a variety of behavioral and educational problems, including extremes of hyperactivity or withdrawal, lack of attentiveness in the classroom, difficulty in deferring gratification, impaired academic achievement, school misbehavior, absenteeism, dropping out, Involvement in socially alienated peer groups, and, especially, the so-called “teenage syndrome” of behavior that tend to hang around together – smoking, drinking, early and frequent sexual experience, a cynical attitude toward work, adolescent pregnancy, and, in the more extreme cases – drugs, suicide, vandalism, violence, and criminal acts’ (p. 9). How Teen Pregnancy Can Be Prevented? The educators, doctors. politicians, and parents are calling for sex education programs that will orient teenagers regarding sexual behaviors and easy access to contraceptives. Nevertheless, some youths have emotional needs that sex education cannot satisfy. Most specially, the moral and spiritual guidance that teenagers needed cannot be supplied by sex education. Contraceptives, though contribute a lot to decreasing rates of teenage pregnancy, are not a sound prevention or solution to teenage pregnancy. Contraceptives create a permissive society of loose conduct on morality and sexual promiscuity. By using contraceptive, breakdown on chastity of morality is being tolerated. It may prevent early pregnancy but not the emotional aftermath that some teenagers may suffer. Even the possibility of being infected by HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases cannot be prevented by using contraceptives. Certainly, young adolescence must be given, not just sex education or orientation, but accurate information about sex. More importantly, parents are the ones responsible in giving their children this instruction and must be taught to them since childhood. The accurate information about sex involves the moral principles that are being taught in religious organization using the Holy Bible as the authorized manual for instruction. Children that are nurtured morally chaste and spiritually nourished, in a loving and god-fearing family are surely far from being infected by the epidemic of global teenage pregnancy. The more God-fearing are the children, the more they get away from entrapment and temptation of sexual misconduct that leads to early and unintended pregnancy. Also, the more parents maintain a close and tight relationship with their children, the more they are safe from being influenced by the outside world of corrupt standards on morality. However, parents must be exemplary to their children of being God-fearing. Parents themselves must learn God’s laws on morality and must be good example so that their children will uphold these moral standards. In this way, they maintain not only a good relation to God, but also a good relationship within their family. References Barley, A. (2011). Cons of a broken family. E-How Family Website. Retrieved March 30, 2012 from http://www.ehow.com/info_8580790_cons-broken-family.html Cornforth, T. (2009). A brief history on the birth control pill. Retrieved March 29, 2012 from http://womenshealth.about.com/od/thepill/a/howpillworks.htm Gallagher, M. (1999). The age of unwed mothers. Is teen pregnancy the problem? Institute For American Values. Retrieved March 30, 2012 from http://www.americanvalues.org/Teen.PDF Ireland, J. (2011). Factors affecting early teenage pregnancy. Retrieved March 30, 2012 from http://www.livestrong.com/article/163803-factors-affecting-early-teenage- pregnancy/ Martinez, G., Copen, C. E., & Abma, J. C. (2011). Teenagers in the United States: Sexual activity, contraceptive use, and childbearing. 2006-2010 National survey of family growth. Vital and Health Statistics series 23, number 31. Retrieved March 29, 2012 from http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_031.pdf Petigny, A. (2010). Coital conservatism ended before birth control pill arrived, says researcher. University of Florida News. Retrieved March 28, 2012 from http://news.ufl.edu/2010/02/22/birth-control/ UNICEF. (2001). A league table of teenage births in rich nations. Innocenti Report Card Issue No. 3. Retrieved March 28, 2012 from http://www.unicef- irc.org/publications/pdf/repcard3e.pdf Read More