Teen pregnancy in the US has seen an increase in the last decade. A 2013 report prepared by Kost, Maddow-Zimet and Arpaia (2013) collected data on pregnancy, birth and abortion. The data collected was for sexually active adolescents and young women aged 10-20 years in the United States. The report shows data both nationally and in the some of the states. They accredit most of their data from Guttmacher Institute, which collects data on pregnancies in the US. The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) provided data on births and legal induced abortions. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the US Census Bureau were also important in providing reports on the same.
The report indicates that in 2013, 456,000 adolescent women became pregnant. 448,000 of these were aged between 15-19 years old whereas 7,400 of them were aged 14 years and younger. For the 15- 19 year olds, abortion rates in this group was 11 per 1000 women. There was a decline in birth and abortion rates in this group in 2005 and 2006. However, an acceleration was visible between 2008- 2013. The national and state trends on pregnancy, births and abortions were different depending on race and ethnicity. 18- 19 years old had a 28% abortion rate while for 15- 17 years was 31% and 52% for 14 years and below.
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These figures show that there has been a decline in pregnancy, birth and abortion rates. These statistics shed a light on the fertility rates of adolescent women in the US. This has improved the knowledge of characteristics of the US population. Through such studies, there is greater understanding of the reproductive experiences adolescents go through and the changes therein. They attributed such figures to access of sex education and health care. The report suggests that further research should be done to find out behavioral, economic and social factors that lead to such figures. Such studies are important to adolescents in that they provide them with vital information about teenage pregnancy. They help them get ease of access to information on how to protect their children, contraceptives, safe abortion procedures and how to take care of pregnant adolescents.
References
Advocates for Youth. Comprehensive sex education: research and results. Available at: www.advocatesforyouth .org/ storage/ advfy/ documents/ fscse.pdf. Accessed November 30, 2017.
Gilda S., Lawrence F., Akinrinola B., Michelle E., & Susheela S. (2015). Adolescent Pregnancy, Birth, and Abortion Rates Across Countries: Levels and Recent Trends. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(2).
Kost K, Maddow-Zimet I and Arpaia A. (2013). Pregnancies, Births and Abortions Among Adolescents and Young Women in the United States: National and State Trends by Age, Race and Ethnicity, New York: Guttmacher Institute, 2017.
Kramer A. (2012) Girl Talk: What High School Senior Girls Have to Say About Sex, Love, and Relationships. Washington, DC: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.
Shuger, Lisa. (2012). Teen Pregnancy and High School Dropout: What Communities are Doing to Address These Issues. Washington, DC: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and America’s Promise Alliance. [Online].www.thenationalcampaign.org/resources/pdf/teen-preg-hsdropout.
pdf, accessed November 30, 2017.
