Extra: Teen Pregnancy
The National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
When: Wednesday, May 6th, 2009 from 4pm - 6pm
Where: St. Pius Family Resource Center 705 East Anderson Street
Does it sometimes seem like everyone your age is having sex? Do you know anyone at your school who is pregnant or has a baby? So what does this mean for you? It means that, if you're a girl in this country, you have a 34% chance of becoming pregnant by the time you're 20. And it's not just girls who are facing the consequences. The effects of teen parenthood also follow the young fathers and children throughout their lives.
You hear about teen pregnancy in movies, in the news, at school, and from your parents. You know it's not a good idea to have a baby when you're still a kid yourself, so why are so many teens still getting pregnant every year? And what can you do about it?
Know the Facts
Teen pregnancy can have serious consequences for girls and guys, including decreased chances of finishing school, a rocky financial future, and health risks for both the mother and the child. If you are thinking about having sex, it is important to know that the effects can last a lifetime.
Here are the facts about teen pregnancy:
- 3 out of 10 teen girls in the US get pregnant at least once before age 20 -- that amounts to 745,000 teen pregnancies each year. Shocking right?
- Two-thirds of all teen pregnancies occur from age 18-19.
- Almost 50% of teens have never considered how a pregnancy would affect their lives.
- Parenthood is the #1 reason teen girls drop out of school.
- Children of teen mothers do worse in school than those born to older parents -- they are 50 percent more likely to repeat a grade, are less likely to complete high school than the children of older mothers, and have lower performance on standardized tests.
- Two-thirds of families begun by a young unmarried mother are poor. More than half of all mothers on welfare had their first child as a teenager.
- Eight out of ten fathers don't marry the mother of their child. These absent fathers pay less than $800 annually for child support. Kids who live apart from their fathers are also 5 times more likely to be poor than kids with both parents at home.
- The daughters of young teen mothers are three times more likely to become teen mothers themselves.
- The sons of teen mothers are twice as likely to end up in prison.
Have a Plan!
Teen pregnancy has serious consequences -- both physical and emotional -- and if you want to avoid them, you need to have a plan. So start by thinking it through carefully yourself. Though there are a variety of ways to avoid pregnancy, they can be boiled down to two basic strategies:
Practice Abstinence: Not having sex at all is the only 100 percent effective, foolproof method of preventing pregnancy.
Use Contraception: If you do choose to have sex, you need to make sure that you use protection every single time.
Whether you choose to have sex or not, it is important to be able to talk about it with your partner. Having direct conversations about sex can be difficult or embarrassing, but if you are confident about your facts and able to express openly how you feel it should be easier. So take some time to get informed and to think through what feels right for you. It may be helpful to talk these decisions over with a close friend, parent, doctor, or other trusted adult before you talk to your partner. When you are clear about your own feelings, it will be easier to communicate them to someone else.
Have you decided to become Sexually Active or you think you may be pregnant? Contact me:
Christina Hanson
Youth Development Consultant
Chatham County Health Department
24 Oglethorpe Professional Blvd.
Savannah, GA 31406
Cell: (912) 484-8433
Work: (912) 644-5228
clhanson@dhr.state.ga.us
WWW Address: http://www.gachd.org/extra/teen_pregnancy.php