Educating about Teen, Adolescent Pregnancy

In honor of National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day, which was May 6, I wanted to write about teen pregnancy. Did you know that teen or adolescent pregnancy is considered to be all females/pregnant people under the age of 20?

At 18 and 19 they can vote, join the military, move out, rent an apartment, etc. Years ago, we had a few young girls at my high school who were pregnant. I recall discussing teen pregnancy with my grandmother and she told me stories about how they had homes for young girls who got pregnant out of wedlock or that young girls were sent away to live with another relative or a religious school for young women. Babies were either adopted out or put in orphanages.

Today, young pregnant females/pregnant people may still be sent to live with other relatives. We do not have the homes for these young mothers as we once did. Is teen pregnancy an issue? Yes! It is still an issue that society deals with regularly. The good news: teen pregnancy rates have been dropping since 1991 in the U.S. That is correct, teen birth rates among females/pregnant people between the ages of 19 have declined from 17.4 per 1,000 females/pregnant people in 2018 to 16.7 females/pregnant people in 2019. It’s a new record low! Birth rates among females/pregnant people ages 15-17 fell 7% and for females/pregnant people between the ages of 18-19, birth rates fell 4%.

Teen Pregnancy Numbers:

• By age 22, approximately 50% of teen mothers have received a high school diploma.
•  By age 22, only 30% of teen mothers have a General Education diploma.
•  Only 10% of teen mothers have completed a two- or four-year college program.
•  Babies born to teen mothers have a higher infant mortality rate.
•  Babies born to teen mothers have higher incidence of juvenile incarceration.
•  Babies born to teen mothers have higher rates of foster care.
•  Babies born to teen mothers have lower school achievement and higher high school dropout rates.

What is the reason for the decline in teen pregnancies? Health evidence suggests that more teens are learning about their sexual health and are abstaining from sexual activity, and today, more teens have access to prophylaxis and birth control than in previous years. Even with these numbers on the decline, the U.S. is still above average in comparison to other Westernized nations.

What can help deter teens from becoming pregnant? You remember being a teen: it is a confusing and stressful time with hormones raging, body changes, menstruation, pheromones, etc. Remember, we are mammals; we are hard-wired to reproduce. For females, pregnancy can occur before their first menstrual period. You’ve seen the headlines about 9- and 10-year-old females becoming pregnant. It’s not common, but unfortunately, it does still occur.

What can we do here locally to help prevent teen pregnancy? It starts with education and discussing more than the birds and bees with today’s youth. With the advent of smartphones and internet accessibility, ask yourself this: would you rather today’s youth learn about sexual and reproductive health from their smartphones or a trained community educator? There are plenty of pornographic sites and “how to” sex articles that pop up on feeds when typing questions about STIs and types of sex. Many of these sites show the mechanics of these acts, but not the consequences or emotional context.

Remember the first time you heard the term oral sex? Be honest. You were what 9, 10, 11, 12 and had absolutely no clue what that meant. Right? When I was young, we had our parents’ trusty encyclopedias for reference, not too much on the ins and outs of oral sex. Imagine you are a teen today, who hears about a type of sex you have not seen, have no knowledge about and have decided to Google it. I just did and wow do you get a long list of responses. WebMD offers: “Oral Sex: What it is and What it Means,” Men’s Health offers: “Best Oral Sex Tips for Going Down on a Vagina” – Health.com shares “Oral Sex: What it is, How to do it and the best positions.” You see where this road is going, right? It’s been more than three decades since I was a teenager. I recall being curious and talking with friends, older siblings, etc. What would have benefitted me at that age? Some solid education, that’s what!

I believe if I had a class at school or several that provided education on STIs, disease transmission, and how to say “No,” it would have helped not only myself but my friends, too. Locally, we can support the Yavapai County Health Educators tasked with educating the students at our local schools about sex and their sexual health, which includes abstinence. Abstinence is okay for teens, but that may not be an option for some. We have teens being trafficked locally. Young people are being sexually exploited in their homes. Having these important resources in our local community helps all of our youth. These educators have been instrumental in helping exploited and abused teens get out of these situations. They also work to empower the youth to have a voice, avoid being groomed and how to say “No” to someone. It can be especially hard for youth to say no, especially to someone they may have feelings for. Education is empowerment.

We can help prevent teen pregnancy in our community by talking about it. Let the youth know they have an entire lifetime to fall in love and reproduce and that waiting is all right. These talks can start at home and the local library is packed with books for both parents and teens alike. If you are a parent and do not know how to have the talk, go to your local library. They have books for parents on how to have these important discussions.

There is a ton of information out there for teens and young people to access. Having a structured responsible curriculum in the schools has been proven to reduce teen pregnancy and teen STI rates in communities – just ask the CDC! QCBN

By Hedda Fay

Hedda Fay is the community outreach and program developer for Northland Cares. In a former life, she worked in law enforcement and public mental health. Her passion today is educating people about their sexual health and prevention services to the community. Northland Cares is located at 3112 Clearwater Drive, Ste. A, in Prescott. For more information, call 928-776-4612.