As part of my series on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent National Survey on Family Growth, this article will focus on pregnancy and reproduction trends in the United States. My previous article examined some of the study’s findings on birth control use by teens, noting that condoms are the most popular form of contraception among those who practice safe sex and that there is a surprising portion of teens who would be pleased if they (or their partner) became pregnant. As we move into the realm of childbearing and data that focuses on slightly older participants, keep these attitudes and perceptions in mind. It is likely that the teens interviewed about birth control will predict future trends in reproduction.
Interesting Findings in Pregnancy and Reproduction:
- The U.S. teen birth rate has declined in the past two decades to roughly 42.5/1,000 in 2006-2008 (down from 61.8/1,000 in 1991). However, this rate is still nearly twice as high as any other developed country. The UK takes second place with a rate of 27 births in 1,000.
It should be noted that the U.S. rates in this study simply examine the numbers of women who carry a child to term and give birth. It does not include the many other women who become pregnant. Furthermore, these numbers are based on an incomplete set of data and only a fraction of the people interviewed for the NSFG. They do not account for the much higher teen birth rate seen in minority populations.
The NSFG found that teenage females are twice as likely to have a birth before reaching age 20 if they did not use a contraceptive method at their first sexual encounter, which seems to underscore the importance of education for teens on safe sex practices. Their findings also indicated that high instances of teen births are part of a self-perpetuating cycle. Young females whose mother had a birth before age 20 are more than twice as likely to also give birth while still in adolescence than those whose mother delayed childbearing until later in life.
We must learn from these disheartening statistics. From a purely financial perspective, our nation can’t afford not to take further steps toward preventing teen pregnancy. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, “adolescents giving birth before the age of 18 cost the United States at least $9.1 billion dollars annually” (2008). Conservative politicians are currently taking steps to cut funding for organizations working to prevent unwanted pregnancies and provide teens with information on safe sex. So, while they profess that their budget cuts will allow our country to save money, these politicians are actually setting our nation up to pay more in the long run.
With no political agenda, the observations in the National Survey on Family Growth are proving what advocates of women’s health already know about widespread well-being and social development: if we want to protect the health of families and communities, we can’t move backward in our policies about sexual and reproductive health. The rate of teenaged pregnancy is slowly rising again, especially in certain high-risk populations. Prevention is the key to our nation’s social and economic progress and if we aren’t willing to pay for it now, we will certainly pay for it later.
Stay tuned for more of the NSFG’s findings on teenage sexual activity.
References:
Hall, Michael & Hunt, Barry. "Social, Economic and Health Costs of Unintended Teen Pregnancy." Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association, Vol. 1, Number 1. 2008. http://faculty.mercer.edu/thomas_bm/documents/jgpha/documents/Archive/Hunt,%20Econimics%20of%20Pregnancy%202008.pdf.
US Department of Health and Human Services; the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. “Teenagers in the United States: Sexual Activity, Contraceptive Use, and Childbearing, National Survey of Family Growth 2006–2008.” Data From the National Survey of Family Growth. Division of Vital Statistics: Series 23, Number 30. March 2011. www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_030.pdf