How to Stop the Cycle of Teenage Pregnancy

It's funny how when you're young you don't see things the way you should in certain situations. As you grow up, you live your life as if there's no tomorrow. Children don't make plans for the future, they live in the moment. They go to school, try and behave; most of them anyway and look forward to the end of the day when they can go home and play with their friends or play their video games. But there are some children who choose other after school activities. The ones that include inviting their 'boyfriends' over for some alone time before their parent(s) gets home. And then here comes the sex.

As a teen, I experimented quite often with sex; shamelessly with a number of boys over the course of my teenage years. There were times when I'd get my 'boyfriend' to come over so that we could have sex before my grandmother came home. Sometimes he would initiate the act, and others times it would be I that proposed we go and 'do it'. I wouldn't say that I was promiscuous, but I was regularly sexually active. Needless to say, my extracurricular sexual activity landed me in a situation where I was left unsure and unprepared for what lie ahead: Pregnant! At 16 I became pregnant with my son who is now 9 years old. His father and I weren't even actually in a relationship at the time. Though, we were still having sex with each other after our relationship "ended". I was so unsure of what to do and I was afraid I would be either outcast by my grandmother who raised me from a small child, or forced to abort my baby. Gladly, none were the case in my situation.

After living apart from my mother, who was a teen parent herself, for the majority of my life, after I got pregnant I felt that it would be best if I moved and went to live with her after I had my baby. Since she lived in a big city where at the time I felt it would be easier for me to finish high school, I felt I owed it to my grandmother not to put that extra burden on her, and I went to live with my mom. With the help of the LYFE program at my school, I was able to graduate second in my class - and after only the first semester. LYFE stands for Living for the Young Family through Education. This is where the New York Department of Education established 40 day care facilities for the non-school age children of teenage parents who are still attending school or who want to continue their education through this program. [1] I have always considered myself fortunate to have had the resources and assistance that I needed to be able to graduate from high school. Though, there are many teen mothers who don't have this luxury.

My concern is where and when will the cycle end? What more needs to be done in order to help prevent so many teenage pregnancies? I don't recall my grandmother having too many sit downs with me to discuss the issues of sex, pregnancy, marriage, or any other of these important topics that need to be discussed with teens in this day and age. I don't fault my grandmother, of course for my getting pregnant, but I do see where I could've had more guidance on the subject. My son is nine years old and I talk with him now and then about having sex and the possibility of getting a girl pregnant. Along with other issues, I feel that my son needs to know these important facts of life before he gets to the age of wanting to experiment and try certain things. I see so many television commercials about how to talk to your kids, when to talk with them and such; I don't feel it's too early, or that he's too young. I use my own situation as a guide when talking with him and let him know that it's okay to not do what everyone else is doing. I also urge him to wait until he finds a wife and has a good job before he thinks about having any children of his own. In my own personal experience I feel that in order to end, or at least slow the cycle of teenage pregnancy, we as parents need to inform our youth of what's out there.

I have a family member who had children as a teen and now their two teen daughters are both mothers. I, myself was born to a teenage mother who had a child prior to my birth, and I too became pregnant as a teen. My research showed that in Georgia, where I live, over 22,500 teen pregnancies occur each year in this state.[2] That's 62 new teen pregnancies each day - or over two teen pregnancies an hour. The pregnancy rate for African-American girls has declined the most over the past decade, but the current pregnancy rate for African-American girls is still almost twice the rate for Caucasians in our state. Nearly 28% of teen pregnancies in Georgia occur among girls who have already been pregnant at least once before. The state of Georgia ranks 2^nd highest among states in the rate of repeat births to teens.[3] Teen parents and their children face educational and economic challenges that are compounded by repeat births. The website where I found this information lists several "Facts about Teenage Mothers" that I found surprising to say the least. They include:

§ Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school; only one-third receive high school diplomas by age 30.

§ The children of teen mothers have lower birth weights, are more likely to perform poorly in school, and are at greater risk of abuse.

§ The sons of teen mothers are 13% more likely to end up in prison; daughters are 22% more likely to become teen mothers.

§ Half of all girls who become pregnant as teenagers become pregnant again within 2 years.

§ Fifty three percent of the costs of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), food stamps and Medicaid are attributable to households begun by teens.

§ Teen mothers are most likely to become long-term TANF recipients.

(Info from the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention website - http://www.gcapp.org/)

I found some very insightful information on this site concerning the plans and actions being taken for prevention of adolescent pregnancy in Georgia. What I think it all boils down to is as a parent first wanting better for your children than you had growing up, then taking the initiative and having a plan of action to do what it takes for that to happen. I definitely want better for my son and two daughters. It's important to me that they make the best of their lives with little or no obstacles standing in their way. Having a baby, for either of them will most certainly deter their paths to success. I must say that I feel I've done well for myself to not become some of those statistics we all read about regarding teenage mothers. I finished high school, I work a full-time job that pays well for the work that I do, although I do receive assistance through food stamps and Medicaid for my children, I am a taxpayer as well, and in this day and time everyone needs a little help no matter how much money they make. But I don't want my children to repeat the cycle of becoming teen parents and in order for that to happen, I will educate and inform them of the necessary steps they should take to not become statistics.

[1] See New York City Department of Education, Alternative Academies and Programs,
http://a040-web-print.nyc.gov/OurSchools/District79/SpecialPrograms/default.htm

[2] State data available from the Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health, Online Analytical Statistical Information System (OASIS), http://oasis.state.ga.us/oasis/qryMCH.aspx. (Data is for 2006)

[3] Schelar, Erin, et al. "Repeat Teen Childbearing: Differences Across States and by Race and Ethnicity." (2007). Washington, DC: Child Trends.