Adolescent pregnancy

Abstract

Teen birth rates have decreased steadily over the past decade, but the United States still has the highest birth rates among all developed countries. Young women who give birth as adolescents are likely to have poor school performance, and come from families with low socioeconomic status, a history of teen pregnancies, and low maternal education. The fathers of babies who are born to teen mothers are likely to be unsuccessful in school, have limited earnings, have high rates of substance use, and have trouble with the law. Infants who are born to teen mothers are at risk for low birth weight and physical neglect and abuse; at school age, these children are more likely than children born to adult women to have trouble with school achievement, and they are at risk for becoming teen mothers or fathers themselves. Programs that are successful in reducing teen birthrates are usually multifactorial and combine comprehensive sexuality education with youth development activities; reduction in repeat pregnancies is associated with home visits by nurses combined with long-acting contraceptive use.

Young Adult Outcomes of Children Born to Teen Mothers: Effects of Being Born During Their Teen or Later Years

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Although it is well established that these children exhibit numerous adverse outcomes through adolescence, 2,3,9,[11][12][13][14][15][16] few studies have examined their functioning and life quality in adulthood or using a within-family design (i.e., including the outcomes of multiple siblings in the family).…”

Depression, Weight Gain, and Low Birth Weight Adolescent Delivery: Do Somatic Symptoms Strengthen Or Weaken the Relationship?

“…The participants were selected from one adolescent-oriented, prenatal clinic, but they were representative of pregnant American adolescents. 30 Table 1 describes the study population. Most were poor (84.5% Medicaid recipients), unmarried (91.2%), primiparous (75.5%).…”

Depression in Pregnant Adolescents: Considerations for Treatment

“…1 Thirty-four percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20. 2 By age 18, one in four young women will become pregnant, and within two years, more than 31% will have a repeat pregnancy.…”