Teen

Pregnancy
Ashley Wolff-Ramirez
EDU 280
What are the causes of Teen Pregnancy?

 The lack of education on safe sex, whether it is from parents, schools, or

otherwise.
 Absent Parents: Many teenagers are not taught about methods of birth
control.
 Pure Pressure: Teens don't how to deal with peers who pressure them into
having sex before they are ready.
 Glamorization of pregnancy : 16 and pregnant, teen mom TV shows etc. 
 Sexual Abuse or Rape
 Teenage Drinking
 Who was the first person to have the sex talk
with you?

What programs did your school offer

on health or sexual intercourse? 

How old were you when you had your first

Questionnaire  Sex talk?

How old were you when you had your first

sexual encounter ?

Can you list 3 forms of contraception? 

What are schools doing to help prevent
Teen Pregnancy?
 As of today, the federal government will only fund programs that teach
abstinence until marriage and one third of all American schools teach this
type of sex education program. 
 Sexual activity among teens occurs at high rates, which suggests abstinence-
only programs are not working.
 these programs are out of date, inaccurate and severely biased.
 One of the newest approaches is the Baby Think it Over program.  In this
program, students are given the responsibility of caring for a “baby” for an
extended period of time.  This is a newborn infant and the computer program
that goes with it makes it cry at regular intervals. The computer will alert the
teacher if the baby has been mistreated or neglected.  This teaches the
students what it's like to have the responsibilities of a parent.
Let's talk about it
 Do you think schools provide
enough information/courses to
prevent teenage pregnancy?
 Is it the parents responsibility to
have the "birds and the bees"
talk or schools?
Statistics on Teen Pregnancy
 In 2015, a total of
229,715 babies were
born to women aged 15–
19 years.
 The rate of Teen
pregnancies decreases
yearly. Reason unclear
 3 in 10 teen American
girls will get pregnant at
least once before age 20
 Still in the US rate are
substantially higher than
other nations
What are YOUR choices?

 YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgOkO-rpZJs&t=27s
 If you are pregnant, you have three options.
 First, you can stay pregnant and become a parent, with or without the
support of the other parent.
 Second, you can carry the pregnancy to term, and then give the baby up for
adoption. 
 Third, you can have an abortion, ending the pregnancy
 No one should be able to make these choices for you. 
Abortion

 35 percent of pregnant teenagers have an abortion, according to the National

Abortion Federation.
 The Guttmacher Institute reports that in 2006, there were 200,420 abortions
among teenagers, and the majority of these teenagers are ages 15 to 19 years
old.
 In some states, a teenager is required to get parental consent in order to
have an abortion. If her situation prevents her from getting parental consent,
she can attend a hearing and obtain permission from a judge 
 Only 12 states free of parent consent, California, Washington, Nevada, New
Mexico, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New York,
Oregon, Vermont.
Adoption
 30% of Teen pregnancies end in
an Adoption
 Open adoptions (visits), Semi-
open Adoptions (pictures),
Closed adoption (no contact)
 There are Free Services for Teen
who choose this option
 Free counseling, Help with
medical care, legal assistance
and in some cases housing and
rent assistance. 
Becoming a Parent

 Parenthood is the leading reason that teen girls drop out of school. More than
50% of teen mothers never graduate from high school.
 8 out of 10 teen dads don’t marry the mother of their child.
  Your life will not be the same, 
 Not all teen parents mature (negligence)
 Teen Pregnancy is not a failure, or a reason to give up on life goals. It’s a
bigger reason to accomplish them 
Reasons for
picking this topic
 I had my daughter at the age of
16
 Dropped out of normal high
school, Graduated at 16 from
Adult ED. High school
  I was judged by peers and
administration staff at school
(given up on)
 Support from family, Limited 
 Since having my daughter, my
whole world has changed for the
better. 
 Resources

1. Graph and statistics from The Center for Disease control and Prevention,
2. Abortion SexInfo.org
3. Adoption information from Adoptions with love.inc
4. High school Statistics National Conference of state Legislators
5. Education and prevention on teen pregnancy, Michael
Lynch, https://www.theedadvocate.org/the-schools-role-in-sex-education-
and-preventing-teenage-pregnancy/