I’ve written before that teen pregnancy is considered an epidemic in the United States. Facts I recently surfed upon are startling. However, it is important to keep in mind that the rates are lowering. As startling as they may be, they have been higher in the past and seem to be taking a decline. But the United States teen pregnancy rates still remain the highest of other countries such as Canada and Australia.

• One million teens in the USA will become pregnant over the next twelve months. Ninety-five percent of those pregnancies are unintended. About one third will end in abortion; one third will end in spontaneous miscarriage; and one third will continue their pregnancy to term and keep their baby.



• Approximately 40 percent of young women become pregnant before they reach 20 years old.



• The United States of America has double the adolescent pregnancy and birth rates of any other industrialized country.

- Source

Perhaps some of the many organizations leading teen prevention programs, offering classes educating teens on more than just abstinence and raising awareness to the epidemic of teen pregnancy can be attributed to the recent decline in teen pregnancy rates. One of these campaigns being National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Month, which is held in this month of May. National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Month is an educational campaign designed to raise awareness to teen pregnancy and prevention of teen pregnancies among teenagers themselves as well as their parents and the community in general. It also aims to acknowledge and recognize the effects that teen pregnancy often has on teen mothers.

I think raising the issues of awareness of teen pregnancy by having a month devoted to teen pregnancy awareness is a start. Raising awareness to the issue may give others who wouldn’t normally know much about this issue the opportunity to speak up and voice their opinions regarding the subject as well as assist in sex education classes, prevention programs, etc. is a step in the right direction.

--
Related Posts:
Teen Pregnancy
Teen Pregnancy Part 2: Tabitha’s Story http://unplanned-pregnancy.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/teen-pregnancy-part-2
Teen Pregnancy Part 3: Jen’s Story http://unplanned-pregnancy.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/teen-pregnancy-part-3
Teen Pregnancy 4: Conclusion http://unplanned-pregnancy.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/teen-pregnancy-4-conclusion


Sources used:
Teen Pregnancy Rates
FFYR Protect Yourself