Washington Post Examines Teen Pregnancy In U.S.

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 16 Dec 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Patrick Welsh -- an English teacher at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va. -- writes in a Washington Post outlook piece that he is "amazed and concerned" about the "apparently nonchalant" attitude in the U.S. toward teen pregnancy, which "is still a major concern in this country." Although teen pregnancy "has been bright on American radar screens for the past year" with high-profile teen pregnancies such as actress Jamie Lynn Spears and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's (R) daughter Bristol making headlines, Welsh writes that he has "been observing the phenomenon up close for a couple of years," adding that "the picture I see is more troubling than any of those high-profile pregnancies make it seem." According to Welsh, "teenage mothers are less likely to finish school and more likely to live in poverty; their children are more likely to have difficulties in school and with the law; and on and on."

Since 1990, teen birth rates declined by 36% until 2006, when rates increased by 3%, the first rise in 15 years, Welsh writes. According to Welsh, "most of the rise is due to pregnancies among Hispanic girls." He adds that Sarah Brown, director of the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, has said that Hispanics have the highest teen pregnancy rates and teen birth rates of any racial or ethnic groups in the U.S. According to the Virginia Department of Health, 204 pregnancies occurred among teens in Alexandria in 2006, resulting in 102 births and 99 abortions, Welsh writes, adding that teen pregnancy rates among Hispanics "were the highest of any group." He writes that "almost every adult involved" in assisting pregnant teens at T.C. Williams "seems to be at a loss, especially in the face of the rising birth rate among Hispanics."

According to Welsh, few of the teenage mothers at T.C. Williams have health insurance, and many participate in free and reduced school lunch programs. Therefore, "when they get pregnant, a whole tax-supported industry kicks into action," he writes. According to Welsh, teen mothers ages 13 and older in Virginia can access no-cost reproductive services, an assigned nurse from the state Health Department, transportation assistance from Resource Mothers, day care services from the Campagna Center and help from a school dietitian. In addition, the federal Women, Infants and Children program provides no-cost formula and groceries for teen mothers and their children. According to Welsh, the National Campaign reports that teen pregnancy in the U.S. cost taxpayers $9.1 billion in 2004. Of that sum, teens ages 17 and younger accounted for $8.6 billion, or an average of $4,080 per teen mother each year, Welsh writes. According to Brown, school sex education programs are varied across the country and include everything from education about HIV/AIDS to peer counseling to abstinence-only education, Welsh writes, adding "No one really knows what's working where."

"On the surface, Alexandria seems to be striving to stem teen pregnancy" with sex education courses, workshops and clinics providing birth control, Welsh writes, adding, "But none of this coalesces to hit teens with the message that getting pregnant is a disaster." According to Welsh, when a teen girl becomes pregnant, "the school leaps in to do everything for her," such as providing access to a day care center and referrals for further assistance. However, Welsh asks, "Is it possible that all this assistance -- with little or no comment about the kids' actions -- has the unintended effect of actually encouraging them to get pregnant?" He adds, "Are we making it easier for girls to make a bad choice and helping them avoid the truth about the consequences?" Nancy Runton, school nurse at T.C. Williams, said there is a "myth" that teen pregnancies are accidental, but "many of them aren't." According to Runton, teen pregnancy can be "a status thing," and some girls make "pregnancy pacts" in which they agree to become pregnant together. Robert Wolverton, medical director of a local teen health clinic, said that many girls and their families do not see a problem with being unmarried and having a child at age 16 or 17. However, Welsh writes, "[a]s upset as I get at the recklessness I see in some of the girls and their boyfriends, I can't begrudge" a teenage mother the "help she needs" to raise her children (Welsh, Washington Post, 12/14).

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