A baby changes everything: The true cost of teen pregnancy’s uptick »

Good news and bad news - abortion rates amongst teens are on the rise, but so is the rate of teenage pregnancy in the US. For being such a smart and intelligent country, we are simply dumb when it comes to preventing adolescent pregnancy. So dumb in fact that the United States has “the highest rate [of teen pregnancy] in the industrialized world.”

The incline in young mothers negatively affects our economy due to tax dollars being spent on programs related to their care (welfare, Medicaid, housing assistance, etc.), but also drastically changes the lives of the new moms. Unfortunately having a babies puts a huge strain on their ability to finish and/or go on to higher education, so we are left with these statistics.

…teens who have a baby are less likely to finish high school than their peers. Only 40 percent of teen moms who give birth at age 17 or earlier finish high school, according research compiled by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. About 23 percent of the younger moms go on to earn a GED. The gap is even bigger when it comes to higher education.

The negative cycle then continues on with their children. Daughters of teenage mothers often become teen mom themselves and sons become incarcerated.

Maybe I’m taking on a huge undertaking, but one day I really hope that by me speaking out and putting these statistics and issues in the forefront, I can help reduce these alarming rates. The wheels in my head are turning all the time on things we as a people can do to educate young couples and remind them they have more options other than raising a child so young, and most importantly, how to prevent such a baby in the first place with effective and even backup methods of birth control.

Now I must get back to my 9-5 job so I can save money to fund whatever action-plan I decide to undertake.

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