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Adolescent pregnancy

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Definition:

Adolescent pregnancy is pregnancy in girls age 19 or younger.

Alternative Names:

Teenage pregnancy; Pregnancy - teenage

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

The rate of adolescent pregnancy has steadily declined since reaching an all-time high in 1990, mostly due to an increase in the use of condoms. In fact, the birth rate among girls ages 10-14 has fallen to the lowest level in almost 50 years. 

Since no form of contraception is completely effective, abstinence (not having sexual intercourse) is the only sure way to prevent pregnancy. A sexually active teenager who does not use contraception has a 90% chance of becoming pregnant within a year. 

Why teenagers have sex, and do so without effective methods of contraception, is a topic of  debate. Suggested reasons include:

• Adolescents become sexually mature (and fertile) approximately 4-5 years before they reach emotional maturity.
• Adolescents today are growing up in a culture in which peers, TV and movies, music, and magazines transmit subtle and obvious messages that unmarried sexual relationships (specifically those involving teenagers) are common, accepted, and even expected.
• Education about responsible sexual behavior and specific, clear information about the consequences of sexual intercourse (including pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and psychosocial effects) are frequently not offered. Therefore, much of the "sex education" that adolescents receive filters through misinformed or uninformed peers.

When compared with other industrialized nations, the United States has the highest rates of pregnancy, abortion , and childbirth among teenagers, despite similar or higher rates of sexual activity in the other countries.

Teens are more likely to become pregnant if they:

• Begin dating early (dating at age 12 is associated with a 91% chance of being sexually involved before age 19, and dating at age 13 is associated with a 56% probability of sexual involvement during adolescence)
• Use alcohol and/or other drugs, including tobacco products
• Drop out of school
• Have no support system or have few friends
• Lack involvement in school, family, or community activities
• Think they have little or no opportunity for success
• Live in a community or attend a school where early childbearing is common and viewed as normal rather than as a cause for concern
• Grow up in poverty
• Have been a victim of sexual abuse or assault
• Have a mother who was 19 or younger when she first gave birth

References:

U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics:Overall Trends, Trends by Race and Ethnicity and State-by-State Information . New York, NY: The Alan Guttmacher Institute; 2004

• Review Date: 2/27/2006
• Reviewed By: Melanie N. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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