teenagers in the United States at higher risk of pregnancy

teenagers in the United States at higher risk of pregnancy

( Reply 1). 150 words, citaton, reference, no plagio

Risk Factors

Several factors put teenagers in the United States at higher risk of pregnancy. Among these factors are socioeconomic in nature like the education or poverty level (Faulkner, A. 2018). This includes limited access to health and sex education. Other health disparities that contribute include “few opportunities in a teen’s community for positive youth involvement, neighborhood racial segregation, and neighborhood physical disorder (e.g., graffiti, abandoned vehicles, litter, alcohol containers, cigarette butts, glass on the ground)” (CDC, 2019).

Impacts of Pregnancy

According to Faulkner, if a child is born to a teen mother, they in turn have a higher chance of becoming a teen parent themselves. They are also at higher risk of “poor performance in school, including increased dropout rates, health problems, incarceration, or unemployment” (Faulkner, A. 2018). At birth these infants are more likely to be born with health issues and low birth weights.

Society at large is effected by this issue. Teenage mothers are less likely to seek medical care during the pregnancy, increasing chances for complications to the mother and child. This, in turn, contributed to the 9.4 billion dollars paid by taxpayers to support care through services like Medicare (Southeastern Idaho Public Health, 2019). Unfortunately, other services like the U.S. foster care system are utilized in part to care for the infants born to teenage mothers.

Teenage mothers themselves are often negatively affected by this issue. Roughly fifty percent of teen moms drop out of school and do not re-enroll (Southeastern Idaho Public Health, 2019). Teenage mothers often incur life-long socioeconomic struggles due to a lack to access to education and the expenses of raising a child.

Community Resources (2)

In the state of Idaho, there are resources that are publicly funded that help to prevent teen pregnancy as well as offer assistance to pregnant teenage child. One of these is The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. This organization works to inform and educate the public about health issues like teen pregnancy, birth control options, and sexually transmitted infections (Idaho Department of Health & Welfare, 2019). Another resource in Idaho the Panhandle Health District. This organization has clinics as well as online resources and classes for public high school students.

Idaho STATS

According to the CDC, although the state is ranked 25th for teen pregnancy, the live birth rate of babies born to teenage mothers is decreasing. 2017 saw 18.6 per 1,000 live births to teenage mothers aged fifteen to nineteen years old (CDC, 2019). This is a 39% decreased from the teen pregnancy rate recorded in 2007 (Panhandle Health District, 2019).

Reasons for change

This decrease is attributed to better access to health care for the teenage population and better health education in Idaho’s public schools. Recent data also shows that Idaho’s teens who self-report are waiting longer to have sex and higher rates of sexually active teenagers are using birth control in the form of condoms and oral contraceptives( Southeastern Idaho Public Health, 2019).

References

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. (2019). Stats of the State of Idaho . Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/idaho/idaho.htm

Faulkner, A. (2018). Adolencent Assessment. In Health Assessment: Foundations for Effect Practice. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs434vn/health-assessment-foundations-for-effective-practice/v1.1/#/chapter/3

Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. (2019). Sexual Health . Retrieved from https://idahoteenpregnancy.com/sexual-health/

Panhandle Health District. (2019). Teen Pregnancy Prevention . Retrieved from http://panhandlehealthdistrict.org/teen-pregnancy-prevention/

Southeastern Idaho Public Health . (2019). Impacts of teen preganancy . Retrieved from https://www.siphidaho.org/rephealth/app_impacts.php

(Reply2 ) 150 words reference, citation, no plagio

Precursors/risk factors for teen pregnancy

The adolescence phase of development can be a rollercoaster of emotion. They have an underdeveloped capacity for decision making and a lack of emotional maturity. As a result of poor decisions and an increase in at-risk behaviors that may lead to teen pregnancy (Falkner, 2018). There are several reasons associated with teen pregnancy, including socioeconomic factors such as poverty level and education. Less favorable socioeconomic conditions, such as low education and low-income levels of a teen’s family, may contribute to high teen birth rates. It is also evident that teens in child welfare systems are at higher risk of teen pregnancy and birth than other groups. For example, young women living in foster care are more than twice as likely to become pregnant than those not in foster care. Children born to teenage mothers are also at risk for teenage pregnancy (CDC, 2019).

Risk/impact of teen pregnancy for Mom, baby society

Pregnancy and birth are significant contributors to high school dropout rates among girls. The children of teenage mothers are more likely to have lower school achievement, and to drop out of high school, have more health problems, be incarcerated at some time during adolescence. Possibly the newborn will have low birth weight or premature birth, and it is highly possible that they give birth as a teenager and face unemployment as a young adult (CDC, 2019)

Community or State Resources for teen pregnancy

Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento’s Sutter Teen Programs reach out to Sacramento County teens who are pregnant or parenting. Teens work with a case manager who provides guidance and resources when they are pregnant or parenting. The center also shares information on the education and medical rights of pregnant and parenting teens currently in school. The resource also offers information on where teen parents can access support resources such as finding child care, finding support groups, financial benefits, and recommendations to stay healthy. Address to reach out is Sutter Teen Programs, 1625 Stockton Blvd., Suite 210, Sacramento, CA 95816, (916) 887-4031 (Sutter Health, 2019).

Statistical data- Discuss teen pregnancy rates in the area over the last ten years, whether they have risen or fallen IN YOUR State and possible reasons for the change

Overall, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is substantially higher than in other western industrialized nations. According to the latest data from the California Department of Public Health, California’s teen birth rate is a record low of 15.7 births per 1,000 females between ages 15 -19, That’s an 11 percent decline between 2015 and 2016 and a 66 percent drop since 2000.

In California in 2016, 15,800 children were born to mothers ages 18-19; 5,622 were born to mothers ages 15 -17; and an additional 195 were born to mothers under age 15 (California Healthline, 2018). The reason for the drop is successful efforts to provide information about sex education and birth control, availability of contraceptives, education to parents to talk to children about sex education, behavior, and safety (California Healthline, 2018).

Reference.

California Healthline (2018).Teen Birth Rate In California. Retrieved from https://californiahealthline.org/multimedia/teen-birth-rate-in-california/

Centers of Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2019). About Teen Pregnancy. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/about/index.htm

Falkner, A. (2018) Adolescent Assessment. In Grand Canyon University (Ed.), Health Assessment: Foundations for Effective Practice. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs434vn/health-assessment-foundations-for-effective- practice/v1.1/#/chapter/3

Sutter Health (2019). Sutter Teen Programs. Retrieved from https://www.sutterhealth.org/services/pregnancy-childbirth/teen-smcs