Facts and Stats - - About Teenage Pregnancy

Facts and Stats You Should Know About Teenage Pregnancy
(Ages 10-19 years)

• Almost 1 million teens in the U.S. get pregnant each year.
• 20% of graduating senior girls will have been pregnant at least once before graduation.
• Only one out of every three teenage parents graduate from high school.
• 80% of teen mothers will accept welfare at some point in their lives.
• 6 out of every 10 teenagers who have had sex say they wish they had waited.
• One-third of girls in the United States will become pregnant at least once by the age of 20.
• 3 million teens each year contract at least one STD -- that's one teen every 10 seconds.
• The CDC estimates that Approximately 20 million Americans are currently infected with HPV, and another 6.2 million people become newly infected each year.
• At least 50% of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. HPV causes genital warts and cervical cancer.
• The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2008, 11,070 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer in the U.S.
• One out of every four (25%) teenagers who are sexually active will contract Chlamydia, and over half of them will never have any symptoms. If left untreated, these people may never able to have children.
• Chlamydia is the most frequently reported bacterial sexually transmitted disease in the United States. In 2006, 1,030,911 chlamydial infections were reported to CDC from 50 states and the District of Columbia. Under-reporting is substantial because most people with chlamydia are not aware of their infections and do not seek testing. Also, testing is not often done if patients are treated for their symptoms.
• Like the disease itself, the damage that chlamydia causes is often "silent."In women, untreated infection can spread into the uterus or fallopian tubes and cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). This happens in up to 40 percent of women with untreated chlamydia. PID can cause permanent damage to the fallopian tubes, uterus, and surrounding tissues. The damage can lead to chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and potentially fatal ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the uterus).
• Women infected with chlamydia are up to five times more likely to become infected with HIV, if exposed.
• Nationwide, at least 45 million people ages 12 and older, or one out of five adolescents and adults, have had genital HSV infection. Over the past decade, the percent of Americans with genital herpes infection in the U.S. has decreased.
• Genital HSV-2 infection is more common in women (approximately one out of four women) than in men (almost one out of eight). This may be due to male-to-female transmission being more likely than female-to-male transmission
• There is no cure for H.P.V., Herpes, and HIV.
• While condoms, when used consistently and correctly, are effective in preventing pregnancy and the transfer of most fluid-based STDs up to 85% of the time, there is no evidence that condoms offer any protection against Genital Herpes or HPV.
• 66% of teen pregnancies occur when alcohol is involved.

Four Main Causes of Teen Pregnancy

• Poverty
• Dysfunctional family
• Early school failure
• Early behavior problems

Montgomery County*

• 514 babies were born to teenagers in 2007.
• These babies will fill 30 kindergarten classrooms in 2012.
• There were 772 known pregnancies to teens in 2007.
• Montgomery County's teen pregnancy rate is among the highest in Alabama with 46.8 pregnancies per 1,000 girls ages 10-19.
• Montgomery County spends more than $88 Million each year in lost earnings and tax revenues, Welfare/Care, and Juvenile Justice costs.

Autauga County*

• 91 babies were born to teenagers in 2007.
• These babies will fill 6 kindergarten classrooms in 2012.
• There were 138 known pregnancies to teens in 2007.
• Autauga County's teen pregnancy rate is 38.6 pregnancies per 1,000 girls ages 10-19.
• Autauga County spends more than $10.6 Million each year in lost earnings and tax revenues, Welfare/Care, and Juvenile Justice costs.

Elmore County*

• 129 babies were born to teenagers in 2007.
• These babies will fill 9 kindergarten classrooms in 2012.
• There were 177 known pregnancies to teens in 2007.
• Elmore County's teen pregnancy rate is 35.3 pregnancies per 1,000 girls ages 10-19.
• Elmore County spends more than $14.2 Million each year in lost earnings and tax revenues, Welfare/Care, and Juvenile Justice costs.

Lowndes County*

• 40 babies were born to teenagers in 2007.
• These babies will fill more than 3 kindergarten classrooms in 2012.
• There were 53 known pregnancies to teens in 2007.
• Lowndes County's teen pregnancy rate is 54.5 pregnancies per 1,000 girls ages 10-19.
• Lowndes County spends more than $5.4 Million each year in lost earnings and tax revenues, Welfare/Care, and Juvenile Justice costs.

State of Alabama*

• Alabama has the fifteenth highest teen pregnancy rate in the United States.
• Montgomery County has the fourteenth highest Teen Pregnancy Rate in Alabama.
• 8,776 babies were born to teenagers in 2007.
• These babies will fill more than 585 kindergarten classrooms in 2012.
• There were 12,398 known pregnancies to teenagers in 2007.
• Alabama's teen pregnancy rate is 39.7 pregnancies per 1,000 girls ages 10-19.
• Alabama spends more than $1.4 Billion each year in lost earnings and tax revenues, Welfare/Care, and Juvenile Justice costs.

United States

• The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births in the western industrialized world.
• More than 820,000 babies are born to teenagers in the US each year. Eight in ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 79% are to unmarried teens.
• One out of every five teenage girls who are sexually active will become pregnant by the age of 18.
• 10% of all 15-19 year olds become pregnant each year.
• 70% of teen pregnancies are fathered by men older than 20.
• 1/4 of teenager mothers have a second child within two years of the first.
• Teen pregnancy costs the United States at least $7 Billion annually.

Consequences of Teen Pregnancy

• Almost 98% of sexually active teens regret early sexual involvement.
• Teen pregnancy is the #1 reason teenage girls go to the hospital.
• 1/3 of pregnant teens received inadequate prenatal care.
• Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school (only one-third receive a high school diploma) and only 1.5% have a college degree by age 30. Teen mothers are more likely to end up on welfare (nearly 80%).
• Teenage girls who are sexually active are three times more likely to become depressed, and teenage boys who are sexually active are twice as likely to become depressed.
• The children of teenage mothers have lower birth weights, are more likely to perform poorly in school, and are at greater risk of abuse and neglect.
• The sons of teen mothers are 13% more likely to end up in prison while teen daughters are 22% more likely to become teen mothers themselves.

You Should Know...

• 47.8% of high school students have had sex at least once. This is a decrease from 54.1% in 1991, but has steadily increased from 45.6% in 2001.
• Prime-time television contains roughly three sexual acts an hour.
• Younger sisters of teen mothers begin having sex at an earlier age than the average teen girl.

*Alabama Department of Public Health Center for Health Statistics
Other statistics taken from:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention
National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy