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 Teen Pregnancy: Issues and Challenges
Every year in the United States 800,000 to 900,000 young girls become pregnant. These are kids in junior high and high school or just graduated. Or they dropped out of school. Some are married and choosing to have children, others get pregnant and get married afterwards. Most are unmarried and do not intend to marry.
Adolescent pregnancy and childbearing have been associated with adverse health and social consequences for young
women and their children. Taxpayer dollars bear the burden of those outcomes over the life of those individuals adversely affected.
Educators and social service providers have noted a downward trend in the nurnber of teenage pregnancies in recent years. They are not at all sure why this is the case. Some have said that the emphasis on health education: use of condoms, easy access to birth control, and fear of STDs and MDS. Others point to the promotion of abstinence-only programs that encourage young people to delay sexual activity until marriage.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that there are still more births to teens in the U.S. than in any other industrialized country in the world, and the outcomes reveal a population that is at risk in our society. We feel that our intervention in a young mom's life, at the level of parenting skills, life skills and spiritual development goes a long way to significantly alter the negative outcomes that might occur without the guidance, support, nurturing, and spiritual encouragement that we offer.
Since our single moms have already had a child, we strongly encourage them to delay further sexual activity until they are married. Our married moms are instructed on how to make wise decisions regarding the future planning of their families. We have worked with the dads and continue to do so when we have the opportunity.
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