Impacts of Teen Pregnancy
In 2015, 1,285 Idaho girls, ages 15-19. Of those, 150 occurred in Southeastern Idaho Public Health’s eight counties. Adolescent pregnancies carry health, social, and economic costs, not only for the mother and child, but for the whole community.
- Many adolescents do not seek medical care for their pregnancies, increasing the likelihood of significant health problems for the mother and child.
- Children born to teen mothers are more likely to have mental and physical health problems.
- Babies of teen mothers have lower birth weights.
- Fifty-percent of teen mothers drop out of high school and do not return.
- Sons of teen mothers are more likely to end up in prison.
- Daughters of teen mothers are more likely to become young mothers themselves.
- Unplanned teen pregnancies cost Idaho taxpayers approximately $39 million a year in Medicaid, foster care, and incarceration. Nationally, teen childbearing costs taxpayers at least $94 billion.
- Eighty-percent of teen mothers who drop out of high school end up living in poverty and/or on welfare.
“Despite declines in teen birth rates, almost 172,000 babies were born to young women between the age of 15 and 19 in 2019 (The National Campaign, 2021).
Teen childbearing can carry health, economic, and social costs for mothers and their children. Teen births in the US have declined, but still more than 194,377 infants were born to teens ages 15 to 19 in 2018. The good news is that more teens are waiting to have sex, between 1991 and 2018 teens who had ever had sexual intercourse dropped by almost 16%. Only 54% of those who are sexually active are using condoms and 11% are using the pill. However, condoms and birth control pills are less effective at preventing pregnancy when not used consistently and correctly. Intrauterine devices (IUDs) and implants, known as Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC), are the most effective types of birth control for teens. LARC is safe to use, does not require taking a pill each day or doing something each time before having sex, and can prevent pregnancy for 3 to 10 years, depending on the method. Less than 1% of LARC users would become pregnant during the first year of use.
