TV Lowers Birthrate (Seriously)
Read the Op-Ed article from the New York Times, 3/20/2014 indicating the TV program “16 and Pregnant”, a reality show on MTV has helped reduce teen pregnancy.
It is important to prevent teens from becoming pregnant because:
- Parenthood is the leading reason teen girls drop out of school
- Less than 2% of teen moms earn a college degree
- About 50% of teens never considered how a pregnancy would affect them
Statistics from The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy– StayTeen.org , the national campaign .org, CDC, Guttmacher Institute .
If you want to teach the realities to girls about how having a baby changes your life and what this baby will require from you, view the ARISE Pregnancy Prevention Curriculum and share it with others you know work with at-risk girls. http://at-riskyouth.org/category/store/p-teens/pt-pregnancy-prevention/
Important Points to Teach Teen Girls;
- Their bodies belong to them and they can say no
- What goes into a healthy relationship
- What the life of a teen mom looks like
ARISE Positivity Cards for At-Risk girls create teachable moments:
View all ARISE Positivity Cards
Adverse Effects of Teen Pregnancy
The following information is taken directly from the National Center for Chronic Disease and Prevention and Health Promotion, 2011:
“The social and economic costs of teen pregnancy and child¬bearing are often high, and these costs can be both immediate and long-term for teen parents and their children. For example, teen pregnancy and childbirth contribute significantly to drop-out rates among high school girls. Only about 50% of teen mothers receive a high school diploma by age 22, compared with nearly 90% of women who did not give birth during adolescence.
Children who are born to teen mothers also experience a wide range of problems. For example, they are more likely to:
- Have fewer skills and be less prepared to learn when they enter kindergarten.
- Have behavioral problems and chronic medical conditions.
- Rely more heavily on publicly funded health care.
- Be incarcerated at some time during adolescence.
- Drop out of high school.
- Give birth as a teenager.
- Be unemployed or underemployed as a young adult.
Teen pregnancy and childbirth cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $9 billion per year because of increased health care and foster care costs, increased incarceration rates among the children of teen parents, and lost tax revenue from teen mothers who earn less money because they have less education.”