The Rise of Teenage Pregnancy

In a recent article written by Kari Huus, she discusses teenage pregnancy and how it is on the rise once again for the first time in twenty years. She talks with an expecting father named Nate Howell, 19, and his girlfriend Samantha Keith, 17, about their pregnancy and the future of their baby. Nate and Samantha never expected they would be in the situation they are in today. Nate was a high school football player and had attended on playing football at the college level, but because he did not get a scholarship he was unable to attend. Nate was working at a local grocery to help provide for his family and to earn money to attend a community college where he could raise his grades, but now that dream is on hold. Nate is barely making enough money right now to support Samantha and the baby, but he says he will do whatever it takes to make sure his baby has a better life than he had. He is planning on living with Samantha and her parents after the baby is born so they can save money to live on their own and also to buy a car. Nate says he will work in a factory for the rest of his life if it means he will provide a better life for his daughter, which they have already named Alana. Bill Albert, a spokesman for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy says that what Nate is doing is rare, usually the fathers leave the mother to provide for the baby alone. Children who are born to teenage parents are more likely to struggle. These daughters of teenage moms are more likely to have children when they are teenagers than a daughter of an older woman. The reasons for the increase in teenage pregnancy are debatable, but the Guttmacher Institute that one of the reasons is having an abstinence only policy and not properly education these young people on birth control. Samantha notes that she feels these young girls are getting pregnant because they are young and think they are going to be with their boyfriends for the rest of their lives, which is usually not the case. In Samantha and Nate’s case though, it was failed birth control. Nate says that he has a promise ring for Samantha and he plans on marrying her in the future.

I feel that this article is so important because this is a problem that is once again in the rise. I have to side with the Guttmacher Institute and say that teens are not being properly educated in the sex department. When I was in high school the only thing we learned about was abstinence, but I think we need open our eyes and realize that a lot of teens aren’t practicing abstinence so we need to educate them in other options. If we were to give them the education they need to practice safe sex, I feel that the numbers of unplanned teenage pregnancies will start to decrease again. I also agree with Samantha though that these girls are just young and naïve about being in love. I think some girls are alright with getting pregnant because they think they are going to be with their boyfriend for forever, but that is rarely the reality. These girls need a educational sex class where they can explore all the different options of birth control rather than everyone just saying abstinence.