Rates of adolescent childbearing in the United States are two to ten times higher than in comparable industrialized democracies. Although many families do not need assistance or information from organized programs, many other families want or need information and/or services that would help their children postpone sex, pregnancy, and parenthood.

• According to an article written by Child Trends, rates of adolescent childbearing in the United States are two to ten times higher than in comparable industrialized democracies. Despite several decades of effort to prevent adolescent pregnancy, little progress has been made. The teen birth rate among school-age adolescents 15-17 was essentially the same in 1993 as it was in 1970--39 births per 1,000 females aged 15-17. Although many families do not need assistance or information from organized programs, many other families want or need information and/or services that would help their children to postpone sex, pregnancy, and parenthood. Much has been learned over the past several decades that can direct and inform the next generation of interventions.¹

¹Next Steps and Best Bets: Approaches to Preventing Adolescent Childbearing, Child Trends, January 17, 1996, pp. 1-20.

Send Page To a Friend