Teen Pregnancy Prevention

Programs

The Issue

  • The U.S. has the highest teen pregnancy rates of any developed country.
  • In the U.S. there were 179,871 teen births during 2018.
  • 1 out of 4 girls will get pregnant at least once before the age of 20.
  • About every 2 minutes a baby is born to a teen mother.
  • The good news is that teen birth rates are decreasing! In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported that teen births were the lowest seen since the end of World War II.
  • In 2018, the teen birth rate in Utah was 13.1 per 1,000 females aged 15-19. This is the 12th lowest rate in the country and represents a 63% decrease since a peak in teen births in 2007.
    Close Up Of Teenage Girl Sitting On Bed At Home Looking At Positive Pregnancy Test

    Why it Matters

    • In 2010, the estimated amount spent on teen childbearing was $9.4 billion in the U.S. In Utah alone, this amount was an estimated $71 million.
    • Only 38% of teen mothers will graduate from high school.
    • 67% of teen mothers will live in poverty.
    • Teen mothers are about twice as likely to not receive early prenatal care.
    • Children of teen mothers are three times more likely to become teen parents themselves.

    (Data from  Power To Decide; Utah's Indicator-Based Information System, Adolescent Births)

    Poor mature mother and small daughter learning indoors at home, poverty concept

    For more information