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Teen birth rates hit absolute historical lows

Einzige

Elitist as Hell.
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Lower than the 1950s era of Traditional Family Values And Abstinence, even. (Which isn't all that surprising, as teen pregnancy rates in the Halcyon Days Of Morality were more common than they've been at any point in the last decade.)

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_facto...e_reason_is_contraception_not_abstinence.html

With the ever-present buzz of cultural panic about young people, especially young women, having sex, you'd be forgiven for thinking we're living in the midst of some kind of sexual health pandemic, with our high schools and even junior high schools overflowing with the swollen bellies of pregnant teenagers. The reality, according to a Centers for Disease Control report released Friday, is that the teen birth rate has plunged downward yet again, falling 6 percent between 2011 and 2012. It has never been lower, as least not in the 73 years the government has been tracking it.

...

So what's changed? It certainly wasn't that teenagers en masse decided to stop having sex. Teen sex rates have stayed about the same since 2002. Abortions for teenagers haven't gone up, either. As much as the Sandra Fluke haters will cringe to hear it, the difference is contraception use. Speaking to NBC News, Dr. John Santelli, a professor of population and family health at Columbia University, attributed the change to a greater emphasis on getting effective contraception to teens, especially long-acting methods like the IUD.
 
I would take issue to some aspects of the study

Generally the age group included in the study. I would have removed the 18 and 19 year olds from the study, as it was common 40 years ago to get married at that age. It certainly would not have the negative effects of teen pregnancy both in the 50s and now. 13-17 year olds would be the age group I would have included in the study, especially when trying to draw conclusions regarding abstinence and birth control
 
Its all that abstinence education!!!! Meanwhile, back in reality....

This is a great victory for sane approaches to teens having sex.
 
I'm still waiting for the punchline.

It seems that whenever the term 'birth rates' is employed, a scathing attack on immigration isn't far behind.
 
I'm still waiting for the punchline.

It seems that whenever the term 'birth rates' is employed, a scathing attack on immigration isn't far behind.

Well, the Irish are becoming a huge problem. Like we really need more potato farms and Catholic churches around.
 
I would take issue to some aspects of the study

Generally the age group included in the study. I would have removed the 18 and 19 year olds from the study, as it was common 40 years ago to get married at that age. It certainly would not have the negative effects of teen pregnancy both in the 50s and now. 13-17 year olds would be the age group I would have included in the study, especially when trying to draw conclusions regarding abstinence and birth control

18 and 19 yo's are teenagers.

The only reason to not count them in a study about teen sex is in order to intentionally skew the results
 
Good. Teen pregnancy should be low to none.
 
18 and 19 yo's are teenagers.

The only reason to not count them in a study about teen sex is in order to intentionally skew the results

When the issue of teen pregnancy comes up, is it a concern when a 19 year old gets pregnant? How about when it is a 15 year old?

To my knowledge the concern generally is when the girl is still in school (not uni or college)
 
When the issue of teen pregnancy comes up, is it a concern when a 19 year old gets pregnant? How about when it is a 15 year old?

To my knowledge the concern generally is when the girl is still in school (not uni or college)

When it comes to teen pregnancy, a 19yo pregnant teen counts just as much as 13yo pregnant teen
 
When it comes to teen pregnancy, a 19yo pregnant teen counts just as much as 13yo pregnant teen

Yes when looking at it that way it does count. It just skews the data from what most people would consider to be the issue of concern
 
Yes when looking at it that way it does count. It just skews the data from what most people would consider to be the issue of concern

I consider the number of children being raised without a father figure in their life as a concern, regardless of the mother's age. In that area we are not doing so well. I agree that contraception and abortions are a net positive.
 
When the issue of teen pregnancy comes up, is it a concern when a 19 year old gets pregnant? How about when it is a 15 year old?

To my knowledge the concern generally is when the girl is still in school (not uni or college)

As the age at which a person becomes independently financially stable and able to raise a child keeps increasing, yes 19 year olds matter. For the same reason as anyone else who can't support a child. Graduating from high school doesn't suddenly grant that to a person.
 
When the issue of teen pregnancy comes up, is it a concern when a 19 year old gets pregnant? How about when it is a 15 year old?

To my knowledge the concern generally is when the girl is still in school (not uni or college)

A 19-year-old having a kid is usually subject to all the same pitfalls as a younger teen: they often wind up, and stay, in poverty. They usually don't get a degree, so they are raising a child on minimum wage. They're often doing it alone, because most 19-year-olds aren't married these days, and teenagers are, well... teenagers. Their relationships are unstable, even if (especially if, actually) they've reproduced.

In terms of what you take home, if you don't have a college degree, it really doesn't matter if you have a high school diploma or not. Whether you dropped out, got a diploma, or got a GED, you'll be in the bottom of the wage pool either way.

What matters these days is whether you have a degree. And a 19-year-old mother probably won't.
 
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As the age at which a person becomes independently financially stable and able to raise a child keeps increasing, yes 19 year olds matter. For the same reason as anyone else who can't support a child. Graduating from high school doesn't suddenly grant that to a person.

Agreed. In some cases, graduating from college doesn't grant that to a person either. Not all college graduates get offerings for well-paying jobs immediately.

I think it's safe to say that a 19-year-old woman who hasn't yet graduated from college and who doesn't have ANY job probably doesn't want to get pregnant or raise a child, not at that point in life anyway.
 
A 19-year-old having a kid is usually subject to all the same pitfalls as a younger teen: they often wind up, and stay, in poverty. They usually don't get a degree, so they are raising a child on minimum wage. They're often doing it alone, because most 19-year-olds aren't married these days, and teenagers are, well... teenagers. Their relationships are unstable, even if (especially if, actually) they've reproduced.

In terms of what you take home, if you don't have a college degree, it really doesn't matter if you have a high school diploma or not. Whether you dropped out, got a diploma, or got a GED, you'll be in the bottom of the wage pool either way.

What matters these days is whether you have a degree. And a 19-year-old mother probably won't.

Totally agree, on all points.
 
It's all the new gadgets and technology. They can just have face-time sex now.
 
Lower than the 1950s era of Traditional Family Values And Abstinence, even. (Which isn't all that surprising, as teen pregnancy rates in the Halcyon Days Of Morality were more common than they've been at any point in the last decade.)

Teen birth rate hits all-time low. The reason is contraception, not abstinence.



I assume this will be counted as a win, but I don't think it is. I think teen birth rates is a meaningless statistic. There's nothing wrong with being a teenage mother.

I'm much more concerned about the number of kids born out of wedlock, the rising number of divorces, etc.
 
A 19-year-old having a kid is usually subject to all the same pitfalls as a younger teen: they often wind up, and stay, in poverty. They usually don't get a degree, so they are raising a child on minimum wage. They're often doing it alone, because most 19-year-olds aren't married these days, and teenagers are, well... teenagers. Their relationships are unstable, even if (especially if, actually) they've reproduced.

In terms of what you take home, if you don't have a college degree, it really doesn't matter if you have a high school diploma or not. Whether you dropped out, got a diploma, or got a GED, you'll be in the bottom of the wage pool either way.

What matters these days is whether you have a degree. And a 19-year-old mother probably won't.

They don't wind up and stay in poverty because they're teenage mothers, they wind up and stay in poverty because they're single mothers.

Wind the clock back to the 1950's and before, and teens getting pregnant was much more common. However, they usually got married, and the families wouldn't end up any poorer than the ones who chose to wait.

On the other hand, the literature seems to suggest that babies born to younger mothers are healthier and stronger.

So I don't see the fascination with delayed pregnancy and marriage except that it's culturally vogue.
 
I recently graduated from college and I am not married and have no children. If I could do it over again, I still would not have children.

I couldn't imagine being a single mom and working the hours I work now.




Agreed. In some cases, graduating from college doesn't grant that to a person either. Not all college graduates get offerings for well-paying jobs immediately.

I think it's safe to say that a 19-year-old woman who hasn't yet graduated from college and who doesn't have ANY job probably doesn't want to get pregnant or raise a child, not at that point in life anyway.
 
Children born to teen mom's are mostly born out of wedlock...



I assume this will be counted as a win, but I don't think it is. I think teen birth rates is a meaningless statistic. There's nothing wrong with being a teenage mother.

I'm much more concerned about the number of kids born out of wedlock, the rising number of divorces, etc.
 
Children born to teen mom's are mostly born out of wedlock...

True. I mean it doesn't matter either way to me, but it just seems like a meaningless thing to focus in on. What we should be concerned about is the number of kids that are being born out of wedlock, which is skyrocketing at an alarming pace.

The age of the mother is irrelevant, in my opinion, as long as there isn't statutory rape involved or anything like that.

For the whole teen pregnancy thing we just need to remember our 1950's ethics - if you knock a girl up, you marry her.
 
They don't wind up and stay in poverty because they're teenage mothers, they wind up and stay in poverty because they're single mothers.

Wind the clock back to the 1950's and before, and teens getting pregnant was much more common. However, they usually got married, and the families wouldn't end up any poorer than the ones who chose to wait.

On the other hand, the literature seems to suggest that babies born to younger mothers are healthier and stronger.

So I don't see the fascination with delayed pregnancy and marriage except that it's culturally vogue.

Actually, one of the reasons why so many single mothers are poor is that they were poor before they became pregnant and pregnancy doesn't make it any easier to get out of poverty

And you are correct that physically, there's nothing wrong with having a baby as a teen. However, in our society and economy, it's somewhat rare for a teen to be making enough money to raise a child and the idea of extended families raising a child is not the norm
 
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