I NEED A POSITIVE COMMENT BASED IN THIS ARGUMENT. BETWEEN 150-200 WORDS
Teen pregnancy is considered high risk to the mother, baby, and society. Risk factors and precursors to adolescent pregnancy include: young age, poor school performance, economic disadvantage, older male partner, children who come from single-parent or teen-parent households. Additionally, a mother who has her first child during adolescence is more likely to have more children overall, and is more likely to live in poverty (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2017). Teen mothers are more likely than older mothers to have a second child within two years of giving birth t their first child. Infants born to teen moms are at greater risk for developmental delays, girls born to teen mothers are more likely to become teen mothers themselves, and boys born to teen moms have a higher than average rate of being arrested and jailed (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2017). Additionally, teen pregnancy is associated with higher risk of illness and death for both the mother and the infant (U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2017).
State level: Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan offers pregnancy support, pregnancy counseling, pregnancy resources, and adoption information (Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, 2016).
Community level: Columbia County Pregnancy Resource Center offers free pregnancy testing, adoption information and referrals, baby clothing, counseling and pregnancy education (Columbia County Health and Human Services, 2016).
Columbia County teen pregnancy rates past 10 years: The rate of teen births in Columbia County is 22.8 births per 1,000 births (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015)
Wisconsin teen pregnancy rates past 10 years: In 2011 (the most recent statistics I could find), there were 4,561 births to mothers under 20 years of age. This made the teen birth rate 23.2 of every 1,000 births (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office of Adolescent Health, 2017). Also in 2011, Wisconsin was ranked 41st of the states in teen birth rate (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office of Adolescent Health, 2017). These rates are down 47% from 1991 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office of Adolescent Health, 2017).
The decrease in teen pregnancy and birth rates may be due to increased education, increased use of birth control and condoms, or increased abstinence.
References
Columbia County Health and Human Services. (2016). Community resource guide. Retrieved from http://www.co.columbia.wi.us/columbiacounty/Portals/7/Resource%20Guide.pdf
Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. (2016). Pregnancy support. Retrieved from https://www.lsswis.org/LSS/Programs-Services/Adoption/Pregnancy-Support
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Teen births. Retrieved from https://wwwn.cdc.gov/CommunityHealth/profile/currentprofile/WI/Columbia/22
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Office of Adolescent Health. (2017). Wisconsin adolescent reproductive health facts. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/reproductive-health/teen-pregnancy/
U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2017). Teenage pregnancy. Retrieved from https://medlineplus.gov/teenagepregnancy.html
