Problems of Adolescent Pregnancies

According to 2010 report teen childbearing is associated with adverse health and social outcomes for teen mothers and their children although these outcomes often reflect pre-existing social deficits. Compared with women who delay childbearing until their 20¿s teen mothers are more likely to drop out of school and have low educational attainment to face unemployment, poverty and welfare dependency to experience more rapid repeat pregnancy to become single mothers and to experience divorce if they marry. Infants of teen mothers are more likely to be premature and experience infant mortality. The children of teenage mothers do less well on indicators of health and social wellbeing than do children of older mothers. In recognition of the negative, long-term consequences associated with teenage pregnancy and births the prevention of out-of wedlock pregnancies is a major goal of this nation. Reducing no marital childbearing is one of the explicit goals that were stipulated in the 1996 welfare reform law.