In developed countries, teenage pregnancy – when women under the age of majority become pregnant – is a big concern. Being a mother this early can be disruptive to life, and can affect the ability of the young woman to care for her child. Often, the pregnant teenager's parents are forced to take a role as caregivers, since she's not prepared to have a child. Recently, with the rise of programs limiting sex education, the rate of births to teenage mothers has gone up significantly. Poor education, increased sexual activity, and many other factors may be contributors to this trend. While teen pregnancy statistics have generally been on the rise for the past decade and a half, this "baby boomlet" is reason for concern for many. As many as one out of every three girls in the United States will become pregnant before the age of 20, though not all will give birth. The reasons for this include deliberate abortion, as well as miscarriage.
The risk of a miscarriage, as well as a premature birth, goes up for younger mothers. Teen mothers are twice as likely to give birth to a baby prematurely than mothers who have finished maturing physically. In this case, premature birth is defined as birth before the thirty-seventh week of pregnancy. Since premature babies are at risk for many health problems, like disabilities, this is a concern. In many cases, teenage pregnancy occurs in girls of lower economic class, meaning that the state carries much of the burden of their pregnancies and care for their infants.
Even if a child born from a teenage pregnancy comes to term, the likelihood of low birth weight or other problems is much higher. Younger mothers are likelier to have lighter babies, which are at risk for neurological problems, respiratory diseases and defects, and problems with their intestines. Within the first year, babies born at a low weight are twenty times more likely to die than babies born at a normal weight. In addition to these factors caused by the physical youth of teen mothers, they're more likely to engage in risky lifestyles, too. Smoking, drinking, and higher rates of sexually transmitted infections can affect mothers and infants adversely. Many, but not all, teen mothers are using or have used drugs in the past.
This doesn't mean that all women who have teenage pregnancies are bad mothers, or are not equipped to take care of their babies. It's normal in most undeveloped areas of the world for the first pregnancy to occur when the mother is still a teenager. However, culturally, a girl in a developed country such as the United States who becomes pregnant is at a disadvantage, and so is her child. Reducing the rate of unplanned teenage pregnancies is an important part of raising the general quality of life for children, and of saving money used in social services. Greater education is an important part of this.
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