More information available at the following links:

Kids Count | National Physicans Center
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | Abstinence Education

Facts and Stats of Teen Pregnancy

 

 

• 50% of adolescents who have a baby become pregnant again within two years of the baby’s birth.

 

• Only 41% of teenage mothers complete high school, making it less likely for teen mothers to have the skills necessary to qualify for a well-paying job.

• Almost 50% of all teen mothers and more than 75% of unmarried teen mothers begin receiving welfare within five years of the birth of their first child.

• Nearly 80% of fathers of children born to teen mothers do not marry the mothers.

• Teen fathers pay less than $800 in child support.

• Children born to teen mothers are more likely to have low birth weight and related problems such as infant death, blindness, and mental retardation.

• Children of teen parents often receive inadequate parenting, are subject to abuse and neglect, and often have insufficient health care.

• Children of teen parents are 50% more likely to repeat a grade, perform poorly on standardized tests, and ultimately less likely to complete high school.

Sources:
1. National Vital Statistics, Vol. 50, No. 50, 2002.
2. National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (2002). Not Just Another Single Issues, Washington DC.
3. Maynard, R.A. (1996). Kids Having Kids: A Robin Hood Foundation Special Report on the Costs of Adolescent Childbearing. New York, Robin Hood Foundation.

What is Positive Choices doing about this?

In 2004, Positive Choices reached over 4,560 nine to fourteen year-olds, 1,316 fifteen to seventeen year-olds, and 1,080 parents through 25,938 visits. Services were provided in 24 public and parochial schools, 20 community centers and in participants’ homes. Positive Choices expanded the geographical area served this year to underserved counties through the Diocese of Toledo resulting in services to Wyandot, Seneca, Ottawa, Huron, Erie, and Sandusky Counties. Special areas of services include sexuality education for special needs youth, both in the classroom and after school. Positive Choices is developing a curriculum, specifically for that population. In addition, Positive Choices provides services in the women’s shelters (Aurora, Beach, and Harbor) in order to assist those women with changing their lives and making healthy decisions for themselves. The quantitative outcome evaluation shows improvement for all of the project’s goals. The youth indicate that participation in Positive Choices helps them to evaluate their decisions and choices based on the consequences, and that it makes a difference in their lives.

Positive Choices was developed by St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center Pediatric Services and was based on over 15 years of experience in teen pregnancy prevention for high-risk youth. The overall goal of Positive Choices is to reduce sexual activity, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and births in teenagers residing in Northwest Ohio. The purpose of Positive Choices is to promote abstinence from sexual activity by providing adolescents with factual information and practical skills. The information is presented by adult and peer educators through both in-class and after-school programming that is age and gender specific, and culturally appropriate. The program also includes peer mentoring and parent involvement to ensure that teens understand the consequences of premature sexual activity and that they have support from both their parents and peers as they incorporate newly acquired skills into their daily lives.

Positive Choices has four primary components: 1) in-school education based on nationally recognized, evidence based curricula; 2) ongoing after-school and summer education and supportive activities, 3) peer education and mentoring, and 4) parent involvement. The Positive Choices educational sessions and activities emphasize assets and character traits that support responsible decision making in all aspects of their lives. Positive Choices staff includes a diverse group of 16 male and female, certified abstinence educators most with over five years of experience. Their knowledge, experience, and passion for the message and the youth they serve make Positive Choices the premier abstinence education program in Northwest Ohio.