The 10 most shocking facts on Teen Pregnancy
Here are the top 10 most shocking facts about
Teen pregnancy:
- In the United States, there are nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies each year, that's about 2000 a day! This means that about 30% of girls get pregnant at least once.
- That 30% is heavily skewed towards minorities. It's estimated that about HALF of Latina and African American teenagers will be pregnant at least once before they're 20.
- Teen girls have a hard time supporting their babies. Raising a baby can cost up to $10,000 in the first year ALONE.
- About 80% of teen fathers don't marry the mom. They also contribute very little to raising the baby. On average, teen dads pay less than $800 a YEAR on child support.
- That 80% number can mean trouble. It's estimated that children who live apart from their dads are 5 times MORE likely to be poor than if they live with both parents.
- Teen pregnancy greatly affects education. Only 51% of teen moms have a high school diploma. The number for those who didn't have a teen birth is closer to 89%.
- Parenthood is the leading cause for teen girls dropping out of school.
- Teen moms are extremely UNLIKELY to go to college. Only about 2% of young teen moms ever get a higher education degree.
- Having a baby in your teens can also affect the baby: The daughters of teen moms are 3 times more likely to become teen moms themselves.
- Sons are also affected. The sons of teen moms are twice as likely to become incarcerated.
