Teen Pregnancy Statistics
• 273,105 babies were born to women ages 15 to 19 in 2013
• There were 26.5 births for every 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19 in 2013
• 89 percent of teenage parents are unmarried
• Approximately 77 percent of teenage pregnancies are unplanned
• It is estimated that 15 percent of teen pregnancies end in miscarriage
• Roughly 30 percent of teenage pregnancies end in abortion
• Parenthood is the leading reason that teen girls drop out of school. More than 50 percent of teen mothers never graduate from high school. While there are increasingly more programs to mitigate this, it is important to note that a lack of education can lead to a lifetime of poverty in families without support.
• About 25 percent of teen moms have a 2nd child within 24 months of their first baby. This is largely due to misconceptions about the ability to get pregnant right after having a baby.
• When it comes to college education, less than 2 percent of teen moms can earn degree by age 30.
• One of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the western industrialized world is found in the United States, largely, it is thought, due to false beliefs about conception, and a general lack of knowledge about sex and pregnancy in teens.
• In 2011, the teen birth rate in the United States fell to the lowest level recorded in nearly 70 years of tracking teen childbearing.
• In 2008, the teen pregnancy rate among African American and Hispanic teen girls, ages 15 to 19, was over two and a half times higher than the teen pregnancy rate among Caucasian teen girls of the same age group.
• 8 out of 10 teen dads don’t marry the mother of their child leaving the mother and/or grandparents to rear the child.
• Roughly 4 in 10 teenage girls who had sex at 13 or 14 report sex was unwanted or involuntary meaning either they were pressured into it by peers, or they were raped outright.
• A sexually active teen who doesn’t use contraceptives has a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant within a year. Teens are often at the height of fertility and “just once” can be all it takes to end up with an unexpected pregnancy.
Are you considering placing a child for adoption? Not sure what to do next? First, know that you are not alone. Visit Adoption.org or call 1-800-ADOPT-98 to speak to one of our Options Counselors to get compassionate, nonjudgmental support. We are here to assist you in any way we can.
