A Common Occurrence
At the time of this report, 4 in every 10 American girls become pregnant at least once before their 20th birthday.
This KIDS COUNT Indicator Brief puts the topic of teen pregnancy under the microscope. It shares statistics, causes and challenges related to early childbearing and outlines 6 strategies for preventing teen pregnancy in America.
Teen moms are more likely to drop out of school and live in poverty relative to women who postpone childbearing until a later age. At the same time, kids of teen moms are more likely to be born at a low birth weight, experience health problems and developmental delays, be abused or neglected, and perform poorly in school.