COMMENTARY | Even though teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. have dropped for the first time since the 1970s, American adults are alarmed about the number of teenage girls who don’t understand how sex and pregnancy work. An alarming new study was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was released this week and the findings were not good.
Teens don’t understand sex
The study showed a true lack of understanding among teenage girls of sex and pregnancy. The study revealed nearly 1 in 3 teens who found themselves pregnant were surprised by the pregnancy because they didn’t think they could get pregnant. One in 3 pregnant teens was under the impression that she was not able to become pregnant, thus demonstrating a clear problem in the way teens are being educated about sex and pregnancy. Even more alarming, was the fact 8 percent of the pregnant teens surveyed believed they or their partner were sterile and pregnancy was impossible. As if it couldn’t get worse, the survey also revealed 22 percent of the pregnant teens surveyed “didn’t mind getting pregnant.”
The U.S. has the highest teen pregnancy rate among developed nations
Even though the U.S. teen pregnancy rates have decreased by 37 percent in the last 20 years, our country’s teen pregnancy rates are as much as nine times higher than those of other developed countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Canada. 46 percent of American teenagers have had sexual intercourse, however, 14 percent of teen girls and 10 percent of teen boys admit to not using any form of birth control.
Inadequate sex education
It is possible that America’s high teen pregnancy rates can be attributed to poor sex education programs in schools. Most sex education programs teach “abstinence only” and may be neglecting to provide valuable and much needed information to teens about contraception and safe sex. Critics of these abstinence only programs, such as advice columnist Dan Savage, believe these programs to blame for the alarming teenage pregnancy rates, yet parents are still reluctant to allow other types of sex education in schools. It may be time for American parents to reevaluate the sex education their children are being given in school.