At 16, Maggie Newlend’s life was forever changed when she saw a little plus sign on a pregnancy test.
“I just wasn’t expecting it,” she said even though she admits she had been sexually active for more than a year. “We used protection most of the time, but not all the time obviously.”
Newlend is one of more than 400,000 teens that will give birth in the United States this year, but a new report shows the number of teen moms is decreasing.
According to the report conducted by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, teen birth rates have decreased by 37 percent in the last two decades, but U.S. rates are up to nine times higher than in other developed countries.
“Though we have made progress in reducing teen pregnancy over the past 20 years, still far too many teens are having babies,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Preventing teen pregnancy can protect the health and quality of life of teenagers, their children, and their families throughout the United States.”
The report suggests more education is needed along with affordable birth control options.
“I didn’t talk to anyone about having sex,” Newlend said. “It was a choice I made, one that I didn’t really think all the way through.” Newlend now travels around schools in Minnesota talking to teens about the consequences of sex.
Other interesting findings about teen pregnancy:
