Get Behind State Program To Curtail Costly, Rising Teen Pregnancy Trend

For most new mothers and fathers, having a baby is one of life’s most rewarding and exciting experiences. And despite the lifestyle and financial challenges that result from starting a family, most parents will tell you that the returns far outweigh any sacrifices they may have to make.

But for one sector of our population - teenagers - an unplanned pregnancy can mean something entirely different.

For the 15-year-old girl in Spokane, it means dropping out of high school to care for an infant. For the 17-year-old girl in Seattle, it means putting her dream of attending college on hold while she works nights to support her baby. For the young father just out of high school, it means providing for not one, but three hungry mouths to feed.

For still others, it means an agonizing deliberation over whether or not to carry their pregnancy to term.

At a time when teenagers in our state should be eagerly anticipating the future, too many teens are seeing the future taken away before it arrives.

A quick look at some statistics tells us just how dramatic the problem of teenage pregnancy is:

Approximately 15,000 teenage girls become pregnant in Washington state each year. In other words, 41 adolescent girls will become pregnant before tomorrow’s newspaper is off the presses.

Births to teenage mothers (ages 13 to 19) now represent approximately 11 percent of all births.

One in 15 adolescent girls became pregnant in 1991; one in 26 had a baby.

While births to girls under 14 increased 13 percent between 1989-92, the fastest-growing segment of teen pregnancies in Washington is among girls ages 15 to 17.

Washington state now has the 15th-highest teen pregnancy rate in the United States.

These statistics are about real lives and real people. We need to be thinking about our own children and our neighbors’ children. We need the entire community to help reduce unplanned teenage pregnancies. This is our problem, not someone else’s.

Aside from the severe consequences unplanned pregnancies can have on teen mothers and fathers - and their children - there are other victims in the cycle: taxpayers.

The vast majority of teen pregnancies - nearly 80 percent - occur in girls who are unmarried. Not coincidentally, 80 percent of all prenatal care and deliveries to adolescents were publicly funded in 1991. This translated into a direct cost to taxpayers of $27 million. Consider also that state support costs for families started by adolescents were a staggering $273 million in 1992; and 52 percent of all mothers receiving public assistance had their first child as a teenager.

Add these figures to the fact that one in three adolescent pregnancies in Washington is a repeat pregnancy and you quickly realize just how enormous this social and fiscal problem is.

There is, however, a silver lining to the cloud. Like most social health problems, teenage pregnancy is preventable. And the state of Washington is taking action. Communities across the state are organizing to encourage teens to think about the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy and about the impact one would have, on their lives and the lives of those around them.

Last year, the Legislature passed HB 1408, earmarking funds to reduce teenage pregnancies in the state. This legislation authorized a combination of innovative, community-based pregnancy prevention projects. It included an aggressive media campaign featuring teenagers who have personally experienced the consequences of teenage pregnancy and teens offering advice to other teens on pressure-resisting skills and abstinence.

The umbrella theme, “Teen Futures Project,” aptly sums up the goal of the campaign: to give teens from all walks of life hope for their own futures.

This campaign will do more than tell our young people to “just say no.” It will encourage teenagers to think about their futures and the consequences an unplanned pregnancy will have on those futures. We will give teenagers a reason to say no.

But it’s not enough to simply speak to teenagers, or even to get them talking among themselves. This is a societal problem that affects businesses, families, health care professionals, social service workers and government officials. As such, we all need to be part of the solution.

Do you own a business or work in a company that could provide a mentoring program for teenagers in your community?

Do you have a teenage son or daughter yourself, and if so, have you talked openly about sexuality and the life choices he or she will be faced with in the future?

Do you have an extra hour or two each week to devote to a pregnancy prevention clinic or teen crisis service?

Do you belong to a church, community or civic group that is looking for a worthwhile cause to support in your community?

Do you work for a media outlet that can donate public service time or space for the campaign’s messages?

There are literally dozens of things we can all do to help reduce teen pregnancy rates in Washington state, and most deal with a much larger issue: simply providing avenues for hope among our teenagers.

In the coming weeks and months, you will hear more about the impact of teenage pregnancies in our state and what you can do to help. I hope that when you hear these messages, you also keep your mind, heart and arms open to the young people of our state.

See sidebar that ran with this story under headline “F.Y.I.”