Teenage pregnancy is defined as an unintended pregnancy during adolescence.

Approximately 750,000 of 15- to 19-year-olds become pregnant

each year, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, though many teenagers do not believe that they will get
pregnant if they engage in sexual activity.

Peer Pressure

During adolescence, teenagers often feel pressure to make friends and fit in with their peers. Many times these teens let their friends influence
their decision to have sex even when they do not fully understand the consequences associated with the act. Teenagers have sex as a way to
appear cool and sophisticated, but in some cases the end result is an unplanned teen pregnancy. The Kaiser Family Foundation states that more
than 29 percent of pregnant teens reported that they felt pressured to have sex, and 33 percent of pregnant teens stated that they felt that they were
not ready for a sexual relationship, but proceeded anyway because they feared ridicule or rejection.

Absent Parents

Teen girls are more likely to get pregnant if the have limited or no guidance from their parents. Many parents have busy lives that prevent them
from providing the guidance and support that their young teenagers need to make good decisions on issues such as sex, according to the website
Parent Dish. When a teen does not feel that she can talk to her parents about sex either because they forbid sex talk or because they are not
around, she will more than likely turn to friends for direction on whether or not to have sex, resulting in misinformation and possible teen
pregnancy.

Glamorization of Pregnancy

The movie industry and the media contribute to teenage pregnancy by glamorizing teen pregnancy in news stories and movies. Movies that depict
teen pregnancy as something to be desired encourage teens to engage in reckless sexual activity, according to ABC's "Good Morning America."
During adolescence, teens become more focused on their appearance and how their peers perceive them. They want to be seen as part of the
group, so if teen pregnancy is viewed as acceptable in their school or amongst their friends, they may seek to become pregnant as a way to gain
social acceptance.

Lack of Knowledge

Teenagers who are uneducated about sex are more likely to have an unintended pregnancy. Some teens do not fully understand the biological and
emotional aspects associated with having sex, according to DailyRecord.co.uk. These teens may get incorrect information from friends, videos,
sitcoms and/or movies. Many times, teens do not have the knowledge needed to make informed and responsible decisions about whether or not to
engage in sexual activity that can alter their life.

Sexual Abuse or Rape

Teens can become pregnant as a result of sexual abuse or rape. The Guttmacher Institute states that between 43 and 62 percent of teens
acknowledge that they were impregnated by an adult male, and two-thirds report that their babies' fathers are as old as 27. Approximately 5
percent of all teen births are the result of a rape.

Teenage Drinking

Teen drinking can cause an unexpected pregnancy, according to the website Love to Know. Many teens experiment with drugs and alcohol.
Drinking lowers a teen’s ability to control her impulses, contributing to 75 percent of pregnancies that occur between the ages 14 and 21.
Approximately 91 percent of pregnant teens reported that although they were drinking at the time, they did not originally plan to have sex when
they conceived.

A lack of access to sexual and reproductive health education and services is a key factor that causes girls to become pregnant. The expectations of
communities on girls to become mothers early can be a cause along with sexual violence.

Child marriage is a key factor – approximately 90% of births to teenage mothers in developing countries occur within marriage.

Factors such as parents’ income and girls’ education also contribute. Girls who have received a low amount of education are 5 times more likely
to become a mother than those with higher levels of education.

In addition, the unique risks faced by girls during emergencies increase the chances of them becoming pregnant.

Global problem with dangerous consequences - Key statistics

7.3 million girls become pregnant before 18 each year.
2.5 million girls aged 15 or younger give birth each year.
Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the second highest cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19.
To reach the Global Goal
on reducing maternal mortalitywe need to move 3 times faster
Half of pregnancies among girls aged 15–19 living in developing regions are unintended.
Every year, 3 million girls undergo unsafe abortions.
Introduction

Teenage pregnancy is a multifaceted issue within the United States, with tax payers, individuals, and
future generations suffering the consequences. In the United States, teen pregnancy rates among teens 15-
19 are higher than in other developed countries, at a rate of roughly 38 out of 1000 girls becoming
pregnant in 2008 (National Campaign 2013). In 2008, 31.1% of U.S. teens became parents costing
taxpayers an estimated $11 billion (Solomon-Fears2013). Texas was ranked 5th out of 51 states in 2011
for high rates of teen pregnancy amongst females

Ages 15-19 and holds one of the highest rates of repeat births in the United States (National Campaign,
2013). Waco is no exception from Texas’ high teen pregnancy rate, with 2.5% of their teenage, female
population becoming pregnant, 8.81 infant deaths per 1000 live births, 171 unintentional and 10
intentional injuries of children ages 0-4, and rates of abuse or neglect ranging from 8.51 to 11.28 incidents
per 1000 children (Smith,Romer oand Alonzo 2009). Fletcher and Wolfe (2009) found that teenage
childbearing is negatively associated with labor income. A teenage mother has a lower labor income of
$2,200 to $2,400. Lee (2010) and Ashcraft, Fernández-Val, and Lang (2013) also found that teenage
childbearing has significant negative effects on early socioeconomic outcomes for mothers, fathers and
children. In 2007, the Waco Foundation, a community foundation that aims to improve the quality of life
of all residents within Waco and McLennan County, commissioned an Early Childhood Quality of Life
Report to be conducted within their community. The report found that children zero to five years old in
McLennan County have an overall quality of life score, a measure based onphysical health status and
disease, of 41.67% out of 100%. Dispersed among the county’s zip codes, this score represented a 57%
disparityin scores between the lowest and highest zip codes in the county (Smith, Romero and Alonzo
2009). In searching for causes of the low quality of life scores for children 0-5 years old, the Quality of
Life Report found a correlation between children’s quality of life and them being born to teen parents
(Smith,Romero and Alonzo 2009). This led to the creation of the Smart Babies Early Childhood initiative,
a community-based initiative that works to bring various stakeholders within the community together in
an effort to increase the quality of life of children. The SmartBabies Steering Committee, encompassing
community leaders and practitioners from various related fields, determined one way to address low
quality of life is to prevent teenage pregnancy altogether. SmartBabies has commissioned the Bush
School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University Capstone Program 1 to provide an
analysis of the costs of teen pregnancies in McLennan County. The analysis includes a review of pertinent
literature framing the issue of teen pregnancy and the design of a predictive model that estimates the costs
of one teen pregnancy in Waco, between the ages of 15-19. This study will reveal the savings to the Waco
community if teen pregnancy is delayed between the 15-19 year old age bracket. It will also The Role of
Sex Education Curricula to Address Teen Pregnancy Prevention Abstinence-only education focuses on
instilling in the child the concept that having sex out of wedlock is always inappropriate, and therefore
they do not need to be educated on safe sex practices. The use of this curricula is based upon a belief that
abstinence-only education delays teen sex, albeit briefly, when it is taught to young adolescents ( Howell
and Keefe 2007). These programs teach that abstinence is the expected standard for school age children (
Howell and Keefe 2007, U.S. Social Security Act Sec 510). There is also an emphasis on the negative
results of sexual activity outside of marriage, including harmful physical and psychological effects, as
well as negative effects to society. Providing abstinence-only education (see glossary of terms) has its
advantages and disadvantages. The foremost benefit is that abstinence is the only manner by which
teenagers can wholly avoid sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and emotional turmoil caused by a
physically or emotionally abusive relationship as is related to sexual activity (Collins et al. 2002). Waiting
to have sex until marriage, or even until no longer a teen, allows children time to mature emotionally and
physically, develop self-esteem, and develop stronger friendships. Thus, many people, particularly in
conservative communities, believe that abstinence-only education is valuable (Collins et al. 2002). In
spite of the broad implementation of this type of education and its popularity in past decades, a variety of
evaluations and studies found no statistically significant link between abstinence-only programs and
preventing sexual activity (Boonstra 2009; Collins, et al. 2002). Critics are quick to point out that not only
do these programs withhold information from adolescents that might help them make better decisions;
they simply are not successful (Boonstra 2009; Collins, et al.2002). As such, comprehensive sex
educationprograms

are now

considered

the

primary

solution to

educate teens

and

prevent

teen

pregnancy.

“Evidence

-based” is

defined

as

science-

based
programs

that

use

social

science research

to

assess

the

needs

of

the

teens

they

serve,

and

conduct

outcome

evaluations

to

continually

improve

programs

(Healthy

Teen

Network

2013).
By

teaching

abstinence

in

conjunction with

healthy

practices,

adolescents

are

more

informed

and

have

the

capacity

to

make better

decisions

(HealthyTeen

Network

2013)

. Comprehensive

sex

education

programs

, which
use

evidence-

based

curricula

are

designed to

delay

sex

in

adolescents

throu

gh extended

programs

that

teach

youth

communication

skills,

address

peer

pressure, and

are

adjusted

for the

age and
experience

of participants

(National

Campaign

2013). Such

programs

strive

to

incorporate

the

message

that

abstinence is

the

ideal

for

teenag

ers,

while

still providing

them

with

essential

information

to

assist
them

in

protecting

their

health

if they

do engage

in

sexual

activity.

By

making

sexual

health

programs

available to

adolescents

and

increasing

their

health, these

programs

also

increase t

he health

of
the

overall

population (Anderson

, et.

al 2013). Comprehensive

sex

education

programs

, although not

perfected,

are believed

to

have

contributed to

the

decrease in

teenage pregnancy

rates

since 2006.

A perceived

flaw

in

comprehensive

sex

educa

tion
is that

c ritics

feel

that

these programs

give

mixed

messages

by

encouraging

abstinence

while

still teaching

birth

control

methods, and

are

therefore less

effective

at encouraging

abstinence

(Boonstra

2009). Some

religious

groups

feel
that

comprehensive

sex

education

encourage

s sexual

activity

and

push contraceptives,

but

studies

show

that

they

are

effective in

delaying

sex

in

teens

(Boonstra

2009, Collins

et al.

2002).

Therefore, the upcoming discussion of models for teen pregnancy prevention will focus on
comprehensive sex education programs. These programs have been statistically shown to be more
effective than abstinence-only education and incorporate a more holistic approach to teenage pregnancy
prevention. Traditionally, comprehensive sex education and abstinence-
only education have been

implemented as individual programs, defined by a single organization promoting, managing, and

carrying out the education. UTTeenHealth

, on the other hand, is defined as a community

based

initiative due to its use of resources and collaboration with other organizations or agencies within

the community to a

chieve a certain outcome.

By categorizing programs that are already present

in the Waco community, as well as several best practice teen pregnancy prevention organ

izations

found across the nation, we are able to understand some of the key components of each.

A community

-based

initiative

enables

organizations

to

work

with

each

other

to

fill in

service
gaps

and

exchange helpful

information. Different

from

a single

program,

this

approach

utilizes

the

resources

of

many

different

organizations

and

agencies.

For

example,

if one

provider

focuses

solely

on the

health
education of

students

in

Waco,

they

have the

potential

to

partner

with

health

care facility

that

shares

similar

goals.

This

concept

of

community

-based

initiatives

is now

rapidly

gaining
popularity

in the

United

States

due

to

their

ability

to

increase service

effectiveness

and

efficiency

through collaboration techniques

(Milner

and

Lomotey

2014).

This report

will present the research design used to estimate the current costs of teen pregnancy

to Waco tax

payer

s, as well as determine the long

-term cost

s to the Waco community if teen

pregnancy is not delayed

(i.e. 15 year projected costs if teen pregnancy continues at the current

rate).

, The analysis then continues to review

best practice programming models

across the nation

that have been documented to be the most effective interventions in preventing teen pregnancy

to distill specific innovations in implementation that might be of interest to the Waco

community

. The report will close with a prioritized s

et of

recommend programming options

deemed

most feasible for enhancing the community’s

efforts to address teen pregnancy

prevention in both the near and long

-term future

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