May is National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. The focus of this month is to emphasize to teens the benefits of waiting to have children.

The US has the highest teen pregnancy rate of any developed nation, with preg-nancy a reality for almost 750,000 teenage girls in the US annually. The physical, emotional, and financial conse-quences of having a baby too soon have long been an area of concern for health professionals, educators, and families.

Until recently, efforts to educate teens and curb teen pregnancy seemed to be working. More consistent condom use, increased use of hormonal contraceptives by young women, and adolescents practicing abstinence or delaying the start of sexual activity contributed to the drop in teenage pregnancy rates. But in 2006, after years of decline, the rate of pregnancy among American teens rose for the first time in 15 years, suggesting the need for a renewed focus on teen sexuality and pregnancy.

Teens may not readily recognize the long-term costs of early sex and parenthood. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, a majority of sexually experienced teens say they wish they had waited to have sex. And, the younger a girl is when she first has sex, the more likely it is that the experience is unwanted. Girls who have

older partners also are more likely to have sex younger, not use contraception, get pregnant, and have more sexual partners throughout the rest of their teenage years. 

One-third of teen pregnancies end in abortion. Of those who decide to carry a pregnancy to term, few teens choose adoption—90% raise the child themselves. Adolescent moms are significantly less likely to receive their high-school diploma than those who wait to have children. They are more likely to live in poverty, receive public assistance, and have long periods of welfare dependency. 

When compared to women who delay having children until their early 20s, teen mothers are much more likely to remain unmarried and raise their children without a partner. Teen fathers are also less likely to finish high school and are more likely to have lower paying jobs than their peers who have children later. 

Children of teen parents are also affected.  Pregnant teens often experience preg-nancy complications due to lack of prenatal care. Teen moms may not be getting the proper nutrition and may use alcohol, drugs, and other substances that are harmful to a fetus. Nearly 10% of babies born to teen mothers are low birth weight. Later in life, the daughters of teen mothers are at high risk of having children in their adolescent years, and their sons have a higher chance of being incarcer-ated than the sons of older mothers.

ACOG encourages parents to talk to their teens about sex and its consequences. Find more information on teen sexuality and pregnancy at www.teenpregnancy.org and www.advocatesforyouth.org. ♀

Douglas H. Kirkpatrick, MD, is President of The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.