Childbearing by teenagers varies from one country to another. A comparative study of developed countries (United States, Sweden, Great Britain, Canada and France) found that teenagers tend to have high rates of pregnancy and childbirth’s. The problem though is worse in the United States than in the other developed countries (Darroch, Singh, & Frost, 2001). Darroch, Singh, & Frost, (2001) found that the use of the birth control pill by teenage girls was lower in the United States than in the other developed countries studied. Information on contraceptive use is widely available in all five countries. The most effective methods used during sexual intercourse are sterilization, lo

Teenagers that have a child at a younger age may have had less education, come from a single-parent family themselves and have many siblings (Hofferth et al., 2001). The mothers of these teenagers that have these risk factors engage in early sexual activity and consequently become pregnant (Hofferth et al., 2001).

Teenage pregnancy has also been associated with sexual transmission of diseases. According to Darroch, Singh, & Frost, (2001) the United States has the highest rate of sexually transmitted diseases, (STD’s), among teenage mothers of the developed countries studied. One of the diseases is Chlamydia. Those teenage mothers who have Chlamydia in the United States were found to be 1,132 cases per 100,000. The United States also has the highest rate of gonorrhea among teenagers within the developed countries (Darroch et al., 2001).

There are multiple negative consequences associated with teen pregnancy (Bissel, 2000). Teenagers who have babies at an early age are less likely to complete high school, more likely to work at a job that earns little income and experience poverty than women who delay childbearing until an older age (Bissel, 2000). The disadvantages for teenage girls who bear a child at such a young age reduce their education or employment opportunities. However, women of today do not get married as young as they once did. Therefore, women who delay pregnancy and childbirth can be thought of as an advantage (Bissel, 2000). Those mothers who are at an advantage are more experienced with life itself, has a better education background and often has a steady job and steady marriage. As life progresses, such factors integrate themselves with life and having a child. As teenagers get older and delay childbearing at such a young age, they will be exposed more and new opportuniti

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