The higher a woman's level of education, the more likely she is to postpone marriage and childbearing. Adolescents with little schooling are often twice as likely as those with more education to have a baby before their twentieth birthday. Some 58% of young women in the United States who receive less than a high school education give birth by the time they are twenty years old, compared with 13% of young women who complete at least twelve years of schooling (Tunick 11). Teens who become pregnant during high school are more likely to drop out (Calhoun 310). .
All of these statements are statistics, which have been researched. But, I was a teenage mother, and I gave birth while I was in high school. I am now a senior in college, and doing great. A person can be whatever they choose to be, no matter what obstacles come their way, it is solely up to the person. I am not saying that it has been easy, but with prayer, motivation, and help it does get better. There is no solution per say to this problem, however more education, and more communication with parents would be of great help. A teen mother leaves school because she cannot manage the task of caring for a baby and studying, and a teen father usually chooses a job over school so that he can pay bills and provide for his child (Johnson 4). This is just another obstacle that re-route's your dreams.
Teen mothers usually have fewer resources than older mothers do because they have had less time to gather savings or build up their "productivity" through work experience, education, or training (Planned Parenthood 1). Because of this, teen mothers are generally poor and are dependent on government support (Newman 679). The welfare system is usually the only support a teen parent will receive. In some cases, teen mothers may also receive help like Medicaid, Food Stamps, and "Aid to Families with Dependent Children" (AFDC) (Newman 679).
