Register for Texas Report: Teen pregnancy problem worse in Rio Grande Valley
Health StatisticsJanuary 29, 2004
2004 JAN 29 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Teenage pregnancy rates in Texas' Rio Grande Valley have been higher than rates in other parts of the state and the rest of the United States in recent years, according to a newspaper report.
Texas Department of Health data from 2001 show that fewer than 30 of every 1,000 girls in the state ages 13 to 17 got pregnant. In the Valley, the rate was 42.
In 2002, a survey of girls age 15 to 19 found that 97 of every 1,000 girls in the United States was pregnant, compared to 113 of every 1,000 girls in Texas, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
"Overall, Texas mirrors what's happening in the rest of the country," campaign spokesman Bill Albert told the Valley Morning Star for a story in the December 28, 2003, editions.
Pregnant girls in the Rio Grande Valley often lack the resources to finish school, raise a healthy child, and regain control of their lives, experts said.
"We've seen a lot of girls who are very young who have repeat pregnancies," said Monica Salinas, program director at Buckner Children & Family Services.
"If it happens once, [we say]: 'Let's everybody work together to help this child make better life choices,' and then it happens all over again," Salinas told the newspaper.
Buckner ran one of the few teenage-mother support programs outside of schools in the Valley before it shut down in 2002. Salinas tried to get the 3-year pilot program, called Second Chance, extended from Hidalgo County to the entire Valley so girls in Brownsville, Rio Grande City, and Raymondville could benefit. But the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services changed the program's requirements to allow only 19 to 21 year olds who needed housing assistance to get help.
Because most pregnant teens in the Valley are younger and live with family after they get pregnant, funding for the program was cut, leaving many pregnant teens with only their schools to help.
Teen pregnancy rates have decreased steadily in the past decade, but nationwide, 35% of girls still get pregnant before they are 20, according to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.
Babies of teenagers are more likely to be too small at birth, suffer from health problems, and struggle in school, studies show. Teen mothers and fathers are often unprepared for parenthood, sometimes leading to abuse or neglect, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
The parents often don't finish school, either. Ninety-four percent of teenagers in the U.S. graduate from high school or earn a general equivalency diplomas (GEDs) within 2 years of their expected graduation date. Among teenage mothers, only 64% finish high school or earn GEDs, according to a 1999 report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. This article was prepared by Women's Health Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2004, Women's Health Weekly via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net.
©Copyright 2004, Health & Medicine Week via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net
