Teenage Pregnancy and Young Parenthood provides a comprehensive, unparalleled insight into the UK Government’s highly successful Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (TPS) for England which reduced the under-18 pregnancy rate by well over 50%, and considers how the lessons from this policy can be applied internationally. This important book captures and shares the lessons from the TPS for future governments and policy makers, and documents the details of implementing a long-term strategy with its innovative approach to policy issues. After providing the rationale for prioritising teenage pregnancy, the book demonstrates evidence for what is effective, both in helping young people avoid unplanned pregnancy and in improving outcomes for young parents. The TPS is analysed against the World Health Organisation’s key actions for effective scale-up of adolescent sexual and reproductive health programmes, to offer an important contribution to international understanding of this global public health challenge. Advocating a ‘whole systems’ multi-agency approach this book translates evidence into clear action, and combines theory and practice with illustrative case studies to demonstrate how to implement policy successfully. It is valuable reading for policy makers and practitioners dealing with young people’s health, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students in the fields of psychology, health studies, social work, youth work, education, social policy, sociology and related disciplines.

By all indicators, the reproductive health of Americans has been deteriorating since 1980. Our nation is troubled by rates of teen pregnancies and newborn deaths that are worse than almost all others in the Western world. Science and Babies is a straightforward presentation of the major reproductive issues we face that suggests answers for the public. The book discusses how the clash of opinions on sex and family planning prevents us from making a national commitment to reproductive health; why people in the United States have fewer contraceptive choices than those in many other countries; what we need to do to improve social and medical services for teens and people living in poverty; how couples should "shop" for a fertility service and make consumer-wise decisions; and what we can expect in the futureâ€"featuring interesting accounts of potential scientific advances.

Whether glamorised or stigmatised, teenage parenthood is all too often used to stand for a host of social problems, and empirical research results ignored. Identifying core controversies surrounding teen pregnancy and parenting, this book resolves misperceptions using findings from large-scale, longitudinal, and qualitative research studies from the US and other Western countries. Summarising the evidence and integrating it with a systems perspective, the authors explore ten prevalent myths about teenage parents, including: Teen pregnancy is associated with other behavior problems. Children of teen parents will experience cognitive delay, adjustment problems, and will themselves become teen parents. Better outcomes are achieved when teen mothers live with their own mothers. Teen pregnancy costs tax payers lots of money. Abstinence education is the best way to prevent teen pregnancy. Teen Pregnancy and Parenting ends by highlighting the prevention and intervention implications for families, practitioners, and policymakers. It will be of interest to academics and advanced students from a range of disciplines and professions including psychology, public policy, nursing, social work and sociology.

The debate of teenage pregnancy and parenthood continues to be a topical media and political issue, and a contested policy area. Covering the controversial issues, this book contributes to the debate, filling the gap in the current market. The strong chapter selection looks at areas such as: education social policy and welfare reforms in the UK and US issues for young fathers child sex abuse girls with emotional and behavioural difficulties. This is invaluable reading for those working on government strategies to reduce teen pregnancies and those working in sex education and youth care.

Abstract: This book presents the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Committee on Child Development Research and Public Policy within the National Research Council. The panel examined research and existing programs which address the areas of adolescent sexuality, pregnancy, and childbearing with the intent of making recommendations for policy making, program design, program evaluation, and research. The panel's report is presented in chapters addressing the following topics: trends in adolescent sexuality and fertility, society and changing roles of adolescents, determinants of sexual behavior, effects of adolescent childbearing, interventions, and priorities for data collection, research, policies, and programs. An accompanying volume contains the working papers on which the report was based. The working papers address three broad areas, which are: 1) influences on early sexual and fertility behavior, 2) consequences of early sexual and fertility behavior, and 3) programs and policies related to teen pregnancy and sexuality.

The debate of teenage pregnancy and parenthood continues to be a topical media and political issue, and a contested policy area. Covering the controversial issues, this book contributes to the debate, filling the gap in the current market. The strong chapter selection looks at areas such as: education social policy and welfare reforms in the UK and US issues for young fathers child sex abuse girls with emotional and behavioural difficulties. This is invaluable reading for those working on government strategies to reduce teen pregnancies and those working in sex education and youth care.

The definition of the risks of adolescent childbearing has received considerable investigative attention during the last decade. We have gradually moved away from simplistically studying young maternal age as the sole determinant of biologie and psychosocial outcome, even though we recognize it is one of several factors which warrant consideration. We now recognize that if adolescents receive adequate and consistent pre natal care, they and their infants should do nearly as weIl as adult women and their infants of similar backgrounds. Thus, the major morbidities for adolescent mothers, adolescent fathers, and their infants are psychosocial: lack of educational and voca tional futures, failed marriages, and dependence on government aid for support. The adequacy of the parenting of adolescent mothers and fathers and the long-term developmental and physical outcomes of their children are largely unstudied. This book, edited by Dr. Max Sugar, a recognized authority on adolescence, focuses on the important topic of adolescent parenthood. The authors of this timely contribution approach the topic of adolescent parenthood in a unique fashion, utilizing a combination of several approaches: consideration of fictional characters in history , astute and carefully conceptual ized clinical observations, reviews of the literature, and their own investigation. lt will be through the use of such a creative approach that we shall define the important quest ions which should be addressed about adolescents as parents and the outcome for their children.