Welcome to Pregnancy Guide
Teenage Pregnancy Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
You may also listen to this article by using the following controls.
The Facts on Teenage Pregnancy in Canada
from:Rates of teenage pregnancy in Canada are some of the highest in the developed world, though the numbers are below those of the United States and the United Kingdom. In 1994, approximately 47,800 pregnancies were recorded for adolescents who were between 15 and 19 years old. Of this number, roughly 21,000 women chose abortion, about 2,000 had a stillbirth or miscarriage that required hospitalization, and 24,700 carried the pregnancy to term. The incidence of pregnancy in Canada in 1994 was lower than it was two decades earlier, but since 1987 it experienced an increase.
Since 1994, however, teenage pregnancy in Canada has been decreasing. In 2003, 33,553 pregnancies were reported for women who were younger than 20, and this included live births, abortions, and stillbirths/miscarriages. The rate of teenage pregnancy in Canada, which comes out to about 27.1 per 1000, is highest among adolescents between the ages of 18 and 19; many of the pregnancies within this group, however, are planned. The pregnancy rate in teenagers ranging from 15 to 17 is lower and the rate among girls younger than 15 is even lower.
Equally important, there has also been a change in the resolutions of teenage pregnancies. In 1974, 66% of adolescent pregnancies ended in a live birth, 26% in abortion, and 8% in a stillbirth/miscarriage. In 1994, on the other hand, the majority, 51%, of pregnancies among teenagers still ended in live birth, but almost as many this time, 45%, ended in abortion. Indeed, in 1994, Canada saw the highest annual number of teenage abortions in the previous two decades with 21,000 teenagers choosing this option to end their pregnancy. Teenagers actually represented 20% of the total number of abortions performed in 1994, and represented just 6% of all live births. In 2003, the number of adolescent pregnancies ending in abortion rose to 50%.
Rates of teenage pregnancy in Canada vary by province and territory. In 1994, the Northwest Territories had the highest pregnancy rate among adolescents with 137 per 1,000 women who were between 15 and 19. Next came Yukon, with 88 pregnancies per 1,000; rates among the provinces varied from just over 60 per 1,000 in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to just over 30 in Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec. Quebec’s teenage pregnancy rate remains the lowest in the country.
In order to curb the rate of teenage pregnancy in Canada, the country is looking to the Netherlands, which has one of the lowest teenage pregnancy rates, for suggestions. Based on observations, it seems that sex education, open discussion of human sexuality in the mass media, easier access to contraceptives, education programs, and active participation of parents and teenagers in such programs are all strategies that could prove useful to keeping the rate of adolescent pregnancy down.
Teenage Pregnancy News
After deficit, OCSD 5 will track pregnancy program spending (The Times and Democrat)
Orangeburg Consolidated School District Five is now asking for a monthly statement to ensure a federally funded teenage pregnancy prevention program is no longer spending more money than it's taking in, according to minutes from last week's board meeting.
Read more...Contraceptive jabs for girls aged thirteen to tackle teenage pregnancy 'hot spots' (Daily Mail: World News)
Teenage girls as young as 13 will be encouraged to have contraceptive injections under a government plan to tackle pregnancy 'hot spots'.
Read more...Teen pregnancy steady in Sheboygan County in 2007 (Sheboygan Press)
Sheboygan Countys teen pregnancy rate rose slightly in 2007, though data released last week shows fewer pregnancies among the youngest group of teenagers.
Read more...Birth control jabs urged in teenage pregnancy hotspots (Yorkshire Post Today)
TEENAGE pregnancy hotspots – including three in Yorkshire – will be encouraged to increase the number of girls having contraceptive injections, it emerged yesterday. (17/11/2008 08:05:00)
Read more...From teen pregnancy horror to Learner of the Year (icWales)
ASINGLE teenage mum from Rhondda has won a Welsh learner award after working her way to her dream job.
Read more...Teen pregnancy Officials puzzled, worried by rise in rate (Montgomery Advertiser)
Increases in teenage pregnancies have Alabama officials worried and wondering what's gone wrong.
Read more...Test your knowledge of teen pregnancy (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
Teen pregnancy has been in the news lately, and it's a phenomenon that we don't fully understand.
Read more...Girls as young as 13 to get contraceptive jabs in a bid to tackle pregnancy 'hot spots' (Daily Mail)
Girls as young as 13 will be urged to have contraceptive jabs as part of Government plans to curb teenage pregnancy rates.
Read more...