CNN:
She had many plans for the future: to go to college, start a career, meet the man of her dreams, raise a family -- when the time was right.
It was all cut off by an unexpected pregnancy. The baby became her life, consuming her energy and forcing her dreams to the back burner of her life.
Reports | The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned ...
Survey delves into high birth rate for young Latinas - CNN.com
Latino Teens Say Parents Most Influence Their Decisions About Sex
Parents' help sought to cut Latina teen-pregnancy rates | McClatchy
Report: More than half of Latinas pregnant before 20 – The CNN ...
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Oh, hell. I just re-read this amazingly misleading article. It says that 53% of Latinas who are pregnant are in their teens. What it means is that - of the people who get pregnant, 53% of them are in their teens. It does NOT say that 53% of ALL Latinas become pregnant by the time they are 20. 8% do.
As I said (actually Mark Twain), there are lies, damned lies and statistics. This article and the way it is written does everyone a huge disservice.
Good God, not much for statistics, eh? The results are amazingly simple to understand - 53% of Latina females will be pregnant at least once before they are 20 years of age:
Background
Three in 10 girls in the United States become pregnant
before turning 20. Despite continuous declines since
the early 1990s, the United States still has the highest
rate of teen pregnancy among developed nations. Teen
pregnancy affects every race, community, and economic
group in our country. While the rates of teen pregnancy
remain high among all racial and ethnic groups, at present
more than half (53%) of Latina teens get pregnant
at least once before age 20—nearly twice the national
average.
To underscore the urgency of this issue, the overall
national teen birth rate increased 5% between 2005
and 2007—this after 14 years of continuous decline.
Although the teen birth rate among Latinas remained
stable during this time period, at present Latinas have
the highest rates of teen pregnancy and childbearing
of any major racial or ethnic group in the United
States (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and
Unplanned Pregnancy, 2008).
Please read the full text of the study, then come back and respond intelligently if you want to dispute the sample size or statistical methodology used:
http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/resources/pdf/pubs/commonfuture.pdf
If the catholic church is to blame, how do you explain Italy? They have the lowest birthrate in Europe, while literally being in the Pope's backyard - I say no religion should dictate family size unless they are willing to financially support them. The saddest sights I have ever seen are women and children begging on cathedral steps in Mexico, while there's enough wealth in that building alone to probably support them for a good long time. C'mon people, it's modern times, quit with the mythology and think for yourselves!
You do not need to go to Mexico to see poverty.
http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/22/news/economy/poverty_overview/index.htm
The Bush legacy.
I have to agree that there is something of a disconnect when every young hispanic female that comes
to our country knows that if she drops a baby here she will be allowed to stay. My neighbor works in
the infant ward at the local hospital and she has seen them come in as pregnant teenagers and by the time they are 25 they have at least 4 kids. Whether here legally or not we are paying the price for
all of these extra childrens healthcare. We should be billing Mexico for every single one of them. I
don't want to be racist but my kids have a right to healthcare that is reserved for them and them only.
I don't work my butt off everyday to take care of illegal immigrants who have figured out how to beat the system. Immigration Reform should start with putting a cap on the number of children allowed to be
put on welfare. Every time I see one, she is holding hands of one, carrying one and stuck out in front
with the next one. If we stop the free everything maybe they will go back home.
Wanda
Mississippi
Wanda, to feel the need to assure people you are not a racist should not be necessary. It is not racist to talk about a situation you know to be true.
We will never address these issues if people are afraid of being labeled as racist for simply giveing an opinion or describing what is an unfortunate reality
Political correctness often prevents us from honestly addressing issues. .
Sieg Heil!
I work for a public school district in California (at least I think I still have a job). What astounds me is the number of children these families have. Not hardly ever do you see a "latino" family with one or two kids, most have at least four. There is a virtual traffic jam of mothers leaving off their kids with two younger ones stuffed in strollers and many times they are pregnant again. And of course, 95% of them receive free breakfast and lunch, School uniforms, not to mention medical care, illegal aliens or otherwise. Why do people, of any culture, continue to have children that they cannot afford? Too bad sex is so available, cheap, and, unfortunately with results like these, pleasurable.
My Mexican parents had two children. Your post is disturbing.
I am married to a man of Mexican descent and we too have two children. I'm only telling you what I see, it's the truth I find disturbing.
I'm Mexican American...Live in California...The truth hurts.
"Why do people, of any culture, continue to have children that they cannot afford?"
Years ago to have a child out of wedlock was to bring shame to the girl, the guy and their families. Today there is no shame and in fact we only read about celebrating the single mothers who do so much while not criticizing the boys/men who simply are sperm donors.
Due to government programs people can afford to have these children. I am NOT saying we shouldn't provide the support as it's the only way we might help the children to end this seemingly never ending cycle.
If you dont want them to have so many children then why dont you jump in between them the next they have secks?
I believe that the number one problem facing our nation is the number of babies that are born out of wedlock. Children of single parent households are so much more likely to not graduate from high school, live in poverty, use drugs and get in trouble with the law.
We could double the funding for education and still not improve performance as long as students to not have stable home life to support them.
My wife is a teacher in a suburban school and knows the kids who are struggling do not have parents who take the time to work with them.I know teachers in our urban schools that feel so disheartened as they realize the kids without solid homes have such a steep road to climb.
I may be wrong but I have to think that single parent families are a significant portion of those living in poverty.
I wish I had a solution.
Funny how Latino/Hispanic culture (whatever that is), the Catholic faith (I am not a Catholic), Mexicans (the usual suspects), the Virgin Mary, poverty, education, illegal immigration etc etc have all be blamed for this "problem."
The only thing that hasnt been blamed is the swine flu and the Mexican drug cartels.
Not one comment has been made about the FATHERS and the dads who don't teach their sons to use condoms and to not go around leaving babies everywhere.
Fathers need to teach their sons to keep their d!cks in their pants until they can support a kid.
And that's NOT a Latino thing, just ask Tod Palin.
Unfortunately, too many of these sons grow up without fathers.
That's the dilemma.
If women have children out of wedlock then it's up to them.
Catholicism. Most Latina children are told to remain virgins before marriage and are not taught about how to protect themselves from pregnancy. This study just proves that abstinence does not work.
Another load of anti-Catholic b*s. Plenty of other Catholics of different ethnicites don't have the problems that Latinas do regarding young pregancy, so let us lose the pc-correctness and cut the chase. The Latino culture is at fault.
Please see my posted comments to your previous entry. You seem to let your prejudices get in the way of reasonable discourse and dialogue. You obviously have other deep-rooted issues with Latina/o people.
One cannot dissect a culture through an American lens. This is the basis of xenophobia and nonsense that quickly cuts of dialogue and prevents tangible solutions to problems. You should look up the term "cultural relativism".
Whether you like it or not, Latino/as are here to stay.
What is the "latino culture" pray tell?
Check out Irish and Irish-american "culture" on the child s..e..x abuse thread.
By the way, I am Californian Latina of immigrant descent and my culture did a great job of raising me to become a productive, aware, TOLERANT, and compassionate member of this society. I didn't get pregnant as a teenager, have a MS degree, and am in the middle of earning a PhD. The best part: I am no exception. There are many productive and hardworking Latinos in this country (just as there are Asian, Indian, Native American, etc), but their accomplishments too often get drowned out by soundbytes and stereotypes.
Catholicism played a large part in my upbringing, but it certainly cannot be credited with my success. By Catholic standards, I should be busy breeding new Catholic babies for the Church. By the way, the powerful Church blocked the introduction of contraception in Latin America for a very, very long time. Please stick to the facts.
What's the difference between Asians and Latinos- both large immigrant groups here in California with traditional, male-dominant cultures? Asians in general value education more, tend to already be educated (at least high school graduates) as immigrants, don't believe that they are victims of a society trying to keep them down, and try to make the best of whatever that they have. That's why they outnumber even white people at California's best universities. Latinos, sadly, are moving in the opposite direction, despite their larger population levels.
That's why they outnumber even white people at California's best universities.
Not quite, but they do have disproportionately large numbers (I went to UCSB). This problem exists with African Americans also, unfortunately.
Oh, stop with the stereotypes. The notion that Asian-Americans are the model minority is nothing but that: a stereotype. There are many reasons that explain why Asian-Americans do well in our educational system. I will not go into them, though you should read some of the studies carefully before generalizing. Prejudices are not helpful if the aim is to solve social problems. You have missed the intention of the study.
I don't need to read any study. I'm an engineering PhD student at UCLA. All I need to do is open my eyes. Most of the Asians that I see are in the classrooms. Most of the Latinos that I see are working behind the counters at the campus restaurants. I'm not saying these things to deride. It is sad that the populations are not more balanced. But that is the reality.
and family size couldn't possibly have anything to do with it? Bollocks!
I think there's a Mecha meeting short a member.............
Asians outnumber everyone in CA universities because they are foreign students who pay higher rates. Without them the cost of a university education, which is already unaffordable to many, would be even more out of reach.
"...don't believe that they are victims of a society trying to keep them down..."
Ya, were equal, arent we?
Wanna back that up with a source, buddy?
UCLA has a huge American Asian population. Ya got that right. Kids born in America that are like every other American kid. They also value education and know when to turn off the TV and study. The parents play a huge role instilling the value of an education in their child.
If nature wanted women to wait until 40 to have a child then they wouldn't have their menstrual cycles until 39.
"Latinas" (whatever that means) are not the problem.
The problem is your society.
True. However, if social advancement is the aim (which it should be because it turns out that having a voice in society is important!), then high teenage pregnancy rates could cripple the ability of these young women to advance and ultimately change the attitudes to which you allude. There are many problems in this society that relate to this complex issue; for example, the lack and/or short maternity leave for working women. The fact is that having a child at a young age in this society will almost certainly guarantee that the woman remains in poverty. A higher education doesn't automatically guarantee upward mobility in this society, but it increases the probability of staving off poverty, which is a good thing. To some extent you're right, the response has a lot to do with the culture and the system that is in place, but this shouldn't keep us from trying to solve the problems.
Man has been roaming this planet for 10 million years.
SOMEONE has to have the babies. Lord knows the Europeans and European Americans aren't.
Who is going to do the work needed to compete with Chindia?
Who is going to pay the taxes needed to fund your retirement?
"The fact is that having a child at a young age in this society will almost certainly guarantee that the woman remains in poverty."
I don't believe that. In fact, it's has been my experience that having a kid makes a woman want to better herself by getting an education.
"...the response has a lot to do with the culture and the system that is in place, but this shouldn't keep us from trying to solve the problems."
You are trying to impose your culture on another.
What about girls that have their menstrual cycles when they are 11 or 12. Are you saying that they should have children?
I made a positive statement.
Your leading question begs a normative response.
Apologist.
From the article:
The teen birth rate among Hispanic teens ages 15 to 19 was 81.7 per 1,000
That translates into 8.17% teen birth rate not a majority of Latinas.
Agree and if we can assume that at least some are second children to these young women, the percentage of single under-20 Latinas who are mothers is even lower.
MUY CACIENTE
muy dumb
WTF is caciente? Man, you had me looking in the dictionary.
Gotta keep working on being the majority of the US (including illegals) population.
What? If you want to try to make an underhanded comment, you must write more smoothly than this.
Oh boy! why am I not surprised... i thought the age would be lower than that, lets say 15....
BUT the Hispanic birth rate has been steadily dropping for years - just not as fast as US "white" birthrates.
Basically.
I believe the main reason this problem exists is the CATHOLIC CHURCH, which messes up any individuals who are exposed to their warped, sick doctrines. The church with all of it's backwards, unenlightened thinking. PERIOD.
Maybe this isn't seen as a "problem". In any case, the Hispanic birth rate has been dropping for years.
Well that pretty stupid comment. On what do you base this on? Why not blame it on a backwards unenlighten Latino culture that doesn't stress the importance of good education and teaching daughters the ramifications of what they are doing to their futures? My GF is Asian-American and went to Catholic school, as did her friends, and none them got knocked up. I went to Catholic school also and didn't knock up any women I dated. So how could that be? However when I walk around Chicago, I see tons of teenage or close to teenage hispanic mothers walking around with more than one baby. To be fair I know so Hispanic women who got their heads on straight, but to say it's the church's fault for lousy parenting is just ignorant Catholic bashing.
Good point. The idea that people can wait before having sex seems to be lost on some people.
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First Posted: 05-19-09 09:15 PM | Updated: 05-19-09 09:28 PM