Teen Pregnancy: Addressing the Problem of Teen Pregnancy among Latinos

The United States continues to have the highest rates of teen pregnancy when compared to other nations despite declining rates over the last few years. The Latina population is disproportional affected by these higher rates. Latinas had the highest teen birth rate of all major ethnic groups in the United States with 83 births per 1,000 teens aged 15-19 in 2004 alone, a rate nearly double of the national rate at 41.1 In addition, the Latino population is the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. Economic and cultural barriers have limited access to health care and teen pregnancy prevention and education programs for this population. The number of young Latina mothers and children who are poverty stricken or lack health care are like! y to see an increase as the teen birth rate increases. Moreover, there are several reasons that indicate why some Latina teens may want to become pregnant. Sex education is needed to lower teen pregnancy in this population but also to address some of the cultural, social and economic problems that may afflict this community. There are effective and promising programs that help tackle this issue, but there is more work to be done in public policy to continue these efforts. This paper takes a closer look at some of the issues surrounding teen pregnancy among Latinos and provides an overview of policy and programs.Master of Public Healt