The Changing Response to Teen Pregnancy

While teen pregnancy can be scandalous and a topic of conversation within the media, this hasn’t always been the case.

On many levels, prior to the 1900s, teen pregnancy was perfectly normal. Women and men lived fewer years and it was not uncommon for schooling to stop early and for teens to be considered adults, ready to marry and branch out into lives of their own.

As people began to live longer, however, views toward teen pregnancy began to change. As the gap between the wealthiest families and the middle class shrank, more people chose to extend their education; adulthood, marriage and pregnancy were pushed back later in life.

By the 1980s, however, times were changing; when teens got pregnant, people noticed and started to see teen pregnancy as an issue that needed to be addressed. By 1992, teen pregnancy was at its highest rates ever as was HIV/AIDS. Schools began to talk with students about safe sex and the use of condoms.

While there are people who still are outraged when teen and ‘tween idols are pregnant, there is some sense of acceptance - something evidenced in part by vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s matter of fact attitude toward her teen daughter’s pregnancy.