Each year, more than 400,000 babies are born to girls under 19 years old. 25% of girls who have a child receive social assistance within three years of the birth of their child. By age 22, 34% of these girls have not earned their high school diploma or GED and by age 30, less than 2% have earned a college degree (Foreman 27). I am a child born to a teenage mother and my mother is one of 2% of girls who had a child before the age of 19 and were able to graduate from college before turning 30. I don't understand the risk associated with childbearing at a young age. Focusing on how teens get pregnant, ways to prevent early pregnancies, the effect a teen pregnancy has on the people around them, and the downsides of pregnancy are the ways to teach to our young people. Teenagers in this country today are starting to have sex at a younger age. Studies in the Journal of School Health have shown that children as young as 12 begin to engage in sexual activity. We have shows like “Teen Mom” and “16 and Pregnant,” which show this connotation that it’s okay to have babies at a young age. We are a nation driven by technology and we watch movies in which teenagers have sex, we imitate these icons and fall into the temptation of being like everyone else. We see these actors having sex, but there are never any consequences for their actions. In the real world, if you have unprotected sex, you risk getting pregnant, catching a communicable disease, and changing your life. . 10% of girls aged 15 to 19 become pregnant and more than 40% will become pregnant before the age of 20, and more than 890,000 adolescent girls become pregnant each year. (Kirby 89) As a society... middle of paper ...... elderly parents. " Global Trends and Forecasts. TheFuturist, March 2010. Web. May 10, 2011. .Foreman, Meagan, "Taking Responsibility" New Federal Money to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (2011) 27-28. WebGal Encyclopedia: Teen Pregnancy « Teen Pregnancy Np, April 13, 2011. . Kirby, Douglas. “Reflections on two decades of research on adolescent sexual behavior and pregnancy.” » Journal of School Health 69.3 (1999): 89-94. WebMedical Division, Burroughs Welcome Company. “Teen Talk: Peer Groups Addressing Teen Pregnancy” AJPH 80.3 (1990): 349-350. " Healthcommunities.com.Np, April 11, 2011. Web. April 27. 2011..