Teenage pregnancy is a crisis that inadvertently affects everyone. This is not only a burden for the young woman and her family, but it also has a significant impact on society. Reducing the number of teenage pregnancies would boost child well-being and reduce child poverty statistics (“National Data”). Increasing the number of comprehensive sex education classes would help young people better protect themselves against premature pregnancy and STDs, and thus reduce the number of teenage pregnancies. The Facts Among industrialized countries, the United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy. The teen pregnancy rate in the United States is twice that of Britain and four times that of Germany and France. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy study, teenage childbearing in 2006 alone cost U.S. taxpayers $9.1 billion (Hoffman). Statistics illustrate the alarming number of teenage girls walking around with oversized bellies. In the United States, three in ten girls become pregnant at least once before the age of twenty (“National Data”). One in three teen mothers graduate from high school and only 1.5 percent have a college degree (“National Data”). Infants born to teenage mothers are at greater risk of premature birth, mental retardation, abuse, neglect, and are less likely to acquire a high school diploma. adequate health care, than those born to a mother over twenty years old (Hoffman). Daughters of teenage mothers are also more likely to become teenage mothers themselves, while sons of teenage mothers are more likely to participate in deviant acts. The MTV Networks reality series decided to document the controversial topic of teen pregnancy in the docume...... middle of paper ...... and Unplanned Pregnancy. National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, October 30, 2006. Web. March 27, 2011. Landry, David J., Jacqueline E. Darroch, Susheela Singh and Jenny Higgins. “Factors associated with the content of sex education in American public secondary schools.” Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 35.6 (2007): 261-262. Print.Maci from 16 years old and pregnant. 2009. Photography. Chattanooga, TN. Gurl.com. Ed. MTV Networks. Alloy Media, LLC, June 11, 2009. Web. May 11, 2011. "National Data | The National Campaign." The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, nd Web. April 25. 2011. .