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Teen Pregnancy and Adoption Statistics

Teen Pregnancy and Births

• There are now about 750,000 teen pregnancies annually (among those aged 15-19), down from just over 1 million in 1990. (Guttmacher Institute, 2006)
• It is estimated that approximately 1/3 of pregnant teens have abortions, 14% have miscarriages and 52% give birth.
• About 72% of teens who give birth are not married.
• About 75% of teens who give birth are first-time mothers.
• Over 175,000 of the teens who give birth each year are under the age of 18.
• 80% of young teenage moms end up in poverty and on welfare.
• The sons of young teenage moms are 2.7 times more likely to end up in prison than sons born to girls who did not bear children until they were at least 20.
• If teenage girls delayed childbearing until after the age of 21, the rate and costs would be reduced even further. In addition, if less of these young men are incarcerated, then they are able to better contribute to the support of their own children.
• A study in Illinois found that children of teenage mothers are twice as likely to be abused and neglected than are children of 20 or 21 year old mothers. It is estimated that as many as 5% of foster-care placements would not be needed if teenage childbearing were eliminated.

How many women place their children for adoption?

• 2% of unmarried women at any age place their child for adoption. (ChildTrends, 1995)
• The percentage of premarital births placed for adoption has decreased since the 1970s. Analyses of three cycles of the National Survey of Family Growth show the following trend:
• From 1952 to 1972, 8.7% of all premarital births were placed for adoption.
• From 1973 to 1981, this percentage fell to 4.1%.
• From 1982 to 1988, it fell further to 2%. (Bachrach, Stolley, London, 1992)

• Declining number of teens placing children for adoption
• The proportion of teens placing their children for adopton has declined sharply over recent decades. (ChildTrends, 1995)
• When they become pregnant, very few teens choose to place their children for adoption. In a 1995 survey, 51% of teens that become pregnant give birth; 35% seek abortions; 14% miscarry. Less than 1% choose to place their children for adoption. (ChildTrends, 1995)
• The age of unmarried mothers had increased with time. In 1970, half of nonmarital births were to teens; by 1993, the highest proportion of unmarried mothers was women in their twenties, a significant change. The birth rate for unmarried teens declined in 1995. Teen mothers, however continued to make up the largest single group of all first births to unmarried women.
• Declining pregnancy rate
• Pregnancy rates declined by 1% for white women and by 5% for women of all other races between 1980 to 1991. (NCHS, 1997)
• Increasing use of contraceptives
• 4% of never-married womenrelied on their partners to use condoms in 1982; this number increased to 8% in 1988, and to 14% in 1995- a more than three-fold increase. (NCHS, 1997)
• In 1995, 10.7 million women were using female sterilization, 10.4 million were using the birth control pill, 7.9 million used condoms and 4.2 million were using male sterilization as a contraceptive technique. (NCHS, 1997)
• Declining abortion rate
• There has been no research showing that women are choosing to abort their children rather than place these children for adoption. Although the adoption rate has remained relatively steady, nationwide abortion rates have continued to decline since 1990. (Freundlich, 1998)

• Experts point out that only a very small percentage of birth fathers historically have taken an active part in the decisions surrounding adoption, but some agencies report that in recent years, a quarter or more relinquishments have included active involvement of birth fathers. (Freundlich, 1998)

• It is estimated that about 1 million children in the United States live with adoptive parents and that between 2% to 4% of American families include an adopted child. (Stolley, 1993)
• The majority of Americans are personally affected by adoption. In 1997, the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute conducted a benchmark survey of 1,554 adults to examine public attitudes toward the institution of adoption and members of the adoption triad. The survey found that 6 in 10 Americans have had personal experience with adoption, meaning that they themselves, a family member, or a close friend was adopted, had adopted a child, or had placed a child for adoption. (Evan B. Donaldson Institute, 1997)