This is the fourth of a 5 part series on "Women's Health". Thank you to
Lebanon Family Health Services for their assistance with this series.
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| Lebanon Family Health Services Ann Biser, Donna Williams, Kim Kreider Umble, Vicki DeLoatch |
According to the National Campaign for the Prevention of
Teen Pregnancy, the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the
industrialized world. The United States
teenage pregnancy rate is nearly 2X higher than the United Kingdom (the highest
in Europe) and 10X higher than Switzerland (the lowest in Europe)[1]. Sadly, this is not shocking news to those
that have worked in the field of adolescent reproductive health for the
majority of the past half century. It
has been this way for quite some time.
It is a reality that advocates have been screaming about, but has either
fallen on deaf ears or become a pandering tool for political debate.
The debate has been wide and has a tendency to tug at the social nerve that lies beneath the American Psyche. While the issue is complexly intertwined with the dynamics of poverty, the debate concerning its solutions have ranged from attitudes towards sexuality education, access to contraception and cultural attitudes concerning sexuality in general. The one thing all sides of the debate can agree upon is this: unplanned teen pregnancy is a problem.
Teen mothers are 60% more likely to drop out of school which
further perpetuates the cycle of poverty and resulting in higher rates of babies
being born into poverty[2]. These babies are also more likely to have
poor school attendance, drop out of school, have lower cognitive scores, end up
in prison and ultimately become teen parents themselves. A cycle that weighs heavy on our society. It is estimated that teen pregnancy costs tax
payers $10.9 billion annually ($463 million in PA for 2008), but when rates are
decreased huge savings can be found. For
example, between 1991 and 2004 we saw a 1/3 decrease in teen pregnancy that
resulted in a $6.7 billion savings.[3]
This leads us back to the question posed above. What are the other industrialized countries
doing better than the US that leaves them with much more positive teen
pregnancy statistics? The answer is
simple. They have more open access to
healthcare, including reproductive healthcare.
Since 1973 Lebanon Family Health Services has been meeting
this reproductive health need for underserved women in Lebanon County. According to Donna Williams, Chief Operating
Officer at LFHS, “We often hear that women receiving medical assistance are
treated differently at other offices. It
is important that in order to reach this population with the ultimate goal of
improving health outcomes, that these clients are treated fairly and with
respect. In the end, these women will
become active partners in their healthcare and society
benefits.”
Now with the passage
of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, access to contraception will be
considered an essential benefit under the preventive health component of the law. In
other words, insurance companies now have to cover birth control.
[1]
United States: Martin, J.A., Hamilton, B.E.,
Sutton, P.D., Ventura, S.J., Matthews, T.J.,
Kirmeyer, S. & Osterman, M.J.K.. (2010).Births: Final data for 2007.
National Vital Statistics Reports,58 (24). Other Countries: United
Nations Statistical Division. Demographic Yearbook 2007. New York: United Nations
[2] The National Campaign for the Prevention of Teen
Pregnancy. Counting it Up: The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing, 2008.
[3] Ibid.
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