Teen pregnancy, even among Christians, remains an issue that parents must face head on with their teen dughters and especially with their sons (it takes two to tangle – or however that saying goes).

Two recent reports from the Institute show that sexually active teens, treen pregnancy and abortions are on the rise again after a period of decline.

Fittingly we would like to offer some resources to help mother s and fathers address these issues in their homes. Below are some conclusions of the recent reports followed by some websites that provide valuable information for the combatting these issues. We hope these resources are helpful.

The Guttmacher Institute Reports

Now, the Guttmacher Institute has issued a new report, U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births and Abortions: National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity on Teen Pregnancy. Some of the conclusions in that report are:

• Between 1990 and 2005:
  • 41 percent decline in pregnancies among teenaged girls
  • births among teen girls decreased 35 percent
  • teen abortions declined 56 percent between 1988 and 2005

• In 2005
  • the U.S. teenage pregnancy rate reached its lowest point in more than 30 years

• In 2006:
  • the U.S. teenage pregnancy rate increased for the first time in more than a decade, rising 3%
  • 750,000 women younger than 20 became pregnant
  • about 7% of women (age 15-19) became pregnant
  • among all racial and ethnic groups, the teen birthrate reversed its downward trend
  • there were 200,420 abortions among 15–19-year-olds
  • 27% of pregnancies among 15–19-year-olds
    ended in abortion

• In 2007:
  • the teen birth rate rose for the second year in a row – about 1 percent (according to a recent U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention study released late last year and published in the Dec. 21, 2009, online edition of Pediatrics)

The Guttmacher Institute Reports

1. Kost K, Henshaw S. and Carlin L., U.S. Teenage Pregnancies, Births and Abortions: National and State Trends and Trends by Race and Ethnicity, 2010, Guttmacher Institute Report.
2. Facts on American Teens’ Sexual and Reproductive Health, Fact on Teens

Help for Combatting Teen Pregnancy

• Christianity Today – “What Works: Why Teens Choose Purity” – Why Teens Choose Purity
• Crosswalk.com- “Real Solutions to Teen Pregnancy” – Real Solutuions
• Christian Mommies – “Mothers’ Influence on Adolescent Sex – How Being Connected to Your Child Can Promote Abstinence” – Mothers’ Influence
• – “” –

I must admit that I was surprised to find very few resources on-line for this topic. If you know of any please give us the information in a comment below. Thank you!

This morning I received my regular e-mail newsletter from the National Fatherhood Initiative. I noticed a big ad on their website announcing the release of the first-ever national survey taking an in-depth look at how today’s mothers view fathers and fatherhood.

The 36-page report, Mama Says: A National Survey of Mothers’ Attitudes on Fathering (as well as other smaller summaries), is available on their website (National Fatherhood Initiative).

Below are the Top 14 Findings of the report, copied from this website: Top 14 Findings. I am particularly interested #9 and #10 below.

Top 14 Findings – What do moms really think?

1. 93% of moms believe there is a father absence crisis.
2. Most moms think dad is replaceable.
3. Married and cohabiting moms were happier with dads’ performance than moms not living with dad.
4. Married moms believe more in the power of marriage to help dad be the best he can be than moms who are cohabitating or separated from dad.
5. Dads of young children got better marks than dads of teens.
6. Closeness to children and work-family balance were the biggest predictors of mom’s satisfaction with dad (after living arrangement).
7. Most moms said they could do a better job of work-family balance if dad provided more help.
8. Moms said that “work responsibilities” were the biggest obstacle to dad’s success in fathering.
9. Strong religious values are beneficial to helping dads be better fathers.
10. Moms think communities of faith are the top place for dads to get fathering help.
11. Nonresident dads think they’re doing a better job than the moms who co-parent with them think they are.
12. African-American moms weren’t as happy as white or other minority moms, but most of the difference can be explained by living situation or family structure.
13. New romantic relationship for dads equals less happy moms.
14. Moms who aren’t living with the father of their children identified more and stronger obstacles to his ability to parent.

I am truly grateful to the National Fatherhood Initiative for putting this report together. I invite all of my readers to take a look at this report and the many others on fatherhood that are available on the National Fatherhood Initiative website.

We will definitely discuss this list in our next Joseph the Carpenter Focus Group Meeting (JCFG).

Please let us know what you think about the list of the Top 14 Findings by commenting below.

Thank you.
Akili