Teen Pregnancy Among Black Girls in Rural Counties and Why No One is Doing Anything About It

I am currently at my internship chatting with a co-worker and as he is doing a needs assessment he runs across a statistic that states, in a year time span, there are 48 per 1,000 live births from mothers ages 10-19. 37 of those live births were from black mothers. This statistic was based from a certain rural county in Georgia. The fact that majority of these teen mothers are black shows one thing... a racial health disparity. Even though teen pregnancy rates in the United States are declining, there is still a disparity in these statistics. Similar statistics are reported throughout the country and at this point I keep asking myself, when will our country adopt comprehensive sexual health education for students?

Barrier to access of all contraception

When we look at rural communities we must consider the fact that there will be a barrier to access of any type of health-related care, because of the way the system is set up. Majority of people living in rural counties are uninsured and lack access to care because jobs are scarce and low-paying. This environment makes it hard for girls to get contraceptives from condoms to IUDs. If parents are uninsured how can they provide the best care for their kids? Depending on the service, a visit to the doctor to receive a LARC (Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive) can cost up to $1,000. I'm a college student and can't afford that, how can teenage girls afford birth control? There is also a stigma in these communities. In small towns, everyone knows each other, so if Carol sees Linda's daughter at Target buying condoms, she is bound to tell. People can't fathom the fact that a girl is trying to protect herself from a sexually transmitted infection and prevent pregnancy, because they think that sex=impurity. We must change this mindset of people so they can understand that giving teens the freedom to choose for themselves sexually will overall improve their quality of life and prevent teen pregnancy.

Lack of sexual health education

If the area is of low socioeconomic status there is a high chance that the school system isn't great. If the government can't put money into these schools we know for a fact that these schools can't afford comprehensive sexual health education. This means that people/teachers who aren't qualified to teach sexual education will end up teaching sexual education that doesn't come from a curriculum but more from what they have "heard". Schools in southern rural counties are also teaching abstinence only classes. By telling students not to do something or that something is "bad", makes them more inclined to do it. We have to give students the option to choose for themselves and what's best for them. Telling girls to take a virginity pledge won't decrease birth rates, providing condoms in schools will.

Considering these factors, and the fact that black teens are four times more likely to become pregnant than white teens, what can we do to relieve this disparity? How can our government, education system, and church play a role in decreasing teen pregnancy rates among our community? Someone is willing to take on this responsibility, I know I am.