Financial and Social Costs of Teen Births
Preventing teen pregnancy is generally considered a priority among policymakers and the public
because of its high economic, social, and health costs for teen parents and their families. Teenage
mothers and fathers tend to have less education and are more likely to live in poverty than their
peers who are not teen parents. Children of teenage mothers are more likely than children of older
mothers to have chronic medical conditions, rely heavily on provided health care, do poorly in
school, give birth during their teen years (continuing the cycle of teen pregnancy), spend some
time in a juvenile detention facility or jail, and be unemployed or underemployed as a young
adult.