Can teenage pregnancy be a barrier to academic achievements?
On One Hand: Teenage Pregnancy Is Related to Lower AchievementAccording to the March of Dimes, “Only 40 percent of teenagers who have children before age 18 go on to graduate from high school, compared to 75 percent of teens from similar social and economic backgrounds who do not give birth until ages 20 or 21.” As a result, 64 percent of children born to unmarried teenage mothers grow up in poverty. Many teenagers underestimate the responsibilities of having a baby, are unable to find appropriate child care to attend school, must stay home when the baby is ill or need to find a job to pay for the expenses of having a child. These factors contribute to teenage mothers not meeting their academic potential.On the Other: Programs Are in Place to Help Teen ParentsTeenagers who are pregnant have more social support than ever before. Many schools have programs to support teenage mothers—providing free day care at the mother’s school, for example. There are also increasing numbers of altern
