About the Alliance

Why Care about Teen Pregnancy?

Massachusetts is recognized nationally for having one of the lowest teen birth rates in the country with a teen birth rate of 25 births per thousand teen girls. Although this is good news, we cannot be complacent on this issue. We still have an obligation to examine why there are over 12,000 children in the state being parented by teenagers and why, in some Massachusetts communities, the teen birth rate is more than three times the state average.

While teen pregnancy is certainly a reproductive health issue, the consequences of early child-bearing create a ripple effect, impacting the well-being of teen parents, their children and the communities where they live. Early parenthood often forces teens to postpone or forgo education or job training programs, preventing teen parents from pursuing other dreams of a stable family life or a fulfilling work life. What’s more, teenage parents often experience inequity in education and encounter discrimination when they seek housing and jobs. More often than not, these young adults must nurture their children while living in poverty or on the brink of poverty. In Massachusetts and across the country, teen pregnancy continues to be a serious public health and social issue that carries considerable economic costs.

The children of teenaged parents bear the burden of their parents’ young age. They have poorer health, worse educational outcomes, and higher rates of adolescent childbearing and incarceration then the children of older mothers.

Problems related to teen pregnancy cost taxpayers over $7 billion per year. Half of all single mothers on welfare were teenagers when they had their first child.

Fewer than one-third of teen mothers ever finish high school. This leaves them unprepared for the job market and more likely to raise their children in poverty.

Minimizing teen pregnancy and ensuring teen parents have the skills to be economically self-sufficient are highly leveraged and cost-effective strategies to achieve broader social objectives. For twenty-five years, the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy has successfully advocated on behalf of teen parents, believing that with the proper supports, they can provide a safe, nurturing p environment for their children and achieve economic independence. At the same time, the Alliance has worked to address one of the root causes of a continuing cycle of poverty by organizing support for effective strategies that prevent teen pregnancy and decrease adolescent birthrates in the state.

Click on the links in the orange box to learn more about the Alliance’s work.

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Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy
105 Chauncy Street, 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02111
617.482.9122 Main, 617.482.9129 Fax