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It has been said that teens across the world have not been receiving enough sex education. This has led to many issues with teens becoming pregnant, which most of the time is unanticipated. Teenage pregnancy has been a social problem throughout the world for a number of decades now. Many studies have been completed in several countries that pertain to the amount of teens and the types of teens who are becoming pregnant. Rates among teens had been declining for some time, but are starting to take a turn and increase. This is still a significant social problem, though some people do not perceive it like it is.
There are various reasons as to why this is such a large social problem. There is not a clear answer as to why teens are going out and having sex at such young ages except for the fact that they are just curious or are trying to rebel. Becoming pregnant is an unanticipated consequence for most teens because they did not think it would happen to them. In reality, there are countless teen pregnancies each year. “In 2002, 757,000 pregnancies occurred among females aged 15-19” (Hedman, Larsen, Bohnenblust, 2008). The media also contributes to the blow up of teen pregnancy. There are news stories, 20/20 studies, and even shows that follow the lives of pregnant teens. T.V. shows such as 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom try teaching viewers what troubles a teen mother faces. The realism of these shows can be misleading and can give other teens false truths about what a teen motherhood is really like.

For many of the studies on teen pregnancy, Canada, England, and the USA are compared to each other because they have many of the same standards. “Despite declining birth rates over the past few decades, the United States continues to have the highest teen pregnancy rate of all industrialized countries” (Crittenden CP et al, 2009). According to an American study, “750,000 girls get pregnant each year, 31% of teenage girls get pregnant at least once before the turn 20, and the federal government spends about $7 billion to help families that originate with a teen mother” (Gilbert, 2007). Studies have shown throughout these countries that America still has the highest rate of teen pregnancy. In Canada, “the teen birth rate declined from 35.7 per 1000 in 1974 to 14.4 in 2003” (McKay, 2006). This statement was made referring to the United States, “Since the teen birthrate is on the rise for the first time in 15 years, it is critically important to focus resources and attention on this problem” (Docksai, 2010). The teen birthrates maybe declining in other territories around the world, but the U.S. is starting to see an increase.