Our Issues: Healthy Pregnancies, Parenting, and Young Latina Health

Latinas and all women have the human right to full information, resources, and services to make their healthiest decisions about relationships, sex, pregnancy and parenting. Focusing on teen pregnancy prevention as the main and only strategy to advancing adolescent sexual and reproductive health is not an adequate framework for doing so because so many of those needs fall outside of the scope of pregnancy prevention.

Much of the work on prevention only misses the mark for many Latinos, and more investment is needed to identify better messages and programs. Unfortunately, many of the common solutions and programs that attempt to address teen pregnancy do not address systemic and socio-political issues that may also lead to high rates of pregnancy among U.S-based Latinas teens. It is true that more Latino teens start their families earlier than non-Hispanic white teens. However, data also indicates that the birthrate among 15-to-19-year-olds across all ethnic groups rose 1.4% from 2006 to 2007, and more births were also reported among women in their 20s, 30s and 40s and older unmarried women. By sounding the alarm on teen pregnancy we fail to focus on pro-active positive messages, programs and policies that can lead to healthy pregnancies, stronger families and that highlight all the positive contributions that young Latinas make to this society.