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Teens who choose to parent their children face a large number of challenges from social, financial and emotional perspectives:

• Unmarried mothers who parent their children are more likely to repeat an out-of-wedlock pregnancy, are more likely to remain unmarried and to have children who experience out-of-wedlock pregnancy (GAO report, 1998)
• Unmarried mothers who parent their children are more likely to have serious employment and financial problems (Children’s Defense Fund). Nearly 80 percent of unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare (National Campaign to End Teen Pregnancy).
• Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school (only one-third receive a high school diploma) and only 1.5% have a college degree by age 30 (National Campaign to End Teen Pregnancy).
• Twenty-two percent (22%) of children in single parent families live in poverty, compared to 2% of children in two-parent families, including 2% of children in adoptive families. (NCHS)
• A 1998 study by the National Center for Health Statistics found that children raised in a single parent family are two to three times more likely to have emotional problems, are more likely to drop out of school, become pregnant as teenagers, abuse drugs and be in trouble with the law than children raised in two-parent families (NCHS).

(taken from:march of dimes) July 2004

Child Support

Only 20% of unmarried mothers receive child support from the child’s father.

(Taken from National Council for Adoption’s Infant Adoption Awareness Curriculum, 2002)