Decreasing Teen Pregnancy Decreasing teen pregnancy has been a constant battle for the United States over the past several years. America has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the western part of the world, although it is not the leader in sexually active teenagers. The main problem is that here in the United States we do not adequately educate our children about safe sex practices. Our children end up learning on their own and end up having a child due to lack of knowledge. They also take life away from their own lives, because raising a child is a difficult task for anyone to take on. The best way for adolescents to reduce pregnancy rates is to practice abstinence. It helps control birth rates and stops the transmission of STDs. Most teenagers have sex because of peer pressure and fear of exclusion. Abstinence is very important, but the friends your child chooses are also important in how they approach sex. If everyone around them does it, they will eventually fall prey to peer pressure and start having sex. Abstaining from sex and learning more about sex is a good way to raise awareness and prevent pregnancy. According to the Guttmacher Institute, “teen pregnancies have decreased by 28 percent since 1990 thanks to pregnancy education and literature distributed in schools.” Traditionally, parents teach their children how to have sex, but today, with families always on the move, it's difficult to focus their attention in this area. Most parents rely on sex education in school to help their teens increase their knowledge about sex and pregnancy. I think this knowledge should start as soon as a child is able to adhere to all the information and understand how their body works. It is... middle of paper... a pregnancy rate ranging from 15% to 52% since 1991" (Allan Guttmacher Institute 5). The increase and flow of knowledge from our adolescents will contribute to continuing the decrease of the number of adolescents Teenage girls should have full knowledge of the consequences of having a child before they are ready to do so. Reducing teenage pregnancies depends on us as a whole to help our children adopt a better way of life. life and achieve their dreams and education before they can become parents.Work Cited: Allan Guttmacher Institute (2006). ethnic. New York: Allan Guttmacher Institute. Preventing Teen Pregnancy: Sharing Lessons Learned. National Center for Health Statistics: National Vital Statistics Reports, September 25, 2001. Forum Report. on justice and democracy, November 5.. 2004.