One out of Four Teenage Girls has an STD

A federal study reports that at least one in four teenage girls in the U.S. has a sexually transmitted disease, with the majority being infected with HPV. Among African American girls in the study, nearly half had at least one STD. The CDC recommends increased screening and prevention efforts, including annual screening for all sexually-active women under age 25 and the three-dose HPV vaccine for all girls ages 11-12. The report is a call to action for parents, doctors, and public officials to ensure that teens receive accurate information about their risk for contracting STDs and confidential screening.

Teens and Older Partners
A study from Child Trends, Older Sexual Partners During Adolescence: Links to Reproductive Health Outcomes in Young Adulthood, finds that teenage girls who have sex with older partners are at greater risk of both acquiring an STD and having a non-marital birth by the time they are young adults, when compared to females with similar-age partners. Among middle and high school students, one in five girls reports having had a sexual relationship with a partner who was three or more years older than them.

In addition, the combination of having sex at a young age with an older partner is linked to an especially high risk of acquiring an STD for girls. Teenage girls who have sex before the age of 16 with a partner who is at least three years older than them are twice as likely as other females to test positive for an STD in young adulthood. When young teen girls have an older sexual partner the unequal power dynamic may lead to more risky sexual behavior. The researchers recommend that adolescents, parents, and program providers be made more aware of the risks associated with girls and older partners.
 

Teen Childbearing in Georgia Costs Taxpayers $465 Million Annually
Between 1991 and 2008, approximately 319,892 teens gave birth in Georgia. The cost to taxpayers is a total of $9.5 billion over that period. Forty-eight percent of thoses costs were federal, and 52% were state and local.  

The teen birth rate in Georgia declined 32% percent between 1991 and 2008. This has saved progress taxpayers an estimated $361 million in 2008 alone.

Most of the public costs are associated with negative consequences for the children of teen mothers, during both childhood and young adult years. In 2008, Georgia taxpayer costs associated with children born to teen mothers included: $75 million for public health care (Medicaid and CHIP); $89 million for child welfare; and, for children who reached adolescence or young adulthood, $74 million for increased rates of incarceration and $133 million in lost tax revenue due to decreased earnings and spending.

Source: Counting it Up by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy