In the United States, between the ages of 15 to 19, about 750,000 teenage girls become pregnant every year (Porter, 2011). There has been a slight decrease in the number of teen pregnancies but the number is still high. Compared to other developed countries, America has one of the highest unwanted teen pregnancies. A reason behind the high numbers could be the lack of communication between the parents and the teens. Parents should be addressing topics such as changes during puberty, how women become pregnant, proper use of birth control and condoms, as well as homosexuality. One problem with sex talks from parents is that they often become vague because the parent becomes uncomfortable. Also, parents may avoid certain topics that need to be discussed for this same reason. Some parents may shut out their teens, causing their teen to go elsewhere for advice and/or education on sex and topics related to sex. This increases the chance of teens acquiring the wrong information. It is important for teens to feel like they have someone that they can go to, free of judgment and ridicule. There needs to a better educational system that is implemented in order to educate teens on how to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. Education can start at the parent's level so that they can become informed better in order to educate their adolescents. .
From what has been observed, it is more than likely that parents are unable to talk to their teens about high risk behavior just as teens are uncomfortable in asking their parents. The "Sex Talk " is considered to be that awkward moment when a parent sits down with their teenager and tells them about sex. In an article by Time Magazine, "The sex talk is never easy. It's not comfortable for anyone involved " parents are afraid of it, children are mortified by it " which is probably why the talk so often comes after the fact. In the latest study on parent-child talks about sex and sexuality, researchers found that more than 40% of adolescents have had intercourse before talking to their parents about safe sex, birth control or sexually transmitted diseases " (Park, 2009).
