Blog: Teen Pregnancy

Youth Justice News Roundup

By Anonymous, June 03 2016

We round up the latest news on youth justice reform and national public health.

Compromise reached on "Second Chance" legislation; raising the age debate now closed. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy argued to raise the age of youth in the state juvenile justice system, but the debate ended last weekend in a compromise with Democratic leadership on bail reform for non-violent, misdemeanor offenses. [NBC Connecticut]

White House deletes FDA's planned policy and rationale for restricting flavored e-cigarettes. After demonstrating the appeal of flavored products to youth and young adults, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) submitted a tobacco regulation on flavored e-cigarettes to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The FDA policy and rationale for the restrictions were deleted by the OMB; no comments on why at this time. [NBC News]

Topics: Adolescent Mental Health, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, Hawaii, Juvenile Justice Reform, Louisiana, Maryland, News, Reclaiming Futures, Teen Pregnancy, teens, tobacco

SAMHSA Reports: The Truth About Pregnant Teens’ Substance Abuse

By Jaclyn Chelf, May 28 2013

Due to the number of pregnant teens seeking substance abuse treatment admission, SAMHSA established a Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) to illuminate the variances between pregnant teenagers and other female teens admitted. Nearly 57,000 female teens were admitted to substance abuse treatment between 2007 and 2010. 2,200 of the teens admitted were pregnant. The report details both treatment and prevention programs.
Analysts found that more than half of the pregnant teens reported drug or alcohol use in the month before treatment initiation. One fifth of the women indicated daily use, with marijuana and alcohol listed as the most commonly used substances regardless of pregnancy status.
Teenage pregnancy alone poses a much higher peril for health risks than adult pregnancy. When addiction is mixed in, the chances for pregnancy-related complications, premature delivery and delivering babies with developmental problems increases dramatically.

Topics: Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, No bio box, Teen Pregnancy