Seeking to Help Teenage Latinas Avoid Pregnancy

As teenage birthrates in California and the nation fall to the lowest level in decades, 16-year-old Ana Maria finds herself on the wrong side of the statistics.

The San Gabriel Valley girl is three months pregnant, despite what she calls a strict upbringing and warnings by her mother to be careful. In late October, when her baby is born, she will join a populous sisterhood of young Latinas, who have the highest teenage birthrate of all major racial and ethnic groups in the nation.

That has prompted a spate of new research and educational campaigns aimed at preventing early pregnancies and overcoming cultural and language barriers that have inhibited the kind of reductions in birthrate achieved among other groups. Among the factors cited by the studies are many Latino parents’ reluctance to discuss sexual issues with teenagers and a shortage of health advice available in Spanish, especially for low-income girls.

The stakes for California and the nation are enormously high: In the next 20 years, the Latino teenage population is expected to rise by 60%, and experts fear that a growing pool of young mothers and their children will be vulnerable to poverty, inadequate health care and welfare dependence.

“It has a tremendously negative impact not only on the lives of these young girls and the communities in which they live but on society as a whole,” said Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles), whose largely Latino district includes a wide swath of downtown Los Angeles, Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. Roybal-Allard is involved in efforts to reduce teenage pregnancy.

The overall drop in the U.S. teenage birthrate, though still high compared with other developed countries, has been hailed as a significant achievement by health officials. Experts say that girls and boys are having less sex and using more effective contraceptives, perhaps prompted by concerns about contracting sexually transmitted diseases. The teenage birthrate decreased by 20% nationally and by 31% in California in the 1990s.

Latinas’ Birthrate Is Stubbornly High

Declines were recorded among every ethnic group. For example, from 1990 to 1998, the birthrate in California declined by 41% among white teenagers, by 37% among black teenagers and by 12% among Latina teenagers.

But the rate among California Latinas, though down, remains stubbornly high at 90.5 births per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 19, compared with 59.9 for black teenagers and 20.7 for whites. Although African American girls are slightly more likely than Latinas to become pregnant, they are also more likely to have an abortion, accounting for their lower birthrate.

Studies show that Latinas have higher rates of sexual activity and lower than average rates of contraceptive use.

Experts are beginning to explore social and cultural conditions that might explain the variations and lead to new preventive programs.

A study funded by the California Wellness Foundation being released this month found that Latino youths in particular have difficulty getting access to contraceptives and other resources because of language barriers and fear among undocumented immigrants of using public services.

The study, a part of the Get Real About Teen Pregnancy Prevention Campaign, concludes that foreign-born Latino youngsters who adapt quickly to their new environment, particularly through education and learning English, are less likely to become pregnant or engage in sex.

Family planning was not something she gave much thought to, said Ana Maria, who asked that her last name not be used.

She came to this country from Mexico a year ago and is taking an English-language course in adult school, but has never been enrolled in American high school classes.

Her Family Expected Purity

Ana Maria said she was expected by her family, especially her protective brothers, to be chaste. She had been secretly dating her 21-year-old cousin for two months when she got pregnant. She now lives with him at the home of an aunt.

“If I could go back [in time] I would speak to my mom and family about my relationship; I’d get married and then plan my pregnancy,” she said during a visit to the East Valley Community Health Clinic in West Covina, where she receives medical care.

Other studies report that the emphasis placed on family in many traditional Latino households promotes higher fertility rates among older and younger women alike.

An upcoming UCLA study, commissioned by the group Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, is surveying American-born Latinas, recent immigrants and white teenagers in Los Angeles and the wide variations among the groups in birthrate, marital status and education level.

The findings suggest that recently arrived immigrants who are poor are more likely to have higher rates of pregnancy and birth.

Other studies across the country are looking at why birthrates among Cubans and, to an extent, Puerto Ricans, are lower than Mexican American teenagers and those from some South and Central American countries.

Poverty Tied to Ignorance of Sexuality

“When a young woman is impoverished, she has very little information about sexuality and family planning, and teen pregnancy is more of an issue,” said Lia Margolis, president of Latino Coalition for a Healthy California.

The group hopes to use the UCLA study results to design educational programs that target specific Latino populations.

Alexandra, 17, who was also at the West Covina clinic, got pregnant in Mexico and was sent to live with California relatives by her parents, who refused to let her see her 17-year-old boyfriend.

She believes lack of communication with her parents about sex, contraception and other issues contributed to her naivete.

Her father, she said, forbade her to have a boyfriend until she was 20 or ready to marry.

“So I went behind their backs,” said Alexandra, who is due to give birth in June. “I think now I would have waited to finish school and maybe used birth control.”

Parents who are averse to discussing sexuality is a common thread among the mostly Latino girls she sees, said Victoria Derrick, the clinic’s director of health promotion.

The California Wellness Foundation study found that “in an effort to avoid discussing the topic, many Latino parents will rely on public schools to educate their children about sex and reproductive health.”

But Roybal-Allard and others say that many Latino parents are beginning to understand the importance of discussing such issues with their children. And upcoming media campaigns will target Latino radio and publications.

Experts also point out that teenage parents need not lose all hope of improving their lives.

Daneen Rodriguez is a 15-year-old 10th-grader and mother of 9-month-old Damian. Melissa Reynoso, 17, is a senior and has a 2-year-old daughter, Faith Rose.

Both of the Workman High School students attend an innovative state-funded parent education program at the City of Industry school that encourages them to graduate and set personal goals.

Rodriguez, who was awarded a $1,000 college scholarship for her high test scores, wants to become a paralegal.

Reynoso is planning to attend Mt. San Antonio College this fall and eventually law school at UC Berkeley.

Both say their lives have been dramatically changed by motherhood: They have forfeited part of their own childhoods to take on new responsibilities and would plan differently if they could.

“I would say to young girls and boys, if you’re having sex, use protection, and if you’re not having sex, don’t,” said Reynoso.

“People don’t realize the consequences that come with sex. I think my friends have learned from my experience.”

There are 30 pregnant or parenting teenagers in the class, including two young fathers.

Seven are graduating this spring and four of them are going on to college, said program coordinator Marny Shay.

Eighteen babies are enrolled at an on-site child-care center that also serves as a practicum on infant development that students must attend for one hour each day.

“We push them toward the expectation that they will go to college rather than the expectation that they won’t,” Shay said of the mostly Latinos in the class.

“A number of the girls are the first in their families to graduate. Education is not a priority, but when it becomes a priority, you will see the birthrate come down, whether it’s Latino or any other culture.”