53% of young Latinas pregnant by 20th birthday. [View All]

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http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/19/latinas.pregnancy.rate/index.html

Survey delves into high birth rate for young Latinas

53 percent of Latinas are pregnant by their 20th birthday, survey finds

Survey: Most feel that college, career are key to their future

Most teens in study believe that parents give conflicting messages


By Moni Basu
CNN

(CNN) -- She had many plans for the future: to go to college, start a career, meet the man of her dreams, raise a family -- when the time was right.


Expert: "There's a big disconnect between pregnancy rates and what Latina families want and value."

It was all cut off by an unexpected pregnancy. The baby became her life, consuming her energy and forcing her dreams to the back burner of her life.

This typical Latina is 20 or younger. And has had her first baby.

It's not what she wanted. Nor did her parents, who are the greatest influence on her decisions about sex, according to a wide-ranging survey released Tuesday by experts on the Hispanic community in the United States.

The survey also found that 84 percent of Latino teens and 91 percent of Latino parents believe that graduating from college or university or having a promising career is the most important goal for a teen's future.

Somewhere along the way, the aspirations fail to match up to reality. The survey attempts to examine some of the reasons for the disparity and why Latinas now have the highest teen birth rate among all ethnic and racial groups in the United States.

According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, more than half -- 53 percent -- of Latinas get pregnant by their 20th birthday, nearly twice the national average.