Unplanned Pregnancy in West Virginia is a Serious Problem.
Unplanned
pregnancy is a serious social problem in West Virginia. About 43% of West
Virginia births are the result of an unplanned pregnancy. Studies show
that unplanned pregnancy is at the root of a number of important public health
and social challenges. Children born from unplanned pregnancies are at increased
risk of low birth weight, developmental delays, and poverty. And this
translates into high public sector costs for health care, social services, and
education in West Virginia. The majority of unintended pregnancies occur
among single women, but close to 30% also occur among married women. Women
between the ages of 20-29 are most vulnerable to an unintended pregnancy.
To study unintended pregnancy, the causes, and the potential remedies, the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership has partnered with The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Our focus of this study is on women ages 20-29. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC that has experience and expertise in studying the issue in other states. For more than a decade, the National Campaign has worked to reduce teen pregnancy—and is now expanding its mission to also focus on preventing unplanned pregnancy among young adults.
In early 2008, West Virginia professionals, policy makers, and young adults participated with the National Campaign on a Learning Tour—as one site in a series of meetings with national, state, and community leaders across the country— to ask these experts how they saw the problem of unplanned pregnancy among single, young adults. This diverse cross-section of leaders, professionals, providers, policy-makers, and advocates were generous with their time and offered many thoughtful insights about how best to address the challenge of unplanned pregnancy in the United States. The findings from this Learning Tour are helping to inform the work of The National Campaign. We also believe that these insights will be helpful to colleagues who are working on this critical social problem across the country. Read the report of the West Virginia meetings.
For more than a decade the births to West Virginia teens had consistently
declined, and between 1991 and 2004 teen births had dropped by 24%. Then,
in 2006, the rate of teen childbearing in the state increased, with alarming
social and economic costs. A white paper addresses the problem:
Study on the Incidence of Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing in West Virginia
(October 2008). The purpose of this report is to 1) highlight the
incidences and effects of teen pregnancy and childbearing in West Virginia as
compared to the national landscape, and 2) identify strategies and policies
aimed at reducing teen pregnancy.
We are now undertaking a new project, funded by the National Campaign, to reduce
unplanned pregnancies among young adults, based upon the findings of the study
conducted in April 2008. Among the goals are:
- To advocate for a Medicaid waiver for family planning services for up to two years after the birth of a child;
- To initiate a pregnancy planning component as part of pre- and post-natal visits, working with agencies and organizations that provide in-home parenting education; and
- To research efforts in other states and develop a widely-supported West
Virginia action plan to reduce unplanned pregnancies among young adults.
For further information please contact:
Joyce Daniels
2207 Washington Street East
Charleston, WV 25311
Telephone (304)346-8176
e-mail: joyce.w.daniels@verizon.net