Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/274627
AS A COMMUNITY, WE are making progress in deal- ing with teen pregnancy, but we have a long way to go. Teen pregnancy and childbearing among adolescents is a complex problem that is closely linked to many critical issues, including educational failure, risky behavior, poor health, poverty and single parenthood. Those at risk include not only the babies and the mothers, but also the fathers, the families and the whole community. Physicians play a key role in preventing teen pregnancy. They are a lifeline for adoles- cents, providing them with information and encouraging them to make healthy decisions. They are cheerleaders for parents. And, they are champions and advocates of effective public policy and community solutions. According to data from the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, during 2012: + Bexar County had 42.8 births per 1,000 females ages 15–19. This is 46 percent higher than the national rate of 29.4 births per 1,000. + In the year 2017, the 2,755 babies born to teens in 2012 will fill 125 kindergarten classes. + Twenty-two percent of teen mothers giving birth have already had at least one child. + The estimated cost to taxpayers of teen childbearing in Bexar County in 2012 was $59.6 million. This includes the costs of child welfare, health care, lost revenue and incarceration. In order to be a lifeline for adolescents, physicians need to take the time for discus- sion, both with their parents and privately. A visit for an immunization, sports physical or sore throat may be the only opportunity to address the behavioral issues that so often impact adolescents' health, including their sexual health. The HEADSSS interview screening tool helps physicians ask about important areas that affect adolescent health: Home (and environment); Education and Employment; Activities; Drugs; Sexuality; Suicide/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + +++ + +++ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ COMMUNITY HEALTH ❯ Physicians Play a Key Role in Reducing Teen Pregnancy in Bexar County By Janet P. Realini, MD, MPH, President, Healthy Futures of Texas 1 2 | San Antonio MD NEWS ■ M D N E W S . CO M