Adolescent sexual activity and childbearing are of growing concern in Latin America and the Caribbean. Recent trends pose fundamental concerns about the health and education of teenage mothers; the health and social development of children born to these young women; the well-being of teenage men exposed to sexually transmitted diseases or who quit school to support young families; and society’s losses and obligations incurred by adolescents and their children who are not able to become fully productive and independent citizens. Finding appropriate responses to these problems has been made all the more complex by the social revolution wrought by rapid modernization. Increasingly, people live in urban areas, are more prosperous and are better educated and informed about lifestyle options, but attitudes toward sex, motherhood and attendant public policy are still influenced by the mores formed by yesterday’s traditional rural societies.

This booklet reviews recent survey data on adolescent sexual activity and childbearing and presents policy options to assist readers to reach their own conclusions about this growing social problem.

Reproductive Health