Abstract
Birth certificates for Baltimore residents in 1983 provided data for fathers and mothers, 12% of all babies had 2 teen parents, 14% had a teen mother only and 1.7% had a teen father and older mother, 72% had parents aged 20 or above. Teen fathers and those of babies of teen mothers were disadvantaged educationally and financially and few were married as compared with older parents.
Interviews with a random sample of adolescent mothers (<18 yrs., n=389) provided the following data for black and white fathers, respectively: father and mother knew each other for ≥12 mos. prior to pregnancy, 83 vs 78%; father wanted the pregnancy, 52 vs 61%; mother desired the birth, 12 vs 40%; 15-18 mos. after birth, father was married and living with mother, 2 vs 24%; father was working, 47 vs 75%; contributed financially to child's support, 58 vs 71%; had frequent contact with child, 62 vs 77%; assisted in child care, 69 vs 73% and in decisions regarding child, 32 vs 41%. Father's contribution viewed as too little by mother, 61 vs 32%. Father and mother had neither married nor lived together, 86 vs 43% and father had no contact with child in 13% of blacks and 12% of whites. Thus, in most adolescent childbirths, the father has a continuing role during the child's early life.
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Hardy, J., Duggan, A. TEENAGE FATHERS AND FATHERS OF BABIES BORN TO TEENAGERS. Pediatr Res 21 (Suppl 4), 174 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00050
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198704010-00050