Introduction: Teen pregnancy and teen parenting are prevalent and significant public health issues. Teen parenting also has many social and economic consequences for mother and family. Single parenthood is associated with increased financial, work and child care strains compared to a more traditional family type. Therefore, the impact of teen pregnancy on marital status needs to be investigated. This study examines the association between teen parenthood and future marital status. Methods: The 2002 National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle 6 was analyzed. This study included 12398 women age 20 – 44 years who had children. Teen parenthood was defined as age at first birth before the age of twenty. Marital status was dichotomized as married and other marital status. Exposure and outcome variables were examined using logistic regression modeling. Results: Women who had a child before age twenty were less likely be married compared to women who had a child at age 20 or older (OR = 2.30 [95% CI = 2.01, 2.64]). After adjusting for race, education, age at first sex and intendedness of the pregnancy, women who had a child before age 20 were less likely to be married or stay married compared to women who had a child at age 20 or older (OR = 1.35 [95% 1.19, 1.62]). Conclusions: Teen parents are less likely to be married or stay married later in life. Teens should be informed that teen parenthood is a significant risk factor for single parenthood later in life. Future studies should examine all levels of marital status as an outcome of teen parenthood. Future studies should also examine this association among fathers.

Nearly half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. In 2002, the direct medical costs of unintended pregnancies were estimated to be almost five billion dollars. Moreover, women with unintended pregnancies tend to delay seeking prenatal care and making the necessary life style changes for the fetus. Subsequently, unintended pregnancies have the potential to lead to low birth weight infants and potentially poorer long-term child development. Although there are negative consequences with unintended pregnancies, repeat unintended pregnancies impose even greater health risks for both mothers and infants. To prevent unintended and repeat unintended pregnancies, family planning methods must be utilized effectively. Despite the potential risk associated with negative health outcomes of mothers and infants, repeated unintended pregnancies have not been studied extensively. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the number of unintended pregnancies and effective use of family planning methods. A secondary analysis of The National Statistics of Family Growth, cycle 6 (2002) was done. The study showed a statistically significant relationship association between the number of unintended pregnancies and effective contraceptive use after adjusting for confounders which include age, race, annual household income, marital status and types of insurance. The recommendation of this study include creating better strategies for family planning practices and the need to improving contraceptive education and service delivery for those with higher risk.