PIP: Adolescents represent the only major population group in the US whose health status has not improved in the past 30 years, and teenage pregnancy is a major component of this problem. The adolescent pregnancy rate in the US now stands at 95/1000--the highest in any developed country. The proportion of deliveries contributed by adolescents has increased from 17% in 1966 to 20% in 1989, and the peak birthrate now occurs at age 16 years. Of the 1.1 million teenage pregnancies/year in the US, 27% involve married couples, 32% result in out-of-wedlock births, 13% end in spontaneous abortion, and 38% are terminated by induced abortion. The teenager who gives birth before the age of 17 years has a 605 likelihood of becoming pregnant again before the age of 19 years. The high rate of adolescent childbearing is associated with serious health risks to the mother and infant, loss of educational and thus occupational opportunities for the parents, psychological problems such as guilt and shame, the potential loss of family support, and the likelihood of an impoverished life-style. The cognitive development of children born to adolescents is more likely to be impaired and, given the frequent lack of childrearing knowledge and emotional maturity in teen mothers, the risk of child abuse and neglect is great. There are societal costs as well as psychological and economic costs to the individuals involved. The US public will pay $13,902 in taxes over the next 20 years for each birth to a teenager in 1985. In addition, mothers aged 15-17 years are 4.6 more likely to receive public assistance than those who give birth at 20-24 years of age. To correct this situation, schools must begin providing more comprehensive sex education programs that cover information about sexuality an relationships as well as factual material about pregnancy prevention.