Early Childbearing and Educational Attainment

Data on the education and childbearing experience of approximately 5000 young women in their teens and early 20s was gathered between 1968-1972. The data show that early childbearing is significantly associated with a lower level of educational attainment. The younger the woman at the birth of her 1st child the less schooling she will complete. This negative impact on educational goals is due to: 1) difficulty and cost of obtaining child care 2) the necessity of working and 3) pressures from friends and family to stay at home with the child. Blacks seem to be less affected by an early pregnancy probably because the black community is more accepting of teenage pregnancy. The educational gap between those with early pregnancy and other young women is never closed. Evidence indicates that early childbearing actually causes early termination of formal education and does not merely accompany such termination.