Single mothers fight odds for children's futures

From Correspondent Jeanne Meserve

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Nearly a third of all babies in the United States are born out of wedlock, recent figures show, and 70 percent of those births are to women in their 20s and 30s.

"It isn't that childbearing has changed. It is that people are no longer marrying," explained Kristin Moore of Child Trends Inc. "They are not marrying before they get pregnant. They are not marrying when they get pregnant. They are not even marrying after they have a first birth."

But the prospect for the children born out of wedlock -- and the women who have them -- is not good. A single mother making a single income will most likely be poor and cycle in and out of the welfare system.

The children also will share in the mother's poverty and run a greater risk of using drugs, dropping out of school, getting into trouble with the law and becoming pregnant in their teens.

A million teen-age girls become pregnant each year, with about 500,000 having the babies.

Some blame a permissive society for the rise in out-of- wedlock births -- a society that has made single motherhood increasingly more acceptable for women of all ages. Still, many mothers have no choice but to raise their children alone.

Lorri Jones' boyfriend was not around when she took their baby son, Spencer, home from the hospital. And he isn't providing financial support.

"I didn't expect him to jump for joy when he found out I was pregnant. But I figured after 4 1/2 years in a relationship, that we could work something out," said Jones.

'Historical' evolution

Child experts, like Stephanie Coontz of Evergreen State College, say the trend is part of an "international, long- term historical process that involves the increasing independence of women."

(451K/20 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

A group of teen-age mothers who talked with CNN seemed to reflect Coontz's analysis. Most of the women in the group did not consider marriage or abortion or putting their child up for adoption.

"You play, you pay," said Candy, a teen-ager who has a baby.

Another teen-age mother, Brandy, told CNN: "I know what I did was wrong. I laid in the bed. I made my son."

Most are determined to raise their children as best they can. Programs like Raising Hopes Infant Center in Westminster, Maryland, help keep the single mothers on track.

"I am going to college whether anybody looks at me like crap or not," said Tiffany. "I am still doing what I want to do, and my son pushes me to do it because I have to make a future for him."

Related sites:

• National Organization of Single Mothers, Inc.
• Tribute to Motherhood
• Motherhood Resources
• Personal Journals on Motherhood

Tell us what you think! You said it...

© 1997 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.