Over the past two decades, births to U.S. teenagers have fallen and no longer follow overall fertility patterns. Yet the unique challenges faced by teenage mothers and their families justify continued research. Across disciplines, newer work has furthered our understanding of teenage motherhood today. In this article, I highlight four areas of progress: processes of selection into teenage motherhood, the broader consequences of teenage childbearing beyond the socioeconomic realm, heterogeneity of effects, and the application of life course principles. Emerging societal trends such as complex family structures, a stalled recovery from the recession for families of low socioeconomic status, and a rapidly evolving political environment for reproductive health care continue to challenge the lives of teenage mothers. Given that the consequences for teenagers of becoming mothers may change, continued research is needed. Shifts in policy to favor supporting teenage mothers and addressing the causes of both teenage pregnancy and social disadvantage may help improve the lives of these mothers and their families.

中文翻译：

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当今的少女母亲：我们所知道的以及它的重要性。

过去二十年来，美国青少年的出生率有所下降，并且不再遵循总体生育模式。然而，少女母亲及其家人面临的独特挑战证明了继续研究的必要性。跨学科的新研究进一步加深了我们对当今青少年母亲身份的理解。在本文中，我强调了四个方面的进展：选择青少年成为母亲的过程、青少年生育在社会经济领域之外的更广泛后果、影响的异质性以及生命历程原则的应用。新出现的社会趋势，例如复杂的家庭结构、社会经济地位低下的家庭从经济衰退中复苏的停滞以及生殖保健政治环境的迅速变化，继续对少女母亲的生活构成挑战。鉴于青少年成为母亲的后果可能会发生变化，因此需要继续研究。政策转变以支持少女母亲并解决少女怀孕和社会弱势的原因可能有助于改善这些母亲及其家人的生活。