The Cost of Teen Pregnancy

MSNBC.com: A baby changes everything: The true cost of teen pregnancy’s uptick, by Kari Huus:

Nate Howell has approximately 76 days to adjust to his new reality. That is when he is due to become a parent with his girlfriend, Samantha Keith, who just turned 17.

"It scares the living hell out of me,” says Nate, 19, who is working at a pork-packing plant in his hometown, Elkhart, Ind. “I thought I’d be in college right now playing football.”

Nate is one of five members of the class of 2009 whom msnbc.com has been following as part of The Elkhart Project. After high school, Nate had hoped to go to college and play football but didn't get a financial scholarship.

Now, facing parenthood, he and Samantha are in a tough spot — one that tends to come with a high price. Research shows that people who have children in their teens are less likely to get a high school diploma or go on to college. They tend to earn less in the working world, and children born to these teens struggle to keep up with their peers. For many, beating back poverty becomes the overriding concern. . . .