"Teen Mom" on MTV was once the most popular show on the channel. The reality show featured four teenagers who were preparing for motherhood and later learning how to care for their children. A spin-off of the popular TV show "16 and Pregnant," "Teen Mom" entertained audiences all throughout the United States while giving them a glimpse of this sort of life. The show has received constant attention, and a fourth season is slotted to start this June. While "Teen Mom" may be a fun way to entertain yourself from your couch, there are many teen moms in the United States without cameras following their every step and documenting their every drama.

According to Livestrong, the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world. The Center for Disease Control says that one-third of all teenage girls get pregnant before the age of 20. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy writes that 750,000 teenagers get pregnant each year, and eight in every ten of teen pregnancies are unintended. 81 percent of all teens who get pregnant are unmarried.

When a teen is pregnant, she needs to know her rights as a mother, and how they coincide with her young age. Teen moms always have the right to choose whether to keep their baby. They are given the right to choose an abortion if that is their desire. Some states require that teens notify their parents of their decision to get an abortion before proceeding, while other states require the parents' permission. In some states, the teen can decide to have an abortion without any permission, or courts can override a parents' refusal to let their daughter have an abortion. Many states offer assistance programs for teen mothers if they have no one to turn to during their pregnancy. These helpful advisory councils can teach teens how to maintain their body during pregnancy, or explain the process and repercussion of an abortion.

A minor does not need a parent's permission to put her baby up for adoption. Once the teen has relinquished her baby into the hands of the new parents, she may have a short period (such as one year) when she can choose whether or not to take the child back and raise it under her care. After that allotted amount of time is up, if she has not claimed the baby, it will be legally adopted as another family's relative. Teens cannot come back to the family later on and request the child, and the adoption is not invalidated because the she was a minor when she gave her baby up.

A teen mom also has the right to seek child support from the baby's father. In order to do this, she must establish paternity for the courts. When the father of the child consents to give child support, this is called voluntary support, and the courts can create a document to preserve the commitment. When the father resists paying child support, a mother can seek a court order. Even if the father is an unemployed teen, it is wise to seek child support. He may get a job, an inheritance, or some sort of financial award down the road and you will want to be able to benefit from the money.

When seeking child support, the mother is also able to secure that her child would receive the father's social security if he died. With child support, the father will be given the right to visitation. Many states also offer welfare for teen moms. These monetary gifts can help a struggling teen raise her baby. For mothers under 18, welfare will be granted if the teen stays in school. Normally mothers also need to have a low income and be a registered U.S. Citizen to receive this federal support.