Cassidy Reid
Kendra Gallos
English III Honors
27 March 2017
How to Reduce Teenage Pregnancy in America A nightmare can strike, even when the eyes of it’s victims are wide open. It can be unexpected, terrifying, a nightmare to see the dreaded two lines on the test- especially as a teenager. Even if teenagers are old enough to decide whether or not they want to engage in sexual intercourse, the rate of teenage pregnancy should be reduced as much as possible. Teenage pregnancy is not only expensive, but also puts the lives of the mother and child in danger. Teenage pregnancy is not a new concept, having been around since the dawn of humanity. Most humans, at a certain point, will hit a stage in life called puberty. During this time,
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Not only that, but teens who are in a less favorable economic situation, or are on welfare, are more likely to become pregnant than girls who are not. (About Teen Pregnancy). Those statistics are not very promising, especially when babies are being born to girls on welfare or governmental assistance.
(Teen Birth Rates) When a baby is born, it is a priority that said baby is healthy and happy. It is also important that the mother takes care of herself and the baby before it arrives, including taking vitamins, going to checkups, and eating healthy. It’s not easy, but teenage pregnancy is much more risky than adult pregnancy. Pregnant teens and their babies are at a higher risk than adult mothers and their babies, risks including high blood pressure, preeclampsia, premature birth, postpartum depression, and low birth weights (Teenage Pregnancy: Medical). However, this is not always the case. “...not every baby born to a teen mother will have health problems -- but the risks are definitely higher.” (Beirne, Dr.) Medical risks such as the ones listed can be very dangerous, to both the mother and the child. Children born to teenage mothers are not only at risk for medical reasons, but for educational reasons. These children are, more often than not, usually less ready for school than children born to older mothers, lacking childhood development skills such as social,
Children born from teen mothers suffer from higher rates of low birth weight and related health problems.Teenage mothers have a higher rate of poor eating habits than older women and are less likely to take recommended daily prenatal multivitamins to maintain adequate nutrition during pregnancy. Teens also are more likely to smoke cigarettes, drink
Teen pregnancy is an issue in United States, it is one issue that should wait until teens are married and know what they are doing with their lives. This issue came about in the early in the 1950’s – 1960’s. Teen pregnancy is a teenage girl between the ages 13-19 (girls who haven’t reached adulthood) having unwanted or wanted babies. Janet Bode once stated in her book, “Emotions run everywhere, scared, sad, disappointment and preparation for what is about to happen” (Bode 51). If we do not act now, teen pregnancy will be out the roof. Teen pregnancy needs a stop put to it no matter what, teens are still children themselves and they are still learning how to take care of themselves:
assert that no social problem affecting youths has received as much attention in recent times as adolescent pregnancy. Literature shows that 13 million children are born to women under the age of 20 worldwide while 95% of the teenagers experience an unintended pregnancy. Increased Attention has finally been given to teenage pregnancy as a public health issue due to the realization of the abnormal prevalence, number of affected people, high levels of psychological distress, and high morbidity rates as well as the painfully apparent social and economic / public welfare cost of teenage childbearing and parenthood
Each year, more than 600,000 teens become pregnant, and 3 in 10 will become pregnant before they reach age 20 (Secure et al., 2015). Rates are higher among black and Hispanic teens, with 4 in 10 becoming pregnant by 20 years of age, compared with 2 in 10 white teens (Secure et al., 2015). Even though over time the overall rate of teen pregnancy has decreased, it’s still very high and has a large impact on the teen parents as well as the families.
Although popular opinion sometimes indicates otherwise, according to a statistical analysis from the US Department of Health and Services (2014), teen pregnancy rates have been steadily declining for the past twenty years. In America, most teenagers are not yet fully independent
Imagine what it would be like not knowing what to do or not knowing where to sleep for the night. There is no where to go and once again sleeping outside on the cold, hard ground is the only choice. This ground becomes a bed and some nights it may be located under a bridge or even on a park bench. The smells that linger from other homeless people sleeping close by is nauseating but soon goes away because it becomes a way of life. Hunger has set in and begging people for food is the only option. People in society tend to label the homeless as alcoholics or drug abusers. The homeless people who choose to do such things set a bad example for homeless individuals
Teenage pregnancy is defined as a teenage girl, usually within the ages of 13-19, becoming pregnant (Unicef 2008). These are young girls that have not yet reached adulthood, who are engaging in unprotected sex and have conceived a child from that encounter.
An ongoing epidemic in the United Sates is teen pregnancy. In America, our society is run down by many problems. Most are caused by the older generation, but this problem has risen with the younger generation around the age of 15-19. The peak of the teen pregnancy trend started in 1990 when 60 teen girls out of 1,000 had a teen birth ("About Teen Pregnancy.”). For every 1,000 females in 2013, on average only 27 out of the 1,000 had gone through teen birth ("About Teen Pregnancy.”). Over the years, it seems that the trend is winding down and that less and less teens appear to becoming pregnant. In 2013, the teen pregnancy rate decreased by 10% since 2012 and 57% 1990 ("Teen Birth Rate | The National Campaign.”).
Teen pregnancies is a major problem in the United States. Three in ten teens will get pregnant at least once before the age of 20. That’s nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies every year.Also about 32.8 percent of freshman, 43.8 percent of sophomores, 55.5 percent of juniors and 64.45 percent of seniors in high school are sexually active. Teen pregnancy is a result of many causes.
Summary: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy wrote the article called, “Teen Pregnancy Is a Serious Problem,” stating that teen pregnancy is an issue in todays’ world. There are many negative effects of being a teen mom. In the United States, teen pregnancy is seen as being “ok” because it is normal in today’s world. Adolescents don't know how quickly a pregnancy can happen. When they asked the girls why they became pregnant they said, “It just kinda happened.” Also, many teen moms have more than one child before the age 24. A recent study
Teen pregnancy has more risk than an adult having a baby. “They have a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure and its complications. Risks for the baby include premature birth and a low birth weight”(Teen Pregnancy). According to the article Teen Pregnancy teens
Imagine coming to school one day and seeing 39 students pregnant. That’s the statistical reality of teen pregnancy as an estimated 34 in every 1000 students becomes pregnant between the age of 14-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This statistic does not take into account different educational, social, and racial factors. With widely popular television shows such as, "16 and Pregnant" or "Teen Mom", many teens do not fully comprehend the negatives of engaging in sexual activity, and do not realize the possible outcome. Becoming pregnant as a teen is very detrimental to one's education, in the fact that they may have to leave school, lose friends, and become an outcast
Each year, approximately 750,000 teen girls get pregnant with approximately 400,000 births from teens. Pregnancy is caused by unprotected sex. When getting pregnant at a young age, there is a lot of responsibility that comes with it. The mother must take care of herself and her body to keep the baby healthy as well. She has to follow up with doctor appointments, take daily vitamins, lose
Teen pregnancy is an epidemic that has swept our nation for many years. It can alter the lives of teenagers in extreme measures. It is almost normal to see a teenager with a baby in today’s society. Getting pregnant while you’re a teen will definitely cause you to have to change your life style to accompany a child. This could mean not going to school or potentially dropping out of school permanently. Teen pregnancy will have a negative effect on the education of the teenager because it will force them to be committed full time to the concerns and needs of the child.
"Teen pregnancy in the United States: In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15-19 years old, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. This is another record for U.S. teens and a drop of 8% from 2014. Although reasons for the declines are not totally clear, evidence suggests these declines are due to more teens abstaining from sexual activity, and more teens who are sexually active using birth control than in previous years. Still, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is substantially higher than in other western industrialized nations, and racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in teen birth rates persist (cdc.gov)." As teenagers (in the United States), we are peer pressured or tempted to try new things. Some teens tend to try out drugs, and alcohol. However, some are having unprotected sex in which, is leads to having babies. This is called, teenage pregnancy. This has caused the United States to create records based off of the statistics and facts given from, researchers across the United States. In order to help prevent teenage pregnancy in the United States, teenagers must understand why, having a baby now isn’t such a smart move on their part.