Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy continues to be a problem in America even though the CDC documents a decrease from 2007-2009 in all racial groups. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). Reducing the number of pregnancies in teens 15-17 is a core indicator identified by Healthy People 2020 to assess the status of adolescent health. Children born to teens are at risk for health concerns from being of low birth weight and having poor prenatal care such as delayed development. (Magness, 2012). Repeat pregnancy, dependence on welfare, and poverty are some of the results of adolescent pregnancy. Teen mothers tend to have health problems such as hypertension, and anemia and are at high risk for early delivery. Magness looks at the issue from the teen’s viewpoint and discusses the idea that some teens become pregnant to provide stability in an otherwise chaotic life and can gain maturity from the experience. Emphasis on continuing their education after delivery can prevent repeat pregnancies. Lack of productive or positive social activities or guidance can leave room for a teen to indulge in risky behavior to occupy their time. Peer pressure and influence from present day norms can cause teenagers to give in to early onset of sexual activity (Kirven, 2014). Finding after school or extracurricular activities can promote a healthier self

In recent years, teenage pregnancy has been labeled a major issue amongst teens that it can be known as an “Epidemic.” Is teenage pregnancy directly responsible for a host of society’s ills? Increasing teenage pregnancy rate translates directly into increasing rates of “school failure,” early behavioral problems, drug abuse, child abuse, depression, and crimes. Many social problems can be directly attributed to the poor choices of teenage girls.

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,

Through this paper I will explain teen pregnancy issues and how it affects our teens and their children. I will discuss the physical/ emotional, medical and financial strain placed on teenage parents. Teen pregnancy can affect everyone in different ways. I will also so explain some programs to help with teen pregnancy.

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

Research has outlined that “teen mothers have lower levels of socioeconomic attainment than their childless peers: they are less likely to complete high school, attend college, or earn a bachelor’s degree, and they tend to earn less and are more likely to experience poverty” (INFORMATION). Another social work perspective focuses on the stress associated with a rapid role transition. “Specifically, an accelerated transition to motherhood may result in adverse psychological effects for the teen”(INFORMATION) Research suggests that some young teens view the role of motherhood as a positive turning point in their lives. That is can be motivating and help to avoid delinquency, return to school, and search for employment. Further Research also has found that some young teen mothers expierence a heightened sense of responsibility and stability. It is suggested these positive expiernece occur most commonly to those teens expiernece issues with schooling, and in a home setting. Research has conistantly explained that maltreatment is a significant risk factor for teen pregnancy among low income youth even after controlling for neighborhood disadvantage, other caregiver risks and indicators of individual emotional and behavioral problems. The most well known health risks that are consistent but not always associated with teen pregnancy and childbearing are low birth weight, preterm birth. However, pregnant teens generally face other challenges that are also known to affect maternal and infant outcomes. These include maternal income, educational attainment, employment prospects, and mental and physical health. Going forward, children of teen mothers may have deficits in cognitive, academic, mental health, and psychosocial domains when compared to children of older mothers. Teens that give birth are likely to face exacerbation of preexisting cumulative psychosocial adversity after the

There are many causes of teen pregnancy, but let’s focus on the top three issues. The lack of education is something that needs to be changed. Parents should take more time and discuss the causes and the effects that can arise from being intimate with someone and “we must ensure that parents, along with school are teaching up to date, medically accurate information” (Kasher n.p). Cultures may also affect this. Our teens are growing up in a generation where sex is a normal pass time. The media uses sex to draw in teens to get them to buy the latest style jeans or even the next new scintillating fragrance (VanLenten n.p). Music, commercials, and even the celebrities themselves make sex look like it is the thing to do. Just look at the teen pregnancies of the rich and famous, they make

Unintentional or unplanned pregnancies are a major health concern associated with increased risks of detrimental behaviors, abortions and negative social and birth outcomes (Feldman, 2012). While the rates of pregnancy and childbirth among adolescents under the age of 20 in the United States have been falling since 1990 it is not expected to disappear entirely and remains a national problem (Moeller, 2007). Pregnancy in adolescence have been associated with a variety of poor maternal and infant outcomes. Health risks to teens and their infants include low birth weight, risk of prematurity, developmental delays, and poor prenatal weight gain. The antenatal and postpartum social risks include depression, substance abuse, homelessness, child maltreatment, reliance on public assistance, lack of education, and domestic abuse (Bensussen-Walls & Saewyc, 2001).

Teen pregnancy is an important issue for several reasons. For example, there are health risks for the child born to teenage mothers and the child is more likely to suffer health, social, and emotional problems than children born to older mothers. It is also a possibility for teenagers who become pregnant to be at an increased risk for

Background: Adolescent pregnancy, primarily occurring in ages 13-18 years, has a negative impact on the physical, psychological, educational, and economic area of the pregnant girls.

The kids of teen moms are fifty percent more likely to repeat a grade in school. They also perform a lot worse on standardized test and ultimately are less likely to complete high school. Only twenty percent of the fathers of these children stay and marry the moms. Most of the fathers that are involved in the making of the baby are of the age twenty or older. Because only a small number of men end up marrying the girl who's carrying their baby, most of the children end up in one parent homes. In a one parent home the child has less financial and educational opportunities. Children who grow up in a single parent home have a higher risk of experiencing cognitive, social, and emotional problems. The mom and child also face economic problems. Because of these problems they might have to live in rundown neighborhoods that are high in crime and have with low quality schools. Kids that live in these home and school conditions are mote likely to repeat the pattern the parents had stated. The daughters of teen mothers are twenty two percent more likely to become mothers themselves. The sons of teen moms are thirteen percent more likely to end up in prison. If teen pregnancy effects the teens themselves, and also their children how does it affect society? Because teenage pregnancy deters increased education, it leads to a huge amount of lost earnings. High schools drop out costs

The rise in teen pregnancy is often associated with three immediate causes. First, in these hard times, more and more teen

Most teens are still developing physically, and mentally this also means they’re much more likely to have premature babies or preterm labor. Preterm and/or low birth weight babies often have developmental disabilities or medical conditions that require regular physical therapy. In every 10th American teen girl one will get pregnant at least once before turning 20, that’s nearly 750,000 pregnant teens every year. Teen pregnancy is the leading reason that teen girls quite school, 50 percent of teen mothers never graduate from high school. Schools should also start babysitter clubs so they can take classes to get their GED. On an average about 25 percent of teen mothers have a 2nd child within 24 months of their first child. Less than two percent of teen moms earn a degree of any sort by the age 30. The United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the world. Childbearing during teen negatively affects the parents, their child, and society. In the year of 2013 more than 273,105 babies were born to women ages 15-19 years old, this is an all-time low for U.S. teens in this age group.

Teenage pregnancy could be defined as a teenage female between the ages of 13-19, who becomes pregnant. Despite the fact that it is not inevitable, some life circumstances place adolescent girls at higher risk of becoming a teenage mother. Poverty has a strong correlation with adolescent pregnancy. Other circumstances that could influence the adolescent would be, living in single parent household, and having a mother that was teenage mother. They are several indicators of why sexual intercourse occurs during the adolescent years. Some examples would be early pubertal advancement, sexual abuse, poverty, the absence of supporting parents, a lack of education from poor school performance.

Another reason that the teens get pregnant is that they lack the guidance from their parent especially, when it’s a single parent. Parent are either too busy or their teen feels like they can’t talk about sex and end up with little to no information. Some parents can put a lot of restrictions to their teenager, especially girls to protect them from harm. This can lead to increased frustration, curiosity, or even feeling of not being loved from overprotection. There are more motivators to have sex today than not for early teenagers. In the United State, a child born to a teen are very likely to