Teenage Pregnancy Is A Growing Problem

Teen pregnancy falls into the category of pregnancies in girls age 19 or younger (NIH). Although statistics have shown a decrease, the number of teen pregnancy in the U.S. is still relatively high compared to the rest of the world. Sexual health is one of the top priorities in early adolescence health in the United States. Consequences of having sex at a young age generally results in unsafe sex practices. The consequences can be due to the lack of knowledge about sex education, and access to birth control/contraception (NIH, 2005). Due to the lack of knowledge and access to birth control, adolescents involve in risk taking when they start to explore sexual intimate relationships.

Teenage pregnancy is one of many issues that the United States has. It is one issue that can be fixed easily and should be waited upon 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:

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.

Teenage birth rates, defined as live births per one thousand 15-19-year-old US females, declined by 10% from 2012 to 2013 from 29.4 to 26.5. In fact, the birth rate has been on a steady decline over the past 20 years, from 61.8 in 1991 to 26.5 in 2013. Teenage pregnancy represents both a health and social inequality in our society. Specifically, teenage childbearing is a public health issue because teenage mothers are more likely to experience negative social outcomes such as dropping out of school. This is a self-reinforcing cycle, as children of teenage mothers face higher chances of poor academic achievement as well as getting pregnant or getting someone else pregnant in their teenage years (CDC). Although the overall rates of teenage pregnancy have dropped, ultimately, the variations in the rates reflect the intersecting disparities regarding race and ethnicity, income inequality, geography, and environmental factors, which in turn affect access to medical care, education, and resources.

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.”).

Raising a child as an adult can be very demanding at times, but can you imagine how difficult it would be to raise a baby as a teen, when you are still a child yourself? Although the teen birth rate in the United States has been on a decline for the past decade, teen pregnancy is still a significant issue affecting many people (Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing). Teen pregnancy has been considered morally and ethically wrong in the United States for centuries (Sprague). Taxpayers all across the country, the parents and the child are all stakeholders of this social epidemic and are affected in many ways such as economically, educationally, and martially.

Some teenagers get pregnant due to not knowing about the consequences of unprotected sex. Most don’t know about any of the consequences because they don’t have anyone to talk to them about it and others just doesn’t want to listen. Parents don’t think their kids will ever think about having sex so they don’t feel the need to talk to them about it but that only leads to teenagers getting pregnant without being prepared with a stable job.

According to the International Journal for Equity in Health, teens that are not enrolled in school are more likely to get pregnant than teens that don’t have a school clinic to educate them on sex-ed. Most students say they get pregnant because of a relationship, they want to feel loved, or just because everyone else is doing it. Most friendships form a pregnancy pact where they all get pregnant so their kids can be raised together and they’ll help each other

Teenage boys and girls who barely provide for themselves or try making informed decisions about their future, are choosing a risky path by engaging in sexual activities. Numerous social issues including: poverty, low education levels, lack of awareness about sex and pregnancy prevention; help lead an epidemic of young pregnancies. Close to three million

Chances are that in most households, sexual activity under the age of 18 would be frowned upon and very possibly could lead to decisions made outside of the young women. Teens who accidentally become pregnant might well feel a strong urge to hide conditions and be embarrassed of what others have to say. They might also have nice reputation and do not want to jeopardize what others think about them. For example, the teen could be a track star or cheerleader and have these schools looking at her willing to give scholarships and she could be sexually active and become pregnant and jeopardize everything she has worked so hard

Nearly all teen pregnancies are unplanned, however teen pregnancy is becoming an epidemic. A lot of teens do not realize that having sex can bring on a lot of responsibilities. In most case scenarios, on average, adolescences say they did not want to get pregnant or cause a pregnancy. When you read about different statics about teen pregnancy, that alone is reason enough to create preventing programs about teen pregnancy. Knowing that teen pregnancy is closely linked to a host of other critical social issue, e.g. poverty, income, overall child well-being, health issue, education, just to name a few. There are also substantial public costs associated with adolescent childbearing. Consequently, teen pregnancy should be viewed not only as a reproductive health issue, but as one that works to improve these measures.

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

Every young girl who is sexually active is at risk for teen pregnancy. Children of teen parents are very likely to become teen parents themselves, this shows higher correlation in places of poverty and low income families. Unplanned teen pregnancy is more than just an unexpected expense than to just the parents, it is an expense to society. In America according to the National campaign, each year 9.4 billion dollars in taxpayer money is spent on teenage childbearing assistance. (2016). These costs include many things for both the child and the parents needs as well. The norms, values and beliefs of families also play a large role in the current social issue. Some families who were teen mothers themselves might be more or less educating to their child based on their experience. Also a large factor is that some religions do not believe in birth control or sex before marriage, therefor the parents of the children do not allow them to take contraceptives and then they accidentally get pregnant.

Teens need youth-friendly services and complete, accurate information about abstinence, condoms, and contraception in order to protect themselves from unintended pregnancy. But they also need to be able to envision a positive future for themselves: one in which education, employment, and healthy relationships are possible. Further, empowering youth, and supporting women’s reproductive decisions, means pregnant or parenting teens should be supported, not stigmatized, by both government and culture. But i believe that the cause of teen pregnancy is all

Another reason for teen pregnancy is social media. Social media can have a huge impact on how teens can view their lives by influencing them with a different kind of lifestyle. Not to mention, teens can easily be brainwashed by what they see on there and think what they see on social media is good, is actually wrong. Social media will have