Teens And Teen Pregnancy

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.

For many years teen pregnancy has been a national social problem. Views have changed over the years as society has started to adapt to the thought of teen pregnancy. “Growing evidence suggests that pre-existing academic and economic hardships play a role in the continuing struggles of teen mothers. While 85% of young women who delay having their first child until at least twenty or twenty – one obtain a high school diploma or GED, only 63% of mothers who give birth by age seventeen do so” (Crosson- Tower p255)

Teenagers have little awareness about how to prevent becoming pregnant. In a news article by Daniel Armbuster, he said, “It’s all about healthy relationships. That’s where we fail our kids is teaching them how to have a healthy relationship. In other words, teenagers have not heard anything about how to prevent teen pregnancy. Their

Pregnancies in adolescents are caused by the practice of sexual intercourse without contraceptive methods and by lack of sexual information. According to the organization Save the Children each year are born 13 million children of women under the age of 20 throughout the world, more than 90% in the so-called developing countries and in the developed countries the remaining 10%.

Just because teenage pregnancy has decreased does not mean the problem is solved. Nearly all teenage pregnancies are unplanned. Teen mothers are nearly twice as likely to forgo prenatal care in the first trimester. This sets up complications along with health problems, costs, responsible fatherhood, education, and risky behavior. Babies are having babies before they’re even fully developed themselves; the environment, and media along with other things are all factors that determine why and how teens are getting pregnant.

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

Teen Help states that of girls that are sexually active at the age of 15, three out of the four said that they had sex because their boyfriends wanted them to (Teenhelp.com). These young, vulnerable girls believe that if they end up doing what their boyfriends want, that the boys will love them or not leave them for another girl that will sleep with him. Many teens tend to feel the pressure of becoming sexually active before are actually ready to do so. During a survey, Secure Teen came to the conclusion that 30% of boys and 23% of girls were pressured by their other friends to have sex.(Secureteen.com). Teens pressuring other teens to do something that they are not mature enough or emotionally ready is one of the great factors on why teenage girls end up pregnant. Not only are teen girls being pressured to have sex by their significant other or friends, but society portrays sex as something that is in the norm for teens to be doing. Dar Rodriguez pointed out that the television shows “Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant promotes teens to get pregnant. Although it brings awareness to teen pregnancy and portrays the troublesome getting pregnant is by showing

Lack of education of safe sex causes misinformation about reproduction about how one can get pregnant. It also can lead to STDs such as Chlamydia, HIV, Gonorrhea, AIDS, and more. By lacking this education whether from home, or school many teens go without knowledge of proper safe sex practices. Which in turn some believe the only way to not get pregnant is to practice abstinence only. Also most parents, because of this would like to believe that their child isn't having sexual intercourse until marriage. When in all actuality, “According to a report from the Guttmacher Institute, the average age of first intercourse is around 17 years old, with approximately 70% of teenagers having had sex by age 19."

Some causes of Teen pregnancy are absent parenting, lack of knowledge, substance abuse, living in poverty and peer pressure. The number of teens within the ages of 14-19 has substantially decreased over the last several years. While examining the causes of teen pregnancy, new methods of prevention can be defined. If there are different methods identified for preventing teen pregnancy than the number of teens can go down more.

Teenage pregnancy is a serious problem in Lucas County. The rate of teenage pregnancy has gone up tremendously over the years. Without a solution, there will continue to be an increase in unplanned children, born with health and mental disorders. Infants born to adolescent mothers are at risk for low birth weight, which is associated with infant mortality, undeveloped organs, bleeding of the brain, respiratory distress syndrome, as well as intestinal problems. “Pregnant teens and their unborn babies have unique medical risks” (Teen Pregnancy). In Particular, teenage mothers are more likely to have a poor eating diet, become anemic, and not take the adequate amount of prenatal multivitamins. The mother may experience high blood pressure, which can lead to preterm birth, low birth weight of the baby, as well as passing it onto the infant. According to Julie Mckinnon “Lucas County has regained the dubious distinction of having the second-highest rate of teen pregnancy statewide, reaching levels not seen since the late 1990s”. Pregnancy within adolescence is exceedingly common and is continuing to increase. There are several solutions to this problem, one is to engage in communication as a parent with teenagers about safe sex. Another solution is making it easier for teenagers to obtain contraceptive methods. The best solution to prevent teenage pregnancy is to make it a law that every school is required to teach education on safe sex, the importance of protection, where to

Teen pregnancy is difficult for girls because of the pain. Teenage girls go through so much pain when comes to childbearing, the carrying of a baby. Teenagers have a higher chance of getting an illness or pain during pregnancy, according to Denise Mann from WebMD. Teenagers are at a higher risk of a dangerous medical condition called Preeclampsia, which is the result of high blood pressure. “Preeclampsia is a serious condition that develops during pregnancy and is potentially fatal.” (Mann,1). This means the teenage mother is at risk of this condition and there a lot more out there that can harm her. With this being the reason of her putting herself in a position of carrying a baby it exposes her to more pain or conditions which can lead into any pregnancy complications.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) the 2011 birth rate for teens was 31.3 births per 1000 women aged 15–19, a record low for the United States. However, there are many ways to reduce the amount of teenage pregnancies (Trudeau). The United States has a problem of teenage pregnancy occurring with the most occurring in the capital Washington D.C. where there are a diverse group of teenagers (Dawani). This shows that our nation has a problem of teenage pregnancy, but the most is in a well civilized area in our nation. Studies have shown that The highest rate of teenage pregnancy in a developed country occurs in the United States with the rate of teenagers being twice as likely to give birth compared to teens in Canada and ten times as likely as teens in Switzerland showing that a diverse population has an effect on social behaviors (Dawani). Our nation needs to find ways to decrease the alarming statistic. Studies have shown there has been a decrease in teenage pregnancies.A recent article has shown the teen pregnancy rate is down nearly 40 percent and the teen birth rate has been cut by one-third since the early 1990s, but the problem is still occurring today (Dawani). Teenage pregnancy in the United States is a problem with many causes such as lack of education from parents and the education system, media influences, and the cost of contraception used and many solutions to stop the epidemic.

With this in mind, teenage parents do not know the consequences to raising a baby at such a young age. It is tough, teens are still children growing up and they are

Despite the fact that some teens believe they know everything about birth control, there is still a great deal of misinformation in the media, including the idea that you can't get pregnant if you have your period or if it is your first time having sex. Sex education in schools can have a powerful role in ensuring teens have the correct information. Talking honestly about the risks of unprotected sex, like pregnancy and STDs, and the emotional consequences of being pressured into

A teen may feel she does not have enough knowledge to be a mother. She may also have fears about how having a baby will impact her own life and dreams for the future. Only 38 percent of teenage mothers ages 15-17 earn a high school diploma. By the age of 30, only 1.5 percent of women who had pregnancies as a teenager have a college degree. Moreover, one-third of children born to teenage mothers earn a high school diploma, compared to 81 percent of their children with older parents (“Teen Pregnancy Rates By State”). There are also physical health risk for the baby. Once their baby is born, teenagers may not be willing or able to give it the undivided attention it needs. A teen may not be an adequate mother because she is overwhelmed by the constant needs of the baby. She may grow annoyed at the lack of freedom to interact with her peer group due to the baby. Children born to teenage mothers are more likely suffer health, social, and emotional problems than children born to older mothers. As a result, they are at risk for lower of education. The financial difficulty may arise during a teen pregnancy or after the baby is born. It is expensive to raise a baby. Teens who do not have full-time employment may struggle to cover the basic expenses of life upon having a baby. According to Stephen Nguyen, eighty percent of teen mothers must rely on welfare (“What percent of teenage mothers are on welfare?”). Teenage mothers are more likely drop out