Teen Pregnancy

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Teen Pregnancy
Teen pregnancy is everywhere nowadays. Celebrity teen pregnancies are splattered all over magazines, are shown as a great thing through multiple shows, and give the illusion of no consequences. The fact that we as a nation now consider teen pregnancies as normal goes to show the shift in perception. Having a child out of wedlock was seen as taboo not to many decades ago, but in this day and age, teens are giving birth at a rapid rate. But what has impacted such an increase? The media does a great job at not showcasing the unpleasant aspects of teen pregnancy, but what really happens after? Besides the media being a factor in teen pregnancies, many don’t consider how parent/child relationships and the socioeconomic consequences encountered after the birth affect the mother and that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.
Teen pregnancy is a huge epidemic around the world today impacting many teenage girls from many socioeconomic backgrounds. And while having a child is a big challenge in itself, but having a child while not being economically secure makes it much harder and the socioeconomic consequences are much greater. According to Public Health Reports Jan. 2, 2013, the article “Socioeconomic Disadvantage as a Social Determinant of Teen Childbearing in the U.S." states that teenagers living below the poverty level and minimum education are associated with higher teen pregnancy rates. What many teen pregnancies forget to mention is that the probability of staying with your partner are slim after the acknowledgement of the pregnancy; many are left to become single parents. Also, many teenagers are kicked out from their home after becoming pregnant. A girl goes from having food, shelter and clothing secure...

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... two partners. We’ve heard the famous line that “if you love me as much as you say, why aren’t we having sex?” With that little seed of doubt planted and then the media showing an almost glamorous side, you wonder “what’s the worst that can happen?” Whether you decide that to be accepted by your partner you need to have sex or that having a baby could never happen to you because you use protection, ultimately the choice is yours. You’re the one with the power to decide if premarital sex is what you want, following the status quo shouldn’t even factor into your decision. Sure maybe not having sex until you’re married makes you uncool, but then go and find someone who had a teen pregnancy. Ask them if motherhood is as cool as they make it seem on TV or if reality showing up on their doorstep was enough to convince then that being a statistic isn’t as cool as it seems.

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