Adolescent pregnancy is a crisis that inadvertently affects all. It is not only a burden to the young woman and her family, but it also has a consequential impact on society. Reducing the number of adolescent pregnancies would promote child well-being and decrease child poverty statistics (“National Data”). Increasing the number of comprehensive sex education courses would help young people learn how to better protect themselves against premature pregnancy and STDs, and in turn curtail the number of teenage pregnancies.
The Facts
Among industrialized countries, the United States has the highest rates of adolescent pregnancy. The rate of teen pregnancy in the U.S. is twice that of Great Britain and four times that of Germany and France. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy study, adolescent childbearing in 2006 alone cost U.S. taxpayers $9.1 billion (Hoffman).
Statistics illustrate the alarming number of female adolescents walking around with oversized stomachs. Three in ten girls in the United States becomes impregnated at least once by the age of twenty (“National Data”). One in three teen mothers obtain a high school diploma and only 1.5 percent have a college degree (“National Data”).
Infants born to adolescent mothers have a greater risk for premature birth, mental retardation ,abuse, neglect and are less likely to acquire adequate healthcare, than those who were born to a mother over the age of twenty (Hoffman). Daughters of adolescent mothers are also more prone to becoming teenage mothers themselves, while sons of teen mothers are more likely to participate in deviant acts.
The Reality Series
MTV Networks decided to document the controversial subject of teen pregnancy in the docume...
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...and Unplanned Pregnancy. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy , 30 Oct. 2006. Web. 27 Mar. 2011. .
Landry, David J. , Jacqueline E. Darroch, Susheela Singh, and Jenny Higgins. "Factors Associates with Content of Sex Education in U.S. Public Secondary Schools." Perspecitves on Sexual Reproductive Health 35.6 (2007): 261-262. Print.
Maci from 16 and Pregnant. 2009. Photograph. Chattanooga,TN. Gurl.com. Ed. MTV Networks. Alloy Media, LLC, 11 June 2009. Web. 11 May 2011. .
"National Data| The National Campaign." The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy , n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. .
Red and blue lights are flashing and the noise of the ambulance impels everyone to a point where they have to look outside and observe the situation, as if a mystical force was compelling them. From what they can see, the paramedic is holding a tiny hand telling her to hold on. As the stretcher rolls by, the onlookers notice a huge lump, or ball as a few may say, under the pallid cotton covers. What they also take note of is that the pregnant woman is not a woman at all, but in fact a teenager. As some are astounded that a child is being born from a child, others possibly will look at it as a “blessing in disguise.” The issue of teenage pregnancy is affecting our society in innumerable ways and has become one of our top social issues of all time. “The latest estimates show that approximately 1 million teens become pregnant every year” (East, Felice, and Associates 1). With this high number of teenage pregnancy, it is no wonder that many authors try to exemplify this common subject matter. Katrina L. Burchett, author of Choices, accurately and effectively depicts teenage pregnancy among female adolescents living with domestic issues.
Babies, as well as the teenage mothers, face long-time problems may face long-term problems from the pregnancy. These problems may include school failure, poverty, and physical or mental illness. Babies born to teenagers are at greater risk for neglect and abuse than those of a woman. Teenage mothers may feel like they are being demanded to do the job and they may take their frustration out on the child (When 1).
In the Untied States three in ten teenage girls will have at least one pregnancy by the age of twenty, that is approximately seven-hundred forty-five thousand teen pregnancies each year. (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy) Teen Pregnancy is a serious epidemic this nation is faced with. Pressures from peers and media for a teen to have sex and the misuse or failure of contraceptives are two main causes of pregnancy among teenagers. Theses Pregnancies have many effects on the teen and infant such as emotional issues, education deficiency, and health risk for the infant.
Auteri, Steph. “How the Push for Abstinence Until Marriage Has Affected Teen Pregnancy Rates” Sexually Smarter. Planned Parenthood of Central and Greate...
Later in life the child of the adolescent mother could have mental disabilities and developmental problems. The mothers are also less likely to touch, smile, vocalize to their children, and be less sensitive causing the mother to become less accepting of the infants behavior ("Care of adolescent parents and their children," 2001, p. 430). Young fathers of the children have the risk of decreased
In order for us to fully understand how this is possible, we must first discuss some of the problems surrounding young women and unplanned pregnancies. Second, we’ll explore why the US continues to have the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the
Teen pregnancy is a very important issue in the United States, where the adolescent birth rate had been dropping steadily from a high of “61.8 births
Teenage pregnancy has always been present in society. There is research stating that about half the women, born between 1900- 1910, who were interviewed were non-virginal at marriage (17 Ravoira). This contradicts some thoughts that premarital sexual behavior is something new. There was another study done in 1953, it found that one fifth of all first births to women were conceived before marriage (17 Ravoira). Even before our modern openness in discussing sexual behavior and acceptance that it does occur, it was quite routine. In earlier society, the incidence of teenage pregnancy was a moral problem. This was because people looked at the child as filius nullius (nobody's child), or illegitimate and the mother as bad, immoral, over- sexed, etc. (18 Ravoira). The child was being blamed for mearly being born, this is unfair to the child who had no fault in the matter (18 Ravoira). The real problem that was seen was the fact that the children were born out-of-wedlock. People seemed to have real difficulty accepting that the baby is still a baby no matter what conditions it was born under.
Though the teen birth rate has declined to its lowest levels since data collection began, the United States still has the highest teen birth rate in the industrialized world. Roughly, one in four girls will become pregnant at least once by their 20th birthday. In addition, young people ages 15 to 24 represent 25 percent of the sexually active population, but acquire half of all new STIs.
Before successfully preventing teen pregnancies among teenage girls, there are many underlying causes and facts about the dilemma that must be first exposed. Children from homes run by teenage mothers have to face almost insurmountable obstacles in life. The incidents of depression and mental health problems, the lack of father figures, and the high rate of poverty often connected to children in homes run by teenage mothers put them at serious disadvantages when compared to children raised in nuclear families. Many people believe that the implementation of sex education in schools and the addition of more federal aid for single parents are major causes for the country's high rate of teen pregnancies. The true purpose of sex education and federal aid is to help strengthen the mother and her child so that they can eventually lead productive lives.
“In 2012, there were 29.4 births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19, or 305,420 babies born to females in this age group” (Hamilton). Teenage pregnancies were once regarded as normal. Women were once expected to be married and have a family at a young age to ensure lifelong stability. In modern times, teenage pregnancy is considered a taboo subject. MTV began a reality television show in 2009 that popularized pregnancy amongst adolescent females. There are many factors that add to the risk of becoming pregnant during adolescent years, but glamorizing the subject has shown to be the top reason.
Poverty and lack of academic success contribute, there is mounting evidence that poor academic success and bad parenting lead to teen pregnancy. Babies from teen mothers usually have poor health, lower grades, and have lower cognitive tests scores (Witte 137-54). The majority of children from an unplanned pregnancy are born to unmarried women. Children raised in single parent families face more challenges; they are more likely to be poor, dropout, lower grade point average, and poor school attendance records (Brown 11-4).
Teenage pregnancy has become a national epidemic, partly because more and more teenagers who give birth decide to keep and raise their children. There is a great cost to individuals, families and society when children have children of their own. Adolescents lack knowledge of access to conventional methods of preventing pregnancy, as they may be afraid to seek such information or be ignorant on the effects and consequences of falling pregnant; keeping the baby; terminating their pregnancy; contraction of viruses and even diseases.
Top countries with highest teenage pregnancies include USA. United States has highest teenage pregnancy rate according to 2013 statistics of 52.1 per 1000 of female’s population age group of around 15-19. Almost that makes 89% of pregnancies outside of the marriage. This is unsupportive act and the OAH’s Pregnancy Assistant Fund is avoiding repeat teenage pregnancies in States and also tribes.
Teenage pregnancy has become a major issue in society over the past years. More girls are becoming sexually active at younger ages which sometimes result in unplanned pregnancies. Although the rates of teen pregnancy have declined significantly over the past decades, the United States still has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the world. According to DoSomething.org, three in ten American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20. That’s almost 650,000 teen pregnancies each year. In order to lower the rates in the United States, it is important to first understand the causes and effects of teen pregnancy.