Every year over 400,000 babies are born to girls who are younger than 19. 25% of the girls who have a child go on welfare within three years of the birth of their child. By age 22, 34% of those girls have not earned their high school diploma or GED and by age 30, less than 2% have earned a college degree (Foreman 27). I am a child born to a teenage mother, and my mom is a part 2% of girls who had a child before the age of 19 and was able to get her college degree, before she turned 30. Girls in this present time don’t understand the risk that comes with childbearing at a young age. Focusing on how teenage girls become pregnant, ways to prevent early pregnancies, the effect that a teen pregnancy have on the people around them, and the downfalls of becoming pregnant, are the ways of teaching to our youth.
Teens in this nation today are starting to have sex at younger ages. Studies from the Journal of School Health have shown that kids as young as 12 years of age are starting to engage in sexual activity. We have shows such as “Teen Mom” and “16 and pregnant,” which show this connotation that it is ok to have babies at a young age. We are a nation that is driven by technology and we watch movies where teens are having sex, and we imitate these icons and fall into the temptation of being like everyone else. We see these actors having sex, but there are never any consequences to their actions, in the real world, if you are have unprotected sex, there is a chance that you could get pregnant, catch a transmitted disease, and alter your life all together. 10% of the girls 15-19 years of age are becoming pregnant and more than 40% will become pregnant by age 20, and over 890,000 teens become pregnant each year. (Kirby 89) We as a society...
... middle of paper ...
...aged Parents." World Trends & Forcasts. The
Futurist, Mar. 2010. Web. 10 May 2011. .
Foreman, Meagan, “Taking Responsibility” New Federal Money to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (2011) 27-28. Web
Gal Encyclopedia of Public Health: Teenage Pregnancy. "Teen Pregnancy." Answer.com. N.p., 13 Apr.
2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2011. .
Kirby, Douglas. “Reflections on Two Decades of Research on Teen Sexual Behavior and Pregnancy.” Journal of School Health 69.3 (1999): 89-94. Web
Medical Division, Burroughs Welcome Company. “Teen Talk: Peer Groups Addressing Teen Pregnancy” AJPH 80.3 (1990): 349-350. Web
"Teen Pregnancy, Consequences of Teenage Pregnancy." Healthcommunities.com.
N.p., 11 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.
.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. “The Facts of Teen Pregnancy: An Overview.” Teens and Sex.
Being a parent is very demanding and can be hard. The difficulties that come with an unplanned pregnancy in teens can have a profound effect on their life. Their physical, social, mental, and emotional health will all be affected by a sudden change in the course of their life. Teens impacted with an unplanned pregnancy will have to give up many things in order to be a parent. In addition, they will have to take on many more responsibilities that accompany pregnancy and parenthood. All in all, having an unplanned pregnancy and becoming a parent introduce many new responsibilities and difficulties.
Today’s young Americans face strong peer pressure to be sexually active and engage themselves in risky behaviors (Merino 100-109). Anyone deciding to have sex must first think about all the risks involved. Kekla Magoon, author of Sex Education in Schools, says that “half of all teens aged 15 to 19 years old in the United States have had sex” (Magoon 64-65). It is currently not required by federal law for schools to teach Sex education and those few schools that do teach Sex education have the decision to determine how much information is allowed. Advocates from both sides of the Sex education debate agree that teens need positive influences in order to make practical decisions (Magoon 88-89). Opponents of Abstinence-only education believe it fails because it does not prepare teens for all the risks of sex (Magoon 64-65).
In May 2006 the silence cries of Kaylib Neal began to fill the delivery room as young Kizzy Neal slightly tilts her head with the energy she has left to take a glace at her new son. Although this moment is one of the happiest times of Kizzys life, she still wishes she could have waited to experience this moment at a later time in her life. At the age of only thirteen, Kizzy is one among the thousands of teenage girls who become pregnant each year in the United States. According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 34% percent of young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20. Eight in ten of these teen pregnancies are unintended and 79% are to unmarried teens. There are many preliminary causes for such a high In Kizzy’s case, the blame is put on the lack of sexual education within her school. She claims that because she did not received adequate information on this subject, she was unaware of what she was getting herself into. The question is: will the opportunity to experience sex education classes make a difference in preventing teen pregnancy? Sexual education, in a broad sense, is a series of courses taken by adolescents throughout their school years in order gain a better understanding of aspects that pertain to sexual activity. Beginning as early as third grade, the students learn what sex is, what its consequences are and how to prevent those consequences. Being of the main consequences of engaging in sexual activity, Teen Pregnancy is commonly spoken about within these classes. Given that teens are being informed of this consequences within accurate sex ed. Classes, providing comprehensive classes in a school environment does not cause an increase in teen pregnancy.
The female teen stares into the eyes of her newborn son, not realizing the type of life her and her son will have in the near future. Katrina L. Burchett excellently explicates teenage pregnancy among female adolescents living with domestic problems in her book titled Choices. The various elements that aid to the wide range of teenage pregnancies in the world should all be taken in to consideration. Getting pregnant at an adult is no longer substantial or conventional in our society. Everyday, female young adults are getting pregnant, which is why it is a social issue for the youth today.
Teen pregnancy is affecting the graduation rate in high schools. “Approximately 1,000 high school students will drop out with each hour that passes in a school day in America” (National Women’s Law Center, 2007). Teen pregnancy first came into view in the 1950’s. In different states teens that were pregnant were not allowed to attend school, most of them had to switch schools out of state in order to attend. Teenage pregnancy was normal in previous centuries and common in developed countries in the twentieth century. As higher education became available to women, they began to start their families later in life. By the 1950’s, parents were encouraging their kids to stay in school and to not marry until they graduate high school so they can focus on school better. Today, any teen pregnancy is frowned upon and they are getting judged. Parents want their kids to enjoy all the benefits of higher education before they begin their families. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “in 2011, a total of 329,797 babies were born in the United States to girls between the ages of fifteen and nineteen.” Teenage pregnancy is the number on...
Kohler et al. (2008)“Abstinence-only and Comprehensive Sex Education and the Initiation of Sexual Activity and Teen Pregnancy.” Journal of Adolescent Health, 42(4): 344-351.
Teen pregnancy, it’s one of the growing problems in today’s society. Teens today have more problems than ever, and in many cases the parents mistake signs of the problems for mere puberty phase. Beginning problem, which often trigger the others, seem to be families. Deeply religious families are most often heavily strict, and that prevents the teenagers to be informed about real life and what are they getting into. When that kind of person gets in a situation where his or her peers are more experienced then them, the outcome is a pressure. During the puberty the teenagers, especially males, are having problems with controlling their needs. It is easy to get pregnant for today’s teenagers, because they face many unbearable problems.
While many teens that engage in pre-marital sex never become pregnant, some are not as fortunate. Teen pregnancy has become all too common in this day and age. Some teens think it will not happen to them and do not use necessary precautions to protect against it. There are several causes for teen pregnancy and the effects can be life changing.
Although the rate of teenage pregnancy in the U.S. has declined 22 percent since 1991, it is still happening at an alarming rate. Close to one million girls between the ages of 13-19 get pregnant each year. Some may use the argument that the female reproductive system is at its prime health at around 16 years of age. That fact cannot be refuted, but is that really a good enough reason to encourage adolescents to become parents before they are emotionally and financially ready? Each year the federal government spends close to $40 billion in order to help families that result from teenage pregnancies. (The British Medical Journal) These young mothers are usually living at or below the federal poverty level, and are offered government assistance
Teenage pregnancy is an epidemic that has been highly debated and publicized during the past few decades. Although it has been statistically proven to be on the decline since the 1950s, it is still a major discussion and topic of concern especially for the health of the unborn child and the mother. The aspect of teenage pregnancy might have been approved and a regular occurrence in the 1950s, but now with the multitude of contraceptives and preventative methods it is heavily frowned upon.
"Facts on American Teens' Sexual and Reproductive Health." Guttmacher Institute: Home Page. 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
In conclusion teen pregnancy has hard an effect on society, in many ways. Most teen pregnancies were not planned. CFOS says that about 65% of teen pregnancy's were not even discussed with their sexual partners. All of the other percentage of teen pregnancy's were not planned either, but it had been discussed with the teen's sexual partner at some point in time. Most teens began having sex without knowing the consequences. Teenagers need to take responsibility and remember to keep safe, because there are various ways to prevent teen pregnancy, for example abstinence, sex education, and various types of birth control; because these methods are available children should not be brought into this world mistakenly.
Teen pregnancies often carry additional health risks to the baby and the mother. Basically, they lack timely and suitable prenatal care hence posses a higher risk for pregnancy related complications such as the high blood pressure. The mother also risks the life of the baby due to the premature birth. The teen mother experiences a tremendous dilemma after realizing that some physical changes are substantiating her pregnancy. Mostly such teen’s lacks the courage to explain what they are going through to her parent. Generally, many perform their duties routinely as they l...
...ions on Two Decades of Research on Teen Sexual Behavior and Pregnancy."The Journal of school health 69.3 (1999): 89-94. ProQuest.Web. 7 Nov. 2013.