Seika McKee
Dickens
ENGL 1113
17 Nov. 2015
A Pregnant Teens Biggest Decision In today’s world, we hear more and more stories about teen pregnancy. Whether they get pregnant by rape or by mistake, all pregnant teens have three choices: to give birth to the baby, to give it up for adoption, or get an abortion. Anne Speckhard, a psychotherapist in Washington D.C, states that almost one million teenagers in the United States get pregnant each year (1). With the rates of teen pregnancy increasing, the question that comes to mind is if these teens have enough knowledge to make such a drastic decision that can affect them for their entire life. Adolescent pregnancy is progressively becoming part of the everyday norm, so the decision to abort is
…show more content…
Since she had previously had an abortion, she is now unsteady with the thought of becoming pregnant again. She almost feels as if it is unfair to the first child she had aborted. She tells me that although the person she had gotten pregnant with is no longer part of her life, she still regrets the idea of not keeping that child. She now believes that all lives matter no matter how young, in this case, believing that abortion should not be a decision to make no matter what the cause. According to Lesley Hoggart, from the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Greenwich, in London, teen pregnancy is a major social problem that includes social exclusion (534). With teen pregnancy, future risk factors that associate with parenthood can go from poverty, low educational achievements, poor employment, and even poor dieting (Hoggart 534). Even if the child is aborted, these risk factors can be put into play (Hoggart 534). Regarding the teens safety, all risk factors should be looked at. Whether the teen chooses abortion or motherhood, she should look into what could be in store in the future for not only her but her child as well. When it comes down to choosing abortion or not, many will feel some sort of emotion, whether it be depression, sadness, anger, regret or guilt (Speckhard 1-2). In a news article from the National Right to Life News, Lauren Enriquez writes about Darby, a teenager that had found out that she was pregnant
In today 's society, the rate of teen pregnancy is rapidly decreasing. This may be attributed to decrease in costs of contraception, costs and availability for abortion, and better sex education over time. “In 2014, a total of 249,078 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a birth rate of 24.2 per 1,000 women in this age group.This is another historic low for U.S. teens and a drop of 9% from 2013. Birth rates fell 11% for women aged 15–17 years and 7% for women aged 18–19 years” ("About Teen Pregnancy"). Abortion is a highly debated topic today, for many wonder if the woman should have the right to choose. Those who choose to get an abortion are practically putting themselves on trial in today 's society. To understand why this is so, one must look at both sides of the abortion issue, and compare the facts. Abortion is an extremely controversial issue for many, and polarized, or split, into pro-life
The opponents of birth control to teens overlook the fact that providing birth control to teenage girls would make sex much safer. Certainly, the unsteady rate of teenage pregnancies would decrease. In previous times, girls between the ages of 16-17 would get pregnant unintentionally. However, in this era, 13 and 14 year old girls are having babies-teens who are completely unprepared to give birth and raise a child. In these instances, if the child is not given up for adoption, the responsibility usually becomes that of the parents. In addition, when teenagers are protected from unwanted pregnancies the number of teen abortions taking place each year could be reduced significantly. According to Guttmacher.org, some states in the U.S have reported that 50 percent of pregnant teens receive an abortion. Not only is this a costly procedure, but it is also
"Teen pregnancy in the United States: In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15-19 years old, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. This is another record for U.S. teens and a drop of 8% from 2014. Although reasons for the declines are not totally clear, evidence suggests these declines are due to more teens abstaining from sexual activity, and more teens who are sexually active using birth control than in previous years. Still, the U.S. teen pregnancy rate is substantially higher than in other western industrialized nations, and racial/ethnic and geographic disparities in teen birth rates persist (cdc.gov)." As teenagers (in the United States), we are peer pressured or tempted to try new things. Some teens tend to try out drugs, and alcohol. However, some are having unprotected sex in which, is leads to having babies. This is called, teenage pregnancy. This has caused the United States to create records based off of the statistics and facts given from, researchers across the United States. In order to help prevent teenage pregnancy in the United States, teenagers must understand why, having a baby now isn’t such a smart move on their part.
One million teens in the USA will become pregnant over the next twelve months. Ninety-five percent of those pregnancies are unintended. About one third will end in abortion; one third will end in spontaneous miscarriage; and one third will continue their pregnancy to term and keep their baby. Having a baby is a big
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.
While many people are inclined to express indifference regarding this concept, teen pregnancy is one of the most controversial topics in the contemporary society. This experience can be devastating for some individuals, as the fact that they are raw makes it difficult for them to effectively deal with the problem. Society becomes more stressing and most teens who become pregnant come to express feelings related to shame and fear. The fact that these individuals are hesitant about letting their parents know that they are pregnant contributes to their problems and finding help sometimes becomes an impossible mission. Lack of life experience materializes into a more severe type of stress, endangering both the mother and the child.
About 727,000 U.S. teenage girls (12,000 of them younger than 15)-an estimated 20 percent of those who had sexual intercourse-became pregnan in the most recently reported year. Three factors heighten the incidence of adolescent pregnancy: effective sex education reaches too few teenagers, convient, low-cost contraceptive services for adolescents are scarce, and many families live in poverty, which encourages young people to take risks without considering the future implications of their behavior. Teenage parents are much more likely to be poor than those that choose to postpone parenthood. The lives of expectant teens, already troubled in many ways, tend to worsen in several aspects after the baby is born. Education is harder to attain, only about 70
Teen Pregnancy has become a constant form of societal acceptance. Amongst the ages of 15-19 three quarters out of a million of them ended up pregnant, while only a few of them had planned it. Because of hit television shows like 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, Teen Mom 2, and Teen Mom 3, media has made it acceptable for teens to attempt motherhood. In this case, teens are not taking in account the associated health risk and related issues like abortion, lack of care, and mental trauma. The children of teen mothers consequently suffer from the possibility of infant death, being born premature and with low birth weight, the possibility of blindness, deafness, chronic respiratory problems, mental retardation, mental illness, and cerebral palsy. These consequences are due to the fact that these girls have not fully developed themselves and will begin a cycle of teenage pregnancy. Therefore, teenage pregnancy is becoming a steady trend that many young girls seem to reluctantly fall into due to the negative influence of society.
Teenage pregnancy is a major concern in today’s society; there are many factors in a teen’s life that can cause pregnancy. In addition, multiple challenges and hardships will come with teenage pregnancy not only for the female, but also for the male. Being a parent is very demanding and can be hard. The difficulties that come with an unplanned teenage pregnancy can have profound effects on their life. Their physical, mental, and emotional health will be affected by the sudden news that they will be responsible for taking care of a child in the upcoming months. Teens affected by an unplanned pregnancy will need to give up many things in order to become a parent. In addition, they will have to take on more responsibilities that come along
If you can barely take care of yourself, can you really take care of someone else? In the United States, teenage pregnancy and birth rates have declined by one third over the past decade, however, one in three girls still become pregnant by the age of 20 (Brown 125). While it may seem good that the number of teenage pregnancies has declined, the facts remain that “About 750,000 teenagers get pregnant in the United States each year” (“Pros and Cons of Teenage Pregnancy”). Despite the decrease in numbers, teenage pregnancy is a major concern in American society because it is bad for the mother and father and is also bad for the child. Additionally, it is clear that more education is needed to solve this problem.
Teen pregnancy rates in the US are very high and though they seem to be decreasing throughout the years, it is still a social issue that must be paid more attention to. According to the OAH (Office of Adolescent Health), 232,215 babies were born to girls between ages 15-19 (Health, 2017). It is a social issue that everyone should be aware of because it is happening every day. Because the rates are declining throughout the years that doesn’t mean that it should be taken lightly. It’s a social issue that can not only cause harm to teenagers, but that can also cause harm to the children being born to these teens. The future of both the teen and the child must be taken into consideration because it something that affects everyone. In order, to focus on this society issue and reduce these high rates, parents of teenagers and society must realize the causes of teen pregnancy, the negative effects that come along with it, and the solutions to prevent teen pregnancy from happening.
“You’re pregnant” are, the worst possible words a teenage couple may want to hear if anything, the last thing they want to hear. Not only is there teenage life over but also their educational career. Terrified, scared many teens walk out of clinics with the thoughts of either abortion or adoption.Many decide to keep the baby, but many thoughts run through their mind. “How am I going to tell my parents?’’ , “How can i financially support this child?’’ , “ How am I going to take care of this child?’’ With big challenges ahead of them and no true knowledge of what to do, teens are on their way to a life full of stress, exhaustion ,poverty and depression (Bodeeb 1) High schools in New York have been preventing this tragic scene from happening by distributing out birth control, which includes the morning after pill, and condoms and ever since then teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases have dropped very low. “Elizabeth Finley, director of strategic communications for the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina, credits more effective birth control methods and wider access to them” (Ball 1) Although this methods have shown to be very effective, they are many other way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and diseases. Such as a abstinence only environment or sex ed classes. Teen pregnancy and diseases can slowly diminish without the distribution of the methods many schools wish to provide. School health care personnel should not be
Unintended pregnancy among adolescents represent an important health challenge that requires additional teaching. An unintended pregnancy is considered to be a pregnancy that is unwanted or mistimed for any reason. Among the adolescent populations, more than 4 out of 5 pregnancies were reported as unintended (Finer, 2010). The high percentage of unintended pregnancies in adolescent females involve improper maintenance or lack of education. Approximately half of unintended pregnancies are due to contraceptive failure, largely owing to inconsistent or incorrect use (Winner, Peipert, Zhao, Buckel, & Madden, 2012). An adolescent mother who conceives an unintended pregnancy can cause negative effects including performing poorly in school, resulting in poverty, and having a decreased success in the future (Postlethwaite, Armstrong, Hung, & Shaber 2010). The best way to prevent these negative effects on an adolescents future is to teach them about correct contraception use. Contraception enables people to control their fertility according to their desires and circumstances (Luke, Herbert, Loxton, & Weisberg, 2011). This will help the teens build the specific skills they need to protect themselves and potentially reduce the rate of unintended pregnancies in adolescents.
Everyday young girls are faced with life changing decisions, whether or not to tell someone their pregnant or might be pregnant. Teens fear what others will say about them or how their family and friends will react to them being pregnant. What teens do not realize is by not seeking help or informing someone their pregnant, they place themselves and their children in harm’s way. Starting the moment they become pregnant their chances of having health risk, during the pregnancy has already begun. There are several consequences and health risks that effect teens during and after pregnancy such as: gaining too much weight, not gaining enough
Teen pregnancy continues to be a public health concern in the United States. Compared to other industrialized nations, the USA ranks higher in teen pregnancy and abortion rates than other Westernized countries (Segeh, Finer, Bankole, Eilers , Singh 2015). It was estimated that in the year 2015, 229,715 babies were born to teenagers in the United States (Martin et al., 2017). Medical research has shown that teen pregnancy is associated with adverse outcomes for the mother and the child. Children born to teen mothers are more likely to have low birth weights, are less likely to be breastfed and are at a higher risk for infant death (Chen et al., 2007). In addition to the potential clinical challenges, teen motherhood can present a new set of barriers for future socioeconoimical well-being. Teen mothers are less likely finish high school, are delayed in joining the workforce and are more likely to remain single ( Hoffman & Maynard, 2008).