Dangers Of Teen Pregnancy

Over exposure to sexually explicit material is becoming more of the “it” thing to do. With teens being exposed to sex on the internet, television, famous celebrities, and the social media, they are more prone to explore sex and other sexual activities. Even though we cannot watch every move that our teenagers are doing, the best thing we can do is to educate them about the risks of having unprotected sex and all the consequences that are associated with the choice to have unprotected sex. The relationship between teens and their parents can be summed up in two categories; either a great communication relationship, or a lack of communication between the teen and their parents. The teen who has a great communication relationship with their parents will feel comfortable talking to their parent about any sexual encounters and possibly getting the help they will need such as Oral Contraception Pills to avoid pregnancy. But, what about the teen that doesn’t have such a great communication relationship with their parents? These teens could be the ones that are getting pregnant which could be avoided with the correct use of Oral Contraception Pills. A suggested solution to this could be selling an FDA approved Oral Contraception Pill over the counter for easy access to the teen where she can take for herself in the privacy and comfort of her own privacy without the

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.

“Every year near 750,000 teenagers get pregnant and more than two-thirds of those teenagers who decide to have their baby will not graduate from High School" (Lu, 391). Our youth is the generation that possesses the power to dictate what the future entails, therefore it is crucial they do not succumb to the negative effects of sexual activity. No matter how arduous educators and parents may try to instill the act of abstinence amongst teens it’s simply not realistic. Most adolescents are likely to engage in sexual relations but instead of trying to prevent these actions, it is extremely vital to be proactive by allowing them access to contraceptives such as Plan B One- Step in the event of an emergency. However, many individuals believe that 15 year olds having access to Plan B is highly unsafe and will corrupt their parental relationships, but it is actually essential teens receive access to emergency contraception in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies and exercise their right as women to make unrestricted decisions regarding health.

One major problem in America’s society today is teen pregnancy rates. In fact, “teen sexual activity, pregnancy, and childbearing are associated with substantial social, economic, and health costs” (Sedgwick). However, this problem is not one without a solution. The rise of teen pregnancy rates can be prevented and reversed by providing better access to birth control for teens, eliminating the negative connotation that accompanies abstinence, and implementing more efficient sex education in public schools.

We have all heard the stories about the rise in teenage pregnancies, girls dropping out of school to care for their newborns, and even those who get pregnant on purpose. This new trend is everywhere. Most parents fail to have the “talk” with their children and are left without the proper education regarding sex until its too late. With the current rates of teenage pregnancy correlated with the current rates of spreading epidemics of STD’s and HIV/AIDS, steps should be taken in an effort to aid the situation. Schools are a main source of information and education for teens, and are in a unique position that can provide adolescents with knowledgeable skills and understanding that promote sexual health. With consistent speculation surrounding

Teen pregnancy and the risk of it remains a serious issue for today’s adolescents. In 2015, there were 229,715 babies born to women from the ages of 15 to 19 (Martin). Accidental teen pregnancies could be prevented if more comprehensive sex education was taught at school and birth control was more accessible and affordable for teens. Guttmacher Institute lead a study on the issue of birth control and teens. The results showed that an 8% increase in use of contraceptives related to a 42% drop in pregnant teenagers over the course of seven years (Spadafino). Even though birth control has been proven to lower the risk of unwanted pregnancies, our society still views it as a taboo topic.

No one can deny that the number of pregnant teenagers has gone up in the last fifty years. Many teens are clueless of the consequences that sexual acts can have, “The CDC has found that over half of the STD’s contracted are by young adults.” (Steinmetz) Not only can it cause an unwanted pregnancy but it can also cause sexually transmitted diseases.

However, teens should act responsibly and take issues into their own hands and do the precautions to avoid an unintended pregnancy. Teens know exactly what they are doing when they engage in sexual activities and they know exactly what they are risking; an unintended pregnancy or an STD. They should not expect their parents to be there every second and tell them what not and what to do (pathos). “Teenagers tend to believe that having sex is harmless and that the negative consequences they learn about in school will not happen to them” (“Partner Violence, Teen Pregnancy Linked”). This statement made by Victorious Nelson tells us that the teens do not take this seriously whatsoever. They think “that will not happen to them”, when it can easily can happen to anyone that does not take proper precautions; teenager or not (logos). “Becoming a teenage mom causes chaos and stress in the life of the young woman and her family. Most teenagers do not fully understand what they are getting themselves into when they engage in sexual

Each year around 90,000 adolescents become pregnant in the United States. Around 51% of adolescents pregnancies end in live births, 35% end up in induced abortions, and 14% result in miscarriage or stillbirth (Frick, 2007). Historically, the highest teen pregnancy rates in the United States were during the 1950’s and 1960’s before the legalization of abortion and the development of many the current forms of contraception(Frick, 2007). Rates enlarged steadily until 1991; since then, the birth rate among teenagers has decreased 35% for 15-17 year olds(Frick, 2007). Three in 10 teen American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20. That is nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies every year. In 2013, there were 26.6 births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19, or 274,641 babies born to females in this age group. To prevent teen pregnancy, we should teach them abstinence, safe sex by using protection, and communication skills to discuss prevention from peer pressure.

Adolescence can be a very confusing and difficult time for many teens because they are pushed out of childhood and into adulthood. The push for the use of comprehensive sex education programs is causing the rates of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) to increase. By providing teens with a comprehensive sex education program that can not only confuse them about their sexuality, but also lead them to engage in sex before they are mentally ready, is extremely harmful. Because abstinence is the only sure way to prevent the spread of STDs and stop unwanted pregnancies among adolescents, it should be the only curriculum taught to them.

The two main risks of becoming sexually active at a young age are unintended pregnancies and STDs. Both of which can easily be prevented by a proper education in the use of condoms and contraceptives. Annually almost 615,000 teenage girls become pregnant with 82 percent of the pregnancies being unplanned, (Guttmacher). These girls are typically unready to handle pregnancy and motherhood, lacking the mindset for patience, maturity, and sacrifice the life of a mother requires. Young people ages 15-24 account for 25 percent of all new HIV infections in the U.S. and make up almost one-half of the over 19 million new STD

Sex education in the United States is not very comprehensive and none regulated, which means that many American teenagers are without the proper information to make informed decisions about sex and sexual health. Many schools offer just abstinence only education and are unable to explain safe sex procedures, putting children at risk for unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. With the average age of intercourse at fifteen years old (Buehler 2014) and many parents uncomfortable with discussing the topic with their children, it is up to sex education classes in school to properly inform teenagers about their bodies and sex. Then when these teenagers are parents themselves, they will be better prepared to talk to their own children and this will hopefully help the American general public before more informed and more likely to have safe sex.

Teen pregnancy has always been a widespread problem in the United States. In America, there are almost 615,000 women aged 15-19 that become pregnant every year ("American Teens' Sexual Health"). Fortunately, the rate of teen pregnancies in the United States has decreased over the past 20 years ("American Teens' Sexual Health"). This is primarily because more teenagers are using contraceptives when they are having sex. The Guttmacher Institute reports that the use of contraceptives when having sex by females has risen from 48% in 1982 to 78% in 2006-2008 ("American Teens' Sexual Health"). Also, condom use during first sex has largely increased due to the AIDS epidemic ("American Teens' Sexual Health"). As a result, although teen pregnancy is

Many young teens engage in risky behaviors that can affect their health and leave negative outcomes on their bodies. There was a survey conducted by The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2015 and researchers found that “30% of high school teens had had sexual intercourse during the previous 3 months and of these, 43% did not use a condom the last time they had sex. 14% did not use any method to prevent pregnancy and 21% had drunk alcohol or used drugs before their last sexual encounter (CDC, 2015).” The statistic previously read only covers 30 percent of people who agreed to participate in the study. There are still teens who either did not want to participate or who are not having any form of sexual activity. From the statistic we can confer that education about sexual health is something that is not being administered in schools and thus will cause a larger problem in the future.

A teen girl walks from her bathroom with a gloomy look in her eyes. Her pregnancy test is positive. In today’s society sexual education is being taught less and teens are learning more about sexual intercourse from television instead of learning it from their parents and their schools. To prevent teen pregnancy parents should promote sexual education, contraception, and rely less on television teaching sex education. We cannot stop children from gaining their hormones but we can teach them how to protect themselves against teen pregnancies if we teach them about sex.