Teen Pregnancy And Its Effects

As us females were young we all seem to become mothers, by playing with dolls, and playing house with others our age. It may be easy for us to say that as children we thought they needed some assistance, but in reality that was only our imagination. As little kids did we really think about what it would be like to really have a baby? We were children, but see the thing here is that teens are still children who are having other children. 16 year olds do not just wake up thinking they want to have a baby, most of the time it just happens without being planned. Teens often do not think about what life would be like as a parent which is easy to happen and we should be informed on the reasons why and what it really is like.

For many years teen pregnancy has been a national social problem. Views have changed over the years as society has started to adapt to the thought of teen pregnancy. “Growing evidence suggests that pre-existing academic and economic hardships play a role in the continuing struggles of teen mothers. While 85% of young women who delay having their first child until at least twenty or twenty – one obtain a high school diploma or GED, only 63% of mothers who give birth by age seventeen do so” (Crosson- Tower p255)

To truly understand how to lower teen pregnancy, one has to look at the statistics. The following quote from Stranger-Hall’s essay exemplifies this; “After accounting for other factors, the national data show that the incidence of teenage pregnancies and births remain positively correlated with the degree of abstinence education across states: The more strongly abstinence is emphasized in state laws and policies, the higher the average teenage pregnancy and birth rate.” (Stranger-Hall, 6) Variations on how strongly abstinence is emphasized also leads to variations in effectiveness of reducing teenage pregnancy. Abstinence only education emphasizes that the only way to prevent an unwanted pregnancy is to completely abstain from sex until marriage. These programs typically don’t cover means of contraception, and if they do it is usually only to discuss its ineffectiveness. Where comprehensive education differs is that while it too covers abstinence, it also discusses various methods of birth control, as well as sexually transmitted diseases. Despite what the U.S. government supports, it has been shown that comprehensive sexual education does in fact lower teenage pregnancy

Teen Pregnancy and the Link to Poverty in the U.S. with A Focus on Western Ma Especially Holyoke and Springfield Mass

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.

Teen pregnancy has decreased a total of 8 percent. “ in 2015 a total of 229,715 babies were born to women 15-19”(Reproductive Health:Teen Pregnancy). According to Reproductive Health:Teen Pregnancy the birth of babies dropped from 41 babies to 21 babies, births dropped per 1,000 females aged 15-19 years. Hispanic teens have more than twice the percent of teen pregnancy than white teens, black teens have a twice the percent than all the other races besides hispanic teens

Teen pregnancy is a huge problem in the United States and it mostly as to due with the lack of sex education. In other countries sex education is not shyed away from and children have open discussions with their parents about the ins and out of sex, pregnancy, transmitted diseases and infections and even love. The country proclaims to be free and self-righteous yet many people hold on to conservative outlooks when it comes to having these important conversations with their children. Teen pregnancy is inevitable, especially with hormones kicking in and children having little to no knowledge of how to navigate them will always result in teen pregnancy. However there could be a dramatic fall in the rates if as a nation we decide to educate the children about the topic. Because whether America likes it or not the children of today will be the future doctors and caretakers, so caring for them now will be much more beneficial in the long

Teen pregnancy has been a serious social issue for quite a while. Often, a teen pregnancy is detrimental for both the teen and the child involved. Both a teen mother and her child are more susceptible to complications during the pregnancy and birth than and adult mother and her child. Unfortunately, a teen mother and her infant are also less likely to pursue and receive healthcare to alleviate these health risks (Teen Pregnancy). Moreover, “teen pregnancy is often cited as a factor that perpetuates the cycle of poverty, since teen mothers are likely to be poor in the first place, and their children are likely to grow up to be poor” (Teen Pregnancy). While there is no argument that teens should be educated to prevent teen pregnancy, there is a debate on how it should be done. Currently, there are two forms of education focused on reducing teen pregnancies: abstinence-only education and comprehensive sex education with birth control. However, sex education and birth control are clearly the superior option, due to its effectiveness and the futility of abstinence-only education.

When it comes to the topic of do TV shows like “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom” promote or discourage teenage pregnancy, most of us will readily agree that it in fact does promote teenage pregnancy. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of how does this promote teenage pregnancy. Whereas some are convinced that it promotes teenage pregnancy through the fame some of the young couples have achieved, others maintain that it in fact discourages teenage pregnancy by showing the struggles and reality of having a child at such a young age. I agree that the show “16 and Pregnant” promotes teenage pregnancy because a new Indiana University research study confirms it.

This Literature Review gives a deep insight of some of the available literature related to teen pregnancy, neighborhood effects on poverty, and socio-economic effects of teen pregnancies. Teen pregnancy has become a significant issue in society. A large number of teen pregnancy and school dropouts have been recorded in the past and get associated with poverty. To understand teen pregnancy and its association with poverty; this literature review is going to examine some of the academic journals that have covered this topic and try how teen pregnancy is affected by poverty and vice versa. The statistics from the journals shows that pregnancy rates are maximum among teens who come from low-income families and poverty-stricken

n the mainstream news, young mothers have received surplus attention due to the large scale viewers of MTV’s shows Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant. Fox News, leaning far right on the political spectrum commented about the extensive publizity. When the stars from these reality shows made front page on US Weekly and People’s magazine Fox News posted an article in response,“ Tabloids Glamorizing Teen Pregnancy By Putting Teen Moms on Covers.” Young teens who became pregnant and now a part of mainstream culture sex is the highlighted deviance described in this article. Fox News argues that we shouldn’t praise these girls for their actions because, they are irresponsible parents that were just looking for a way to make quick money. That, this

Pregnancy among adolescents has been a registered ongoing issue ever since the early 1950s. There are many key aspects to teenage pregnancy, such as historical details, causes & effects, interventions, and relative theories associated with these aspects. This article will review and explain each key aspect in detail, while also giving feedback and insight on different interventions and available resources.

Besides the socioeconomic issues that arise, there are also the physiological issues. There is a risk to the children born of teen mothers, the children are “more likely, than any other children, to have low birth rate, putting them at greater risk of dying as infants and developing blindness, deafness, mental and respiratory problems, and cerebral palsy” (Abstinence-Only Education: Are abstinence-only sex education courses effective?, 2014). However, the child is not the only one who could possibly suffer, teen mothers are susceptible to “ailments such as hypertension and anemia” (Abstinence-Only Education: Are abstinence-only sex education courses effective?, 2014). Teen mothers are also less likely than older mothers to receive the proper preparental care and less likely to gain the right amount of weight during the pregnancy. With that being said, shouldn’t our top priority be finding a way to lessen the amount of teen pregnancies in the U.S? What better way to do so by teaching youths the proper way to go about sex and how to be safe.

Teen pregnancy is a very controversial social issue and the vast majority of Americans consider the outrageous rate of teen pregnancies a severe issue, certainly a problematic occurrence that is believed to be a moral decline in our country. Teenagers are physiologically capable of reproducing but not emotionally or financially prepared to be parents at such a tender age. Through various research studies a plethora of determinants has pin pointed teens unprecedented pregnancies. One cause of this problem is the apparent indication of social separation or disadvantage. Within this issue you would find poverty, single parent households, educational disadvantages on the parents behalf, a lack family/parental support, and unemployment. A child’s educational performance, inappropriate sexual acts, and inferior apprehensions about their futures play a vital role in teen pregnancies as well. Amongst the listed disadvantages the three that take precedent are lacks of family communication, sexual abuse, and poverty. Furthermore, teen mothers do not fit the ideal ideology of the normative scheduling of motherhood, therefore, ultimately resulting in negative consequences for them and society. What needs to be understood is, as to why the numbers of teens are becoming parents at such a vernal age.