Due to colonization, First Nation teen pregnancy rates are higher, and has adversely affected them psychologically, socioeconomically as well as conflicting with their cultural beliefs.
As teen motherhood is socially structured. Society has judged teenaged pregnant girls as deviant (nonconforming) and that their lack of adherence to social, religious, and moral values was considered immoral. Teenaged pregnancy evolved as a social problem in North America. 1
Contrary to society’s social structure, consideration of teen pregnancy as immoral and a social issue, First Nation cultural beliefs welcomed children and considered children to be a “gift from the Creator”. Within their social circles, and within their communities,
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Because of the inability to form
attachments, the child is unable to develop friendships and relationships as easily as a child that know she is loved.4
The emotional instability of First Nation mothers that has been caused by intergenerational traumas was triggered by the loss of culture at the detriment of colonialistic effects.
“Colonialism is cited as a determinant of health for pregnant First Nation women (Moffitt, 2004,
p.323), including the residential school system; the imposition of Western medicine; government legislation; epidemics; and various other processes that undermined Aboriginal cultures and societies.” (National Aboriginal Health Organization, 2004, p. 7-8).5
The state’s legislation to oppress, marginalize, and disempower First Nation people has adversely affected teen mothers and their families by creating a construction of physical, psychological, and financially dependence upon the state.6
Psychologically, a child’s sense of identity begins when a mother is accepting and communicating self-acceptance. An emotionally detached mother criticizes, shuns, or ignores her daughter. She in turn internalizes these interactions as flaws and affects her feelings of self- worth.7 Children deemed unacceptable by their mothers/parents grow up searching for love and acceptance. Teenaged girls that tend to search for love become
In the 1960s and early 1970s, more unmarried women who became pregnant decided not to get married. As more teenage mothers remained single, public concern increased. Teen pregnancies were, often presented as a medical problem to be, treated with more access to clinics, birth control and abortion. There was a shift from viewing teen pregnancy as a moral problem to that of seeing it as a psychological or health problem (Adams, 1997).
Research indicates that colonial policies related to residential schools, reserve communities, loss of traditional lands, and erosion of language and cultural traditions that lead to cultural continuity have created a loss of cohesion and identity in Indigenous communities which have impacted family health behaviors (MacNeil 6). Although this may
For about the last 20 years Mexican American females have had the highest rates of adolescent teenage childbearing. Although the teenage birthrates have decreased as a whole, Mexican American women are still at the top, having the highest teen birth rates (46.3 births per 1,000 teen females). The Mexican American adolescent mothers have a lot in common when it comes to their reasons, knowledge, risks and prevention of pregnancy. However, there are some misconceptions when dealing with Chicana sexuality and reproduction.
Ever since the late 1400’s when the European discovered North America they brought along with them a practice of domination leaving the first nation people with very little rights forcing them to stand defenceless. Ever since the settlers arrived, the lives of the First Nation people have forever been damaged with the implementation of new ways of living. These changes have created an image
Midwifery has been practiced in several communities of the world since time immemorial. A midwife is a trained person, mostly a woman, who assists in the pregnancy, delivery and post-partum care of an infant. In most countries of the world, the act of midwifery has been neglected for more modern and westernized medical practices deemed safer. In the First nations community, midwives have always been an integral part of the health system assisting expecting women during delivery. In the mid nineteenth and twentieth century, midwifery was outlawed in many communities and reserves ‘for the sake of the health of the country’ (Parkland Memorial Hospital School of Nurse Midwifery). With the outlaw of midwifery in First nation reserves, expectant mothers were transported to hospitals and clinics in urban centers for delivery. With this came several new challenges for expectant first nations women and mothers including, ‘increased maternal newborn complications, increased postpartum depression and decreased breast-feeding rates’ (O’Neil et al., 1990, Smith, 2002 and Klein et al., 2002a. The relegation of first nations midwifery has done more harm than good because it makes the birth process more medical, has led to the inflict of new post natal diseases and has led to the neglect of the traditional and spiritual roles in child
When babies and children have poor attachments or relationships with adults, they are likely to find it hard to settle, to concentrate and enjoy being within their setting. If poor attachment exists between parents and children, children are more likely to show poor behaviour and concentration and this in turn affects their learning.
The number of teen pregnancies in Texas by race/ethnicity in 2015 are just as diverse. Teen pregnancy to Non-Hispanic White females was 7,376. Teen pregnancy to Non-Hispanic Black female was 4,619. Teen pregnancy to Hispanic was 22,745. Teen pregnancy to American Indian/Alaska Native was 127 and Asian/Pacific Islander was 267. The rate of teen pregnancies in 2015 by age are girls under 15 was 1 percent, girls 15-17 was 30 percent and girls 18-19 was 69 percent.
Teenage pregnancy has long been acknowledged as an important health, social and economic problem in the United States, one that creates hardships for women and families and threatens the health and well-being of women and their infants. Unintended pregnancies span across age, race and religion, with a specific negative impact among the teenage population. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC, 2016) In 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years, for a birth rate of 22.3 per 1,000 women in this age group. Birth rates are also higher among Hispanic and African American adolescents than any other race. In 2014, Hispanic adolescent females ages 15-19 had the highest birth rate of 38 births per 1,000
Teen pregnancy is a growing epidemic in the United States. Teen girls are becoming pregnant at an alarming rate, with a lot of the pregnancies planned. With television shows broadcasting shows such as “16 and Pregnant” and “Teen Mom”, it is giving teenage girls the idea that it is alright to have premarital sex and become pregnant. It is in a way condoning teen pregnancy.
Attachment measure how much trust the child has to their parents or caregivers and if they don’t have any attachment to them it can affect their overall personality they can have low self esteem or it can also afrect their academic because they don’t know if theres somebody who they can turn to if they face adversity.
Many women have babies every day in life, but I believe having a baby can be the scariest thing you can actually go through being a teenager. There are more teenagers having babies with no guidance or direction in their lives today. I know being pregnant at 17 for me was the scariest moment of me being a teenager. The thought of me becoming a mother made me scared because I had no idea how to prepare, for the pain that my son (Freddrick) and I will have to endure.
"Over one million teenage girls become pregnant each year. In the next 24 hours, about 3,312 girls will become pregnant. In addition, 43% of all adolescents become pregnant before the age of 20. These are incredible statistics when you consider that there are only 31 million females. The United States has the highest adolescent pregnancy rate in the developed world. As statistics show one in nine women between the ages of 15 through 19 become pregnant each year. Also, every 26 seconds a teenage girl becomes pregnant and every 56 seconds a child of a teenage mother is born."
How many pregnant teens have there been? Over the years more girls are becoming teen moms. In Oklahoma teen pregnancy has become a problem. Recently Oklahoma has had a pregnancy rate of 47.5% (Tulsa World). Not only is it an issue in Oklahoma but an issue in the United States as a whole. The lack of awareness and how to prevent pregnancy is a reason to blame for the increasing numbers. The more we don’t make people aware of the increasing teen pregnancy rate and how to prevent then the numbers will continue to rise into an astonishing amount. Helping teens know of the different ways to prevent pregnancy can make an enormous difference in teen pregnancy. The issues that have an effect on teen pregnancy rates have been to the use of
"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.
The teen pregnancy rate had decreased by the maximum of about 55 percent. Most teen birth rates had also gone down about 64 percent, but yet teen pregnancies and birth rate for teenagers ages 15-19 in the U.S still remains one of the highest comparable countries. Due to parenthood, most of teen moms drop out of school. More than 50% of teen mothers never graduate to get their diploma. Sexually active teens that don’t use any type of protection has a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant within a year, 84 percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned.