Teen pregnancy free essay sample

Teenage pregnancy is a social problem that has existed for over a century and has always been a great concern to every nation due to the numerous adverse consequences it brings on both the economy and society at large. In the middle of the 70s, teenage pregnancy had reached an astronomical height that it was described as â€Å"epidemic† by the Alan Guttmacher Institute in a booklet entitled â€Å"11 Million Teenagers† which was widely circulated at the time (Gallagher, M. , 1999). This, in fact, put pressure on Congress at the time to pass a bill that would increase family planning fund by hundred percent as a strategy to curtail teenage pregnancy â€Å"epidemic† (Gallagher, M. , 1999). The rate of Teenage Pregnancy rose from 23. 9 births per 1000 single female teenagers in 1975 to 31. 4 in 1985, and to 46. 4 in 1994. In the last part of the 90s, the rate had dropped by16 percent. For teenagers between 15 and 19 years, the rate of teen pregnancy had dropped by 36 per cent by 2002 and 33 per cent by 2004 (Gallagher, M. We will write a custom essay sample on Teen pregnancy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page , 1999). Until recent times, Teenage pregnancy was considered an abomination and a mockery to a family. It carried a stigma and a disgrace to the young mothers and their immediate families. The young mothers were often considered sinners and the children born out of wedlock were referred to as bastards or illegitimate. The horror and the disgrace that was immediately associated with giving birth to bastards or illegitimate children, kept teenage pregnancy at the lowest minimum (Sprague, C. , 2009). In the 20th Century, the attitude of society toward teen mothers and their children or teenage pregnancy in general changed; society looked at them with compassion. Soon the horror, the intimidation, and the stigma that surrounds teenage pregnancy dissipated. This has, in no simple terms, contributed to the current level of teen pregnancy in our society. Though the rate of Teenage Pregnancy has declined in the United States in the last decade, it is still considered high, relative to other developed countries such as Sweden, Great Britain, and Denmark. Teenage pregnancy is a real social problem that requires all and sundry in finding a lasting solution to it. What makes teen pregnancy a huge problem lies in the negative effects it brings. The purpose of this work is to discuss some of the effects of teenage pregnancy which include health issues, school dropouts and dependency on the public for economic support. One striking effect with teenage pregnancy is the high propensity for the pregnant teenager to suffer some health problems. Very often, teenagers who become pregnant try to hide their pregnancy from their parents and in so doing, they do not get the necessary medical attention that initial pregnancy requires or may use crude means to abort the baby which can result in bleeding and death. About 33% of pregnant teenagers do not receive proper prenatal care and monitoring (Sprague, C. , 2009). This can result in an increased risk of miscarriage, anemia and high blood pressure in the pregnant teenager. Also, children born to teenage mothers usually exhibit low birth weight which is accompanied with other health hazards like respiratory disease, bleeding in the brain, and intestinal problems. All these account for the high mortality rate for infants born to teenage mothers than those born to women older than 20. This will in effect put some financial demand on the families of the teenage mothers. Another effect that has captivated the attention of civil society is the rate at which pregnant teenagers drop out of school. Drop outs today are ill-effects for future labor force; a situation which can cause poverty and semi-illiterates which civil society considers very serious in the development of a nation. Research shows that between 30 to 35 per cent of pregnant teenagers drop out of school compared to the 6 per cent of non-pregnant teenagers (Sprague, C. , 2009). Dropping out of school has an inherent effect on the teenage mothers; the early pregnancy deprives them of getting the necessary education and skills that will ensure them of rewarding and stable jobs. Finding a regular source of income therefore, becomes extremely difficult for teenage mothers as every job position requires certain skills. Their inabilities to secure jobs lead them to falling on the public for financial support. Finally, pregnant teenagers are likely to encounter abject poverty if they do not have a strong financial backing from their parents. Surprisingly, a higher percentage of these teens come from either broken home or staying with single parents, and are already living in poverty (Gallagher, M). Also, most of these teens are unmarried and likely to be single mothers which will cause them to face further acute economic hardships than if they were married. The only alternative at their disposal to partially solving their economic predicaments in the short run is to seek public assistance; that is, relying on welfare which includes food stamp. Over 80 per cent of teen mothers go on welfare within three years of giving birth (Sprague, C. , 2009). If the teen mother does not go back to school to attain any profession which is mostly the case, their daughters are more likely to become teen mothers and it becomes a vicious cycle. There are numerous effects of teenage pregnancy but the limit of this paper cannot exhaust all of them. In conclusion, teenage pregnancy is one source that can cause health, economic and educational setbacks not only in the lives of teenagers who allow them to be impregnated but generations down the â€Å"road†. All these can be averted if teenagers are taught abstinence from early sex until they have at least completed high school or attained age of 20. Where the teenagers are uncontrollable, they must be advice to use protections such as condoms but one thing is that condom is not 100 percent safe. There has been instances where condoms have torn and causing pregnancy. References Teen pregnancy free essay sample Teen pregnancy is an issue becoming increasingly more popular. Or is it? Many people believe that because so many teenage girls are getting pregnant nowadays that we live in a country where there is a â€Å"baby boom† so to speak. However, this is not the first time there has been an increase in the teen birth rate. It could be that our country will go through periods of â€Å"baby booms† and it is not so abnormal after all. But one question that is probably often asked and given many different answers to is, â€Å"Why are so many teen girls getting pregnant? † Also, what becomes of these young girls and their children? It is often thought that having children should follow getting married. However, in today’s world it is very much the opposite for many women. More and more often you hear of, or maybe even see teenage girls getting pregnant. We will write a custom essay sample on Teen pregnancy or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page While there is no â€Å"set age† as to when a woman should get pregnant, people often have a stereotypical idea and timeline in their head. Most typically women get married and then have their children. So why the sudden change in order? There are multiple causes to somewhat explain the rise in teen pregnancy and the effects that will often follow. In most schools students as early as grade school go through or are given a sexual education course. During this time students are taught about the processes and changes that will occur to their bodies along with an overview of sexual education. â€Å"As of March 2013 twenty-two states require public schools to teach sexual education courses, thirty-three states require students receive instruction about HIV/AIDS, and nineteen states require that if provided, sex education must be medically, factually, or technically accurate. State definitions of â€Å"technically accurate† vary, from requiring that the department of health review curriculum for accuracy, to mandating that curriculum be based on information from â€Å"published authorities upon which medical professionals rely. † (Health). It is thought that one cause of teen pregnancy is from lack of information given to these teens. You can see that a large amount of students are informed by taking these courses. What about the teenage girls that go to private schools and are not offered any type of guidance though? There are also teens who do not receive it because  their parents do not allow it. â€Å"Thirty-seven states require school districts to allow parental involvement in sexual education programs, three parents require parental consent before a child can receive instruction, and thirty-five allow parents to opt out on behalf of their children. † (Health). Many parents prefer to give their own form of sexual education to their children but it can often be diluted and not include necessary points that these public school sexual education courses include. A major fault in the increase of teen pregnancies is contraception. Contraception is defined as the deliberate use of artificial methods or other techniques to prevent pregnancy as a consequence of sexual intercourse. Now, it is not the contraception that is not working but rather the lack of knowledge and use. There are multiple types of contraceptive including condoms, birth control, and intrauterine devices. Each of these is very different but essentially does the same job which is preventing pregnancy and the passing of STD’s (sexually transmitted diseases) and STI’s (sexually transmitted infections). Although these exist, many teens know little to nothing about them. A study was configured at the University of Ghana to seek student’s knowledge of contraceptives, types of contraceptives, and their attitudes towards contraceptives. â€Å"Findings showed that students had little knowledge of contraceptives. † (Appiah). Now, you make ask how teens, or anyone for that matter can use any contraceptive if they have no knowledge of them. Well, they can’t. A large number of teen girls are not on birth control because they are unaware of how to get these pills. As well, many boys do not use condoms during intercourse because they are unable to get them. However, this often does not stop teens from having unprotected sex, possibly leading to unplanned pregnancy. While things such as birth control and condoms are not a 100 percent way of preventing pregnancy, they definitely play a major role in helping to protect girls from getting pregnant. While schools and parents can offer knowledge to teens about sexual education and the use and types of contraception, they will not always prevent these teens from getting pregnant. There is often resistance due to aspects of our lives such as family and children, the meaning of love,  commitment, and marriage, self-expression and self-fulfillment, and for many people, their religious beliefs (Interview). Obviously, every family and person for that matter feels different about sex and will generally choose to pass those beliefs on to their children. Because of these differences on how people feel teen pregnancy should be handled, there is often disagreements and disputes. â€Å"It seems to us that one of the most strident arguments at present-fighting over which strategy is better, sexual abstinence or contraceptive use. † says Sarah S. Brown, director of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. From a parent’s point of view it is obvious that a parent would rather their child practice abstinence (the practice of refraining from some or all aspects of sexual activity for medical, psychological, legal, social, financial, philosophical, moral or religious reasons until marriage) than to have sex as a teen and use contraception because of the effectiveness of both. However, teens nowadays are very resistant in adopting either way of preventing teen pregnancy. Abstinence and contraception both require a lot of self-discipline, determination, and sometimes even money which teens often do not have (Interview). This just goes to show that just because there are methods for preventing teen pregnancy and/or decreasing the rate of teenage pregnancy, they will not always be put to use. With causes come effects. Dealing with the issue of teen pregnancy, there are good and bad effects. One of the largest effects of teen pregnancy deals with trends. As you have seen, more and more often teen girls are getting pregnant, it has almost become and epidemic. Like other things, it has sort of become a domino effect. If it happens once, it could happen twenty times. The idea of having a child at such a young age has almost become a normal thing in today’s society. Today, it is no surprise to hear that a seventeen, sixteen, or even fifteen year old is pregnant. When a teenage girl gets pregnant it is often overwhelming because they are also dealing with things such as school, sports teams, and their social lives. Teenagers are not yet mature enough to be able to juggle all of these things at once. For example, how is a young teen mother able to go to school and take care of their child during the day at the same time? It is nearly impossible. This being said, the teenage girl’s mother or other family or friend are then obligated to help take care of and raise the child placing a burden on them. Although there are bad effects that go with teenage pregnancy, there are also some good. Like any other pregnant person, teenage girls have the right to choose what they will do with their child. Adoption is one major choice that many teen girls choose. It allows them to have the baby but not have the stress and burden of raising it at such a young age. Teenage mothers also choose adoption for reasons such as lack of finances or support. There are tons and tons of women in the world that are unable to have children. Teen mothers who are unable or just choose not raise their child give these women a chance to do so. A final effect of teenage pregnancy is abortion. As noted before, teenage girls are going through a time in their life when they are juggling their social life, sports, clubs, hobbies, boys, and school at the same time. A surprising, unplanned pregnancy can often overwhelm a teenage girl who is not fully developmentally mature. A panic rushes through them as they wonder what their peers will think of them and the consequences that will occur after they inform their parents. Abortion is an option too many teen girls choose because they are not as prepared to have a child as someone older. As you can see, teen pregnancy is growing problem that has given teenage girls the idea that it is alright to have a child at such a young age. Because of teen pregnancy there are more abortions, adoptions, and burdens placed on other people. Teen pregnancy is an issue that becoming more and more popular in today’s society but can be decreased if not prevented.