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An introduction on prevention of teen pregnancy
An introduction on prevention of teen pregnancy
An introduction on prevention of teen pregnancy
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Tokophobia After a minute she moistened her lips and spoke, “I never got to see my baby. They wouldn’t even tell me if it was a boy or a girl.”…….. The little mother wept and wiped her eyes on the back of one hand, the baby gripped with the other (In Search of Eden 1). Teen pregnancy occurs all over the world but it is a bigger issue in America than in most developed countries; this may be solved by informing teens of the effects of pregnancy and the use of contraceptives. Due to shows like 16 and Pregnant, pregnancy rates have declined but are still high for a developed nation. In the case mentioned above a 15 year old girl has just given birth and had her baby taken away without permission to know whether it was a boy or girl. A kind nurse sneaks the baby into the room and allows the mother to hold the baby until a young couple arrives to take the baby away. More information on the effects of teen pregnancy would cause a larger decline in pregnancy rates. Although there are many books and students are educated on human development. If teens were better educated then it would help them to make better decisions. Not much information is given on what effects of becoming pregnant or the resources available to pregnant teenagers. For example, there is less than a 2% chance that a teen mother will have earned a college degree by the time she is 30 (11 Facts about Teen Pregnancy). One of the effects of teen pregnancy is depression due to the many fluctuating hormones. The loss of any supports from friend or colleagues throughout the pregnancy cycle leaves the mother feeling alone. Parents don’t know what to do and are unprepared to deal with their child’s pregnancy. A second effe... ... middle of paper ... ...se if she wants to fit in. Becoming a teen mother also comes with loss of social standing as well as a change in reputation. For example, someone known for becoming most likely to succeed becomes known for their promiscuity. Many female teens also felt pressured into having sex and they were not ready for a sexual relationship (Causes of Teen Pregnancy, Langham). Although teen pregnancy rates are slowly declining, they are still extremely high in America. This can be solved by educating teens on the effects of teen pregnancy and through the use of contraceptives. Some effects of teen pregnancy are depression, financial issues and neglect. There should be more resources available to inform teens on the effects of teen pregnancy throughout the United States. Teen pregnancy is a social issue which needs to be taken seriously although it is very commonly joked about.
To begin with, there are many common reasons why teenage pregnancy takes place. In fact, 60% of teenage mothers come from economically disadvantaged households and perform poorly in school. Alex McKay, research coordinator for the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, explains, "Young women who feel optimistic about their future tend not to get pregnant. Young women who are starting to feel discouraged about their employment are more likely to get pregnant." Moreover, 79% of teen pregnancies happen to unmarried teen couples. The male is usually older than the female in the relationship, and pressures the girl into having unprotected sex. Girls born to teenage mothers also have a 22% higher chance of becoming teen moms themselves, for they often live in a poor environment, like their mothers once did. Significantly, those affected by teenage pregnancy have many similarities.
First off, an unplanned pregnancy has physical effects on a teen. The abdominal area will enlarge and in effect, there will be weight gain. This causes teens to buy totally new wardrobes. In addition there are effects that aren’t as visual. Pregnant women may experience exhaustion and weariness. Furthermore, a change in appetite may be experienced.
The District of Columbia is the 23rd most population city in the United States with a population of 658,893 (Census). According to UNICEF, teen pregnancy is defined as “A teenage girl, usually within the ages of 13-19, becoming pregnant” ((Link 1). Nationally in the United States, there has been a steady decline of teen pregnancy within the past decade. However, it is not occurring in the District of Columbia, specifically Southeast DC (Ward 7 and 8) which includes areas such as: Lincoln Heights, Twining, Anacostia and Woodland. As of 2011, DC was ranked number nine in the nation for the highest rate of teen pregnancy. For the total amount of births, only 908 were from young women who were below the age of 20 in Washington DC. About 879 were from young women that were around high school ages 15-19. Specifically, Southeast DC is a low-income area, with approximately ¼ of teen mothers going on welfare within three years after their child’s birth (Link 2). As of 2012, out of the 790 births from teenage mothers, more than half, or 457 of the births mainly occurred in the Southeast DC area (Link4). This area has been plagued through various social determinants of health. This includes having repeated cycles of poverty, lack of comprehensive sexual education, especially in regards to contraception and a lot of violence occurring as a result of crimes. Ward 7 has approximately 95% of its citizens being Black and 2.3% of their citizens are Hispanic(Link 5). While in Ward 8 have about 94% of their citizens that are Black and 1.8% are Hispanic. Between both wards, about 63% of households including both Blacks and Hispanics are living below the federal poverty line and about 37% of births from the 2010 census were from teenage mothers. Abo...
The overall teen birth rate has declined by 16 percent from 1991 to 1997. “All states are recording a decline and it is the sixth year in a row that the teen birth rate has declined,” stated Donna Shalala, HHS secretary of U. S. Newswire. Although the birthrate among teens is decreasing and the percentage of teenagers who have had sexual intercourse is declining, it is a multi-fauceted problem affecting today’s youth. The government is taking in to consideration all possibilities and conditions with teen births to make an affective way to prevent it.
The past two decades have shown a decline in adolescent pregnancy but today, the United States continues to hold the number one position for highest adolescent pregnancy rates among developed countries.1 Research has found that about two in every five teenage girls become pregnant before the age of twenty years old.2 The recurrence of early childhood bearing now reaches up to 900,000 pregnancies each year in the United States.1 The various factors associated with high prevalence of teenage motherhood can be seen among communities affected by low socioeconomic status, a lack of education, and more interestingly, a new found correlation between the history of intergenerational, teenage childhood bearing with the family.2 Communities facing these problems continue to sustain such high statistical values for teenage pregnancy and have created a vicious cycle which is then adopted by following generations. Adolescent pregnancy not only creates a toll on the family, but also has adverse health effects on the child and society.
Teen pregnancy is one of the many recurring themes that continue to be a problem in the African American community. This project will document the reasons why African Americans become teen parents, I will get to the root of why African Americans are teen parents. This is a problem in the African American community because we are perceived to be a race that has a variety of negative stereotypes behind it. These stereotypes sometimes stem from things that actually happen in the community such as teen pregnancy, as well as people’s perception of African Americans. Society is affected by teen pregnancy in the black community by there not being more African Americans furthering their education through college and in some cases through high school due to responsibilities that comes with raising a child, as well as the children of teen parents having behavioral issues and social disabilities. Children of teen parents are likely to have children as teens (Healthy Teen Network, 2006). According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (2014) only 40 percent of teen mothers finish high school, and fewer than 2 percent actually finish college by age 30.
Studies show that within the last seven years there has been a dramatic drop in the number of teen pregnancies. Teen pregnancy is best known as, the act of getting pregnant between the ages of fifteen and nineteen. Teen pregnancy does not come with much of a history. In the past, (mostly in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s) it was common for girls to be married between the ages of fourteen and sixteen and give birth not long after. Some girls were having babies as young as thirteen and fourteen years old! During the times that young girls would bear children and be married so young, college and education was not an important factor. As a young girl you learned how to take care of your house, farm, laundry, crops, animals, husband, and children. The father was your main source of income. Obviously things in our time are very different. Over the years a growing importance for education and making a living on your own has become crucial to many women. It was no longer important to have children so soon, but to learn to be a strong, educated, and independent woman. Even now as time has gone by, the image of being a pregnant teenage girl has been glorified solely by media. It becomes less important to get an education so you can get a good job and be able to raise a child and give them a good life, and more important to get pregnant and get a chance to be worshiped nationally on t.v. for being pregnant and making all of your money through fame.
Children born to teen mothers are also twice as likely to be victims of abuse and neglect” In other words, due to the lack of education a teen parent tend to have, it will affect the child because the parent will not be to provide a correct one. Also, the majority of teen pregnancies tend to be unplanned. Therefore, children are who suffer since they were not desired hurting their esteem and assertiveness.
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. Consequences of unsafe sexual behavior include sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy (NIH, 2005). This paper will focus on the majority aspect of pregnancy in adolescent.
Teen pregnancy is no little problem! The numbers of teen pregnancies have begun to grow and are beginning to become a fairly large problem. Teen pregnancy is a situation that changes the lives of teens, teen’s parents, and families for the rest of the teen’s life. Teens do not fully understand the risks of intercourse and the amount that lives of teens will change after having children. To lower the percentage of teen pregnancies, society must encourage parental involvement, education, and available health programs.
Adolescent childbearing has become a prominent social issue because of the broad social and personal consequences. Babies born to teen mothers are at increased risk of developing physical, social, and cognitive problems and deficiencies. Teenage mothers are at increased risk for pre-term labor and premature childbirth. They are also at increased risk of pregnancy complications, infant physical disability, and low birth weight. In many cases prenatal medical care is frequently delayed or inadequately delivered.
The female teen stares into the eyes of her newborn son, not realizing the type of life her and her son will have in the near future. Katrina L. Burchett excellently explicates teenage pregnancy among female adolescents living with domestic problems in her book titled Choices. The various elements that aid to the wide range of teenage pregnancies in the world should all be taken in to consideration. Getting pregnant at an adult is no longer substantial or conventional in our society. Everyday, female young adults are getting pregnant, which is why it is a social issue for the youth today.
Teen pregnancy is a major issue in society today. In 2010, an estimated 614,400 U.S. teenagers became pregnant, approximately 89,300 had miscarriages, and 157,500 had legal abortions. Teens are having unprotected sex without knowing the consequences of the choices that the are making. Teens believe that sex is something new that they can try, so they can be popular like their peers. These accusations are wrong, having unprotected sex has major consequences, and by having unprotected sex these teens could be changing their lives forever. Who is to fault for these teen pregnancies? Is in the parents fault, the teens fault or is it our communities fault all together? I believe providing more information and awareness about teen pregnancy in our schools and community will reduce the number of teen pregnancies.
The concept of comprehensive social intervention has been defined as the process of identifying social problems in an attempt to eradicate them. In looking at the broad range of social characteristics and the behavior associated with teen pregnancy, it is obvious that the emphases placed on the effort to recognize and alleviate teen pregnancy can be celebrated through the effectiveness of education, family planning, and abstinence. However, the attempt to analyze and deal with the cause-and-effect relationship with teen pregnancy is an attempt in understanding the social world itself. In 2006, statistics show that there was a significant increase in teen pregnancy after a decade long decrease. The potential for understanding this increase motivates us to look beyond simple explanations for cause-and-effect behavior and to look at what interactions may be occurring between variables that result in specific behaviors or social conditions. What is it that influences behavior? In looking at teen pregnancy in the realm of the family, it is evident that a large number of family structures have evolved, or perhaps devolved, into a variety of combinations which challenge responsible parents to consistently expose their children to the role models and the types of behaviors that are important for their children to emulate as they mature. People are molded by circumstances and experiences, all of which can positively or negatively influence our behavior.
In conclusion teen pregnancy has hard an effect on society, in many ways. Most teen pregnancies were not planned. CFOS says that about 65% of teen pregnancy's were not even discussed with their sexual partners. All of the other percentage of teen pregnancy's were not planned either, but it had been discussed with the teen's sexual partner at some point in time. Most teens began having sex without knowing the consequences. Teenagers need to take responsibility and remember to keep safe, because there are various ways to prevent teen pregnancy, for example abstinence, sex education, and various types of birth control; because these methods are available children should not be brought into this world mistakenly.