The Positive Effects of Teenage Pregnancy and its Prevention

Not every teen pregnancy is unpleasant and regretful. According to a story by a teen mother name Mag, in "Who Would Have Believed" says that her life style change dramatically after she discovered that she was pregnant. Before that, she was a "rebel", going out drinking, making her parents mad, and just like many other teens, she was hard to control at the age of fourteen. While dating, Mag became pregnant at the age of fifteen. Discovered the shocking new, Mag stopped drinking, became very responsible by taking good care of her unborn child and when her child came into the world, Mag was always there for her son. After the birth of her son, Mag continued her schooling and graduated from high school. With the support of her boyfriend, they were quiet financial stable. Mag went on working a part time job and enrolled in a two years college. Six years later, Mag became a mature lady finished her two years college and now enrolling in a university seeking for a career. Now at the age of twenty, Mag won her parent's respect by her accomplishments and responsibilities (

Great number of teen parents agreed that bearing a child teaches them great responsibilities. Responsibilities here are not changing diapers or changing the baby's clothes but keeping the child healthy and provide the special needs for the child. Teen parents also agreed that bearing a child provide them higher self esteem, give them more confidence in decision making, reaches maturity at a higher level and a very challenging life. These positive confidences added up to total out the stressful, emotionally, and physically exhausting time that they experienced. If Mag did not bear that child, she would still be out drinking and still live the life that she had always lived. Having that child was the way out of the long dark road that was waiting for her.

With the escalating number of teen pregnancy in the United States, many prevention programs such as, "Project Taking Charge", "Girls Incorporated Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy Program, "Just Say No", and many more are working together to reduce the number of teen pregnancy (Monahan, 4). The main goals on these programs are to decrease sexual activity, increase the use of contraceptives, lowering the premarital pregnancy, improving health outcomes at birth of the child, and increasing high school completion rates among teenage parents (Monahan, 3). These programs use different techniques such as working in small group discussions, community service, sex education, workshops, communication and many more. These techniques were designed to improve self-esteem, reduce peer pressure, and teach the value that sex should be confined to marriage (Monahan, 4). As the result of the programs, 15% of teen pregnancy was declining.

Researchers believed that "abstinence teaches students the fundamental life lessons of self - control, self - discipline, and delay of self - gratification, which can help reduce the number of teens pregnancies" (Ed. Auriana Ojeda, 113). Also, traditional sex education help reduced the number of teenage pregnancy (Ed. Auurianan Ojeda, 134).

Another major teenage pregnancy fighter is Joycelyn Elbers, a surgeons general whom used to work under President Clinton. During one interview, Elber says, "sex is good, sex in wonderful. It's a normal part and healthy part of our being, whether it is homosexual or heterosexual" (Neff, 1). But worried about the number of teenage child bearing, Elbers came up of an idea to lower the number of teenage child bearing and address the public in an AIDS conference by stating, "masturbation was a part of human sexuality, and it's part of something that perhaps should be taught" (Neff, 1). Did not get a chance to put her idea into teaching, Elbers was asked to resign by president Clinton after her speech. Overall, studies show that the number of teenage pregnancy in the United States have been declining, yet it remains the highest number in the world.