Teenage Pregnancy Cause and Effect Essay

Cause and Effect Essay: Teenage Pregnancy Teenage Pregnancy is one of the most alarming issues in our world today. Many teenagers engage themselves in sexual intercourse with their partners just to be “in” with their friends. Surprisingly, some countries even celebrate early teenage pregnancy, as it is a clear sign of fertility. But moderately, a teenage girl being pregnant before adulthood is critically looked down upon with shame. In 2009, around 410,000 teenage girls, ages 15 to 19, gave birth in the United States, and shockingly, that's a 37 percent decrease from the teen birth rate in1991. Basically, teenage pregnancy occurs due to the following reasons: general rebelliousness, peer pressure, and lack of self-esteem. First, there is the rebelliousness of parents and of rules of adults. During the teenage stage there is a burst of sudden and unknown emotions. Teens feel a natural sense of rebelling against the set norms and rules. Coupled with a sudden sense of fresh-found liberation and sexuality, results in giving vent to their feelings through sexual experiences. Second, peer pressure is an early stage of pregnancies. This pressure causes sexual intimacy for the opposite sex. If a child hangs out with a group who is sexually active, then nine out of ten that child is sexually active too. Most teenagers opt to have sexual intercourse because they need to achieve the acceptance given by the “circle of friends”. The only way to be accepted is to have relationship with the opposite sex and have sexual relations. In some countries, teenagers face too much peer pressure to start having sex at a very young adolescent age. This kind of behavior may lead to unwanted teenage pregnancies.
Lastly, the lack of self-esteem is an effect of teenage pregnancy. Many teenage girls feel that pregnancy is the only alternative to feeling powerless and unimportant. Being pregnant becomes the source of new status, new power and a way to prove to yourself and everyone else