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The Problem of Teen Pregnancy

When it comes to teen pregnancy, there is no stereotype. Some teens can be persuaded into waiting. Others will have an opinion about sex and not change their minds for anyone. All teens have their own opinions about everything that they do and don't do. One teen might be the result of a teenage pregnancy and choose to wait. On the other hand, they might think that it is no big deal. Teenage pregnancy is a large and growing problem in the United States, although a child is a "blessing in disguise". Why is teenage pregnancy a problem? The issue of teenage pregnancy is affecting our society in innumerable ways and has become one of our top social issues of all time. The latest estimates show that approximately 1 million teens become pregnant every year. At least 5% of young girls give birth and in 1997, at least 13% of the births in the US are of teenage girls. Becoming a parent permanently and profoundly alters a teenager's life. Most of the girls forget about their dreams of happy marriage, college is almost always out of the question, graduating High School becomes a goal most teenage moms don't achieve. As the years progress, the influence of sex has taken a more profound effect on teenagers. Nowadays, it seems that sex is everywhere. The television shows, the Internet, magazines and even the movies almost always have a “sex scene” in them or portray sex in some sort of way. Because the industry is realizing that teens are having sex, (unprotected sex at that) they are now producing a number of commercials where they are reaching out to adolescents asking them to be more careful or as one commercial puts it “to be above the influence.” Although teenagers believe that 16 is too young to have sex, one in four have had intercourse by that age. Many factors contribute to this statistic among 16 year-olds. One would be peer pressure. With the growing number of teens having sex, adolescents feel like they should “fit-in” rather than being the one that “stands-out.” What is amazing to some is that this “peer pressure” to have sex is much like the one to smoke/do drugs. Many adolescents would even go as far as to bully someone who has not had sexual intercourse with their partner. Looking at today’s society, numerous of young people see having a boyfriend as desirable, pleasing that person and that person’s friends is probably important to many youth “Pleasing” them comes in many forms. The partner will ask the other partner to do a specific task, such as to have sex, smoke or drink and the other partner feels like they have to do what they are asked or coerced. Girls often expect that having sex will transform an uneven relationship into blissful fusion or transform their lover into a devotee. Many times, it is known that teenage boys are the ones to pressure or even force girls to have sex with them, but some demonstrates an opposite case. Parents play a vital role in their child’s sex life. In every circumstance, “commuincation is the key.” The neglect of one parent can lead to a completely different life for his/her daughter/son. Some girls, because her mom is never around and doesn't give her any attention, turns to boys to feel treasured. The newspaper article titled, Teenage Sex; Children Know About Sex Than Any Other Generation. But Few Know All The Risks. How should Parents react? Andrea Kon and Mike Ridley Find Out, implies that parents do not know what their children are doing “sex” wise and still considers his/her daughter/son a little boy/girl. Part of the reason could be that when asked if they are having sex, the adolescents will lie to their parents to preserve their “innocence.” Informing a child about sex can help prevent pregnancy, but it is not guaranteed that they will not engage in sexual activity or become pregnant, but it will help reduce the chances. As far as where the teens get this sexual behavior, some may point the finger at the parents. When a baby is growing up, what they see is what they will mimic when they get older. So in short, “monkey see is what monkey do.” Studies have shown daughters of teenage mothers to be significantly more likely than young women whose mothers delayed parenting until adulthood to experience a teenage birth. The amount of sex education children receive at school can vary widely. A parent should not limit their child’s sex education only from the schools. The adjustment for a teenage mother is difficult. Throughout a typical teenage mother's pregnancy they will have to deal with alot during their pregnancy. During the pregnancy they will have missed countless school days, so that she can go to doctor appointments or because their not feeling well. Also during pregnancy you also experience hormonal changes, such as a rapid growth in hair. Like several teenage mothers childbearing, is experiencing psychological vicissitudes, where you feel unwanted by the society and by your parents. Teenage mothers are often not prepared for the emotional, psychological and financial responsibilities and challenges of parenthood. Many drop out of school and the majority does not return. Teenage mothers are vulnerable to a variety of undesirable outcomes, such as low socioeconomic attainment, high rates of unemployment, low wages, high rates of poverty, large family size, high welfare dependency and lower prospects of marriage. Children of teenagers often suffer from poor school performance. Children of teens are 50 percent more likely to repeat a grade; they perform much worse on standardized tests; and ultimately they are less likely to complete high school than if their mothers had delayed childbearing. During pregnancy teens have open options, such as, abortion and adoption. This can be due to the fact that Choices is a religious book and anything that contradicts the teachings of God should not be placed in the book. There are several unexpected circumstances in which a female adolescent has no control of. Rape, molestation and prostitution are some of the situations. 50 - 60% of teens were molested prior to their first pregnancy and 30 - 40% were victims of rape or attempted rape. Some teenage pregnancies may be the direct result of sexual abuse, childhood sexual abuse may socialize female victims to believe that their purpose in life is to fulfill the needs of others, the lowered self-esteem of sexual abuse victims may make them more vulnerable to males’ sexual advances, and the victims of incest may plan their pregnancies as a means of escaping from their victimization.