The purpose of this quiz is to test how much you know about teenage pregnancy. The objective is for you to be aware of the risks of sex and teenage pregnancy.
Here are nine quick questions for you to answer:
1. In the western industrialized world, which country has the highest teen pregnancy rate?
o Mexico
o Canada
Comparing to nations such as Switzerland, The Netherlands, Canada and Britain, the USA has the highest rate in teenage pregnancy in the Western World. Yearly, there are approximately 560,000 teenage girls in the USA who gets pregnant.
Of these, 95% are unintended leading to 1/3 ending in abortions and 1/3 in spontaneous miscarriage. The rest will continue the pregnancy term and keep the baby. More than half of these teens are younger than age 17 during their first pregnancy. Less than 25 percent of births to teens occur within wedlock.
As per statistics, 24% of girls and 27% of boys in the USA have become sexually active before 15 years of age. That leads to 66% of unmarried teens having sex by the age of 19. By age 20, 77% of women and 85% of men are sexually active.
The following are the possible reasons for such early pregnancy:
Teenagers should be educated about contraception for them to use it when they begin to have sex. Other countries who educate their teens about this are rewarded with low rates of adolescent pregnancy.
Although the rate of teenage birth in the USA has steadily declined since 1991, compared to most developing countries this is still considered a higher percentage. Teenage pregnancy has been an utmost concern due to the health risks both teenage mothers and their babies face as well as other factors like diminishing the opportunity to build a better future.
Here are some important information regarding US teenage pregnancy:
Based on the statistics, teenage mothers are at greater risk than those women over 20 years of age for pregnancy complications.
According to public opinion polls, teenage pregnancy is caused by peer pressure, mass media, and unloving, inattentive parents. Listed here are more opinions on its causes and how this could be avoided.
1. Gender roles and early marriage. Early pregnancy is seen as a blessing in other cultures such as in sub Saharan Africa because a young woman’s fertility is proven. Thus, early marriage is favorable.
2. Lack of contraceptive use (for those in developed countries) as most teenage pregnancies appears to be unplanned.
3. Adolescent sexual behavior:
4. Inadequate contraception use. Teenage boys may have incorrectly used condoms or teenage girls forgot to take oral contraceptives
Also referred to as “adolescent pregnancy”, teenage pregnancy is when a woman who has not yet reached the age of adulthood becomes pregnant. These usually occur within the teenage years of 13-19. Even in earlier generations, women tend to have children even during their early teens so this is not a new social phenomenon. This may be intentional or unintentional.
Pregnancy among teenagers is an important concern. There are risks to both the mother and the baby’s health. Compared to older mothers, teenage mothers who don’t receive prenatal care are likely to have higher risks of pregnancy related complications such as anemia, pre-eclampsia, toxemia and high blood pressure. They may also face long labor or go into labor early.
Low birth weight and/ or premature birth are risks for the baby. This may lead to underdeveloped organs such as the lungs, heart, and brain, respiratory distress syndrome and intestinal problems. There is also a possibility of high infant mortality rate or stillbirths.
Other factors that may affect the baby’s health includes cigarette smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, iron deficiency anemia and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Teenage pregnancy is universal. As per data that supports a survey regarding this, it has been shown that in developed countries, this is rampant among those of lower education levels and with high poverty rates. This is usually outside of wedlock so it carries a social stigma in many cultures and communities. Because of this, studies are being made to uncover its causes to eradicate or limit the number of adolescent pregnancies.
In the developing world wherein the culture is different, this doesn’t involve social stigma, teenage pregnancy is typically within marriage. In some societies, early marriage as well as traditional gender roles are one of the main factors in the rate of adolescent pregnancies. Take for instance in sub-Saharan Africa where pregnancy is a proof of a woman’s fertility so early pregnancy is considered a blessing.
To go for or against teenage abortion is a great pressure to most women who are faced with this dilemma. The pressure is mostly stemming from the concern of suffering the consequences teenage abortion will most likely bring about. Facts tell us that health risks of abortion procedures increase from time to time but still, teenagers are running through an unplanned pregnancy which comes to the point of wanting to terminate their pregnancy.
The reasons of these mothers who resort to teenage abortion are varied. For one, it is evident that they cannot afford having a baby at their very young age. Child support is demanding and requires stable state of finances which a teenager, most likely, does not have. Bearing the child is the last thing in their priority list. It is also their common reason that abortion can save their faces from shame once people get to realize they have had sex or was impregnated at a very young age. Teens at their juvenile age tend to run away also from the responsibility because of their fear of having to bear the serious responsibility of raising the child alone and become a single parent.
When these young mothers make decisions about their unplanned pregnancy, their very own partner or their parents oftentimes influence their choice. It may not necessarily be their personal decision to abort the pregnancy but it could have been the parents’ or the partners’ say on the issue. Presently, more mothers get to be persuaded to go through the abortion procedure.
Childbearing for teenagers is a tough choice to make, given the fact that persons of this young and vulnerable stage almost always arrive at decisions that are swaying, if not unstable. However, it is best that teenagers who are faced with this dilemma can have an option or at least a fallback should those future young mothers decide to take it upon their shoulders. I am talking about adoption.
As soon as the baby comes into existence, the consideration of having the baby adopted is always viewed as a positive action a helpless mother can make. Bringing the baby into the world and having him breathe in life will breathe in life as well to the mother, who, at this point, made an unselfish decision of giving the baby a chance to see the world. Once the baby gets to be adopted, it is also possible that the mother can still have continuous contact with her baby.
Seeing his kid grow and knowing her kid is in rather good hands is a relief from a whole lot of worries to her, being the biological mother. This will give enough time to the mother to map plans for herself, just as this will allow enough time as well for the mother to be able to plan out her plans to her baby and his future. Among others, the best part about giving birth to a child is to remember how it was to give birth. It is, by far, the most rewarding experience a woman can have as far as the gift of motherhood is concerned. The nine, tedious months of carrying a fetus in one’s womb pays off with having to end the pregnancy with a brand new life that was born through you.