Teenage Pregnancy

Cases of teenage pregnancies are increasing very fast.  And the issue whether to include a comprehensive sex education in school has always been an argument among educators and parents for a long time now.  They are uncertain whether to teach birth control instructions to teenagers or just coach them how to say no to sex.

Reduce Teen Pregnancy

Fortunately, there is a new research study suggesting that comprehensive sex education may lead to less teenage pregnancies.  Also, parents should not fear because there is no indication that teaching kids about sex will boost sexually transmitted diseases or increase sexual intercourse levels.

To support this, Pamela Kohler, the study lead author and program manager working at Seattle’s University of Washington, said that “Aside from teaching abstinence, it’s not harmful to teach teenagers about birth control.”

Study Results

Upon examining the results of the national survey focused on 15-19 year old heterosexual teens (2002), Kohler and her colleagues found that two-thirds of the teens received comprehensive instruction with birth control discussion, 1 in 4 received abstinence-only education, while 9% received no education about sex at all (especially the poor or those living in rural areas).

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You would be shocked to hear stories on teenage pregnancy.  Usually, these kids did not plan or expect to be pregnant.  And even if you consider your teenage daughter to be a good girl (doesn’t drink alcohol, do drugs, or smoke), you might be surprised to find out one day that she’s pregnant too.

“The increase in number of teen pregnancies is a result of the cutback in youth community resources over the last 8 years,” said Michele Ozumba, the director of Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention.

Life Decisions

So if you find out that your teenage daughter is pregnant, there are several decisions that both of you need to make.  The different stories on teenage pregnancy will give you an idea about some of the consequences that these decisions may bring.

First of all, you’ve got to decide what you’re going to do with the baby.  Are you going for abortion, adoption, or will you keep the baby?

Another major decision is what you’re going to do with the boyfriend of your teenage girl.  Will you push him to marry your daughter?  Or will you let them finish their college studies first before they get married – this would mean waiting for about 5-6 years (assuming that they still want it by then)?

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Teenage pregnancy may have a lot of causes.  As a teenage girl, you may become pregnant due to either of the following: one night stands, long-term relationships, or even rape situations.

Whatever the cause is, only one thing is clear – teenage pregnancy is a result of voluntary or involuntary sexual activity.  And since birth control methods can also fail if you used it incorrectly, you might found yourself pregnant in your teenage years.  Then, you have no choice but to prepare yourself from the negative effects of teenage pregnancy.

Social Effects

It is true that unplanned teen pregnancy is hard.  There are many life-changing decisions that you need to face including: whether or not you will keep the baby, how you can cope with motherhood, or whether you will just create an adoption plan.

But the most immediate social effect of teen pregnancy is the fact that your body will change, and along with it, your lifestyle will follow as well.  So as your body prepares for childbirth, you should avoid the following activities:

•    Unhealthy eating patterns
•    Lack of sleep
•    Smoking marijuana or cigarettes
•    Drinking alcoholic beverages.

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In the United States, there are 4 out of 10 girls who will be pregnant before they reach the age of 20.  In fact, it is estimated that there are around one million pregnancies all over the country, and 560,000 will choose to give birth to their child.

The risks of teenage pregnancy problems may begin once the teenager becomes sexually active.  Most of them say that they weren’t planning to have sex in the first place – it just happened, and they’re not able to use any protection.

Health Risks of the Teenage Mother

A teenager’s body is still growing, and she would require more nutritional support to meet her baby’s needs.  Therefore, prenatal care is important, and a large part of this is nutritional counseling (this is usually done by a midwife, nutritionist, or a doctor).

Counseling normally gives education and a lot of information including folic acid, other prenatal vitamins, and proper eating and drinking.  This is critical because if the teenager will not follow proper nutrition, it would lead to teenage pregnancy problems such as low weight gain, anemia (low iron), and prolonged or premature labor.

Health Risks of the Unborn Child

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