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