In the U.S., teen pregnancy rates remain higher compared to other developed nations.  The figures speak for it – nearly 12% of all births in the country are teenage births.

Consequences

The health of the teenage mother will also pass on to the baby.  Medical practitioners notice that teenage pregnancy often lead to low birth weight, therefore producing light-weight babies.

If the teen is smoking, it would even increase the risk of complications such as premature birth, still birth, and even miscarriage.  Other problems may include premature labor, high blood pressure, or anemia.

Complications are not only for the teenage mother, but there’s a chance for it to show up in the baby too.  Aside from low birth weight, infant problems such as vision loss, respiratory distress, and underdeveloped organs also occur.

So what is teenage pregnancy?  Understanding it would also mean knowing about its consequences:

•    Lack of parenting skills and social support system.
•    May live in poverty or become dependent on welfare.
•    High levels of high school dropouts.

Media Hype

When 16-year-old Jamie Lynn Spears (sister of Britney), announced that she’s pregnant, the magazine containing that story sold over 2 million copies.  And when a film about teenage pregnancy, “Juno,” was released, it garnered unanimous applause from Film Freak Central, Christianity Today, and the New Yorker.

David Landry, Guttmacher Institute’s senior research associate in New York, says “Media is awash in it.”  Just recently, even Grey’s Anatomy had a storyline about teen pregnancy, and so did Gossip Girl.

So what is teenage pregnancy anyway?  How come all of a sudden, it has become so cool to be a pregnant teen?

“Teen pregnancy is now socially accepted as an idea,” says Andrea O’Reilly, director of Association for Research Mothering and professor at Toronto’s York University.

Possible Options

But there’s nothing “cool” about it when teenage pregnancy occurs.  Aside from health risks, there are emotional and psychological risks that the teenage mother should face.

It is best to refer to counselors or psychiatrists to understand deeper what is teenage pregnancy and how parents can’t handle the mental state and emotional reactions of teenage mothers.  Honest counseling about possible options should be available to help her decide whether she’s choosing birth, adoption, or abortion.

According to National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, “31% of teenage girls will get pregnant before reaching the age of 20.”  This would mean that these young girls are raising babies either without financial resources or without partner support.  Aside from that, they will also face difficult life-changing choices such as adoption or abortion.

Sexual Pressures

Society has hyper-sexualized images of sex without any consequences.  Advertising, television, and movies give teenagers the idea that sex is equivalent to success, self-worth, and popularity.

They are also getting pressure from other kids with a false belief that ‘everyone is doing it.’  So if they are not sexually active, maybe something is wrong with them.  Boys will be labeled as gay if they don’t discuss sex openly, while girls feel that they need to have sex to preserve their relationship.  In addition, drug or alcohol use will impair the decision-making abilities of teens to make the right choices.

As parents, the best way for you to achieve teenage pregnancy prevention is to build an open and strong relationship with your children even before they become teens.  Talk about responsible sex to them often – if you’re unsure where to start, you can use situations in movies or TV to initiate discussions.

Prevention Strategies

Susan Carney, a middle school counselor, said “Teens have a sense of ‘it will not happen to me’ attitude.  They tend to think that they’re invincible and they act accordingly.”  However, they still lack the capacity to anticipate consequences and predict outcomes.

As such, teenage pregnancy prevention can only be achieved in 2 ways – abstinence and contraception.  If you have discovered that your teen is sexually active, and very unlikely to practice abstinence, then you should provide the right access to contraception.

You can set an appointment with a physician or visit a local health department.  Alternatively, you can also find family planning clinics if you research in the internet or local yellow pages.

Parent Bonding

Sometimes, teens have nowhere to turn if they want to talk about their problems with relationships or sex.  This is why parents are encouraged to bond with their children often in order to help in teenage pregnancy prevention.

The effects of pregnancy to teenage woman are characterized by a roller coaster of emotions.  It would usually evoke repulsion, anger, and derision in the family.  And in most cases, the girl is most affected – she could be plagued with ridicule, depression, helplessness, frustration, and guilt.

Effects to the Teenage Mother

As a teenage mother, your body is not yet fully developed.  While you may bounce back from pregnancy more quickly, the development and proper growth of your reproductive organs (and all other parts of your body) may be inhibited.

Mentally, you are not an adult yet.  The part of your brain that aids in logic and decision-making are not yet matured.  Combine this with the fact that you have less real-world experience and education than an older woman.  This would mean that you will not be able to make good decisions for you and your unborn child.

Furthermore, you must take a lot of responsibilities that you might not be prepared to fulfill.  During your pregnancy, you may miss many opportunities and typical experiences that others do – general freedom of choice, high school graduation, and college.  Truly, the effects of pregnancy to teenage woman hamper their physical and mental development.

Effects to the Fetus

New studies show that babies of teens are more likely to be affected with neural tube defects than babies of older women.  However, Samanthi Abeywardana of National Perinatal Statistics Unit (Australian Institute Health Welfare) said, “Mounting evidence shows that increased folic acid intake around conception will decrease this prevalence.”

Generally, young moms are not aware about proper nutrition and safety precautions that a woman should take during pregnancy.  More likely, they are under a lot of stress and will skimp on medical care.  All these effects of pregnancy to teenage woman also distress fetal development.

Effects to the Child

Children of teen moms also tend to have more troubles in school and health problems than normal children.  Often, single-parent homes have lack of attention and supervision.  So if you have to work 3 jobs to keep your child clothed and fed, you may not have time to keep an eye in his nutrition, monitor his activities, or help in his homework.

But regardless of the effects of pregnancy to teenage woman, Sarah Palin (U.S. Republican Vice President Nominee), stood by her pregnant 17-year old daughter and said “our decision is to keep the child.”  This response garnered appreciation even from her rivals.

This is the conclusion of several medical and scientific journals on teenage pregnancy including Pediatrics – an American medical journal who published this study in its November 2008 issue.  In fact, they’re the first one who established this theory.

Observations

The mentioned study was conducted by Rand Corporation.  Its independent researchers monitored over 2,000 teens (between 12-17 years old).  For 3 years (2001-2004), the researchers oversee their TV-watching habits as well as the sexual content of the 23 shows during the 2000-2001 seasons.

Then, they calculated how much sex those teens saw on TV.  Out of the 2,000, about 718 were sexually active.

So researchers discovered that “teen pregnancy can be predicted by the teen’s exposure to TV’s sexual content.”  Those who were exposed to most sex (25% of the teens) were twice more likely to be involved in early pregnancy than those with lower levels of exposure (12% of them).  These facts can be found in medical and scientific journals on teenage pregnancy.

Does Abstinence-only Education Work?

Those who believe in abstinence-only sex education took this conclusion as proof that the American popular culture has damaging effects.  They campaign that students should be taught abstinence in school, and it’s the only way to avoid the negative consequences of sexual activity.  Eventually, it could also avoid early pregnancy.

Furthermore, National Abstinence Education Association’s executive director Valerie Huber claims, “Our culture is highly sexualized and it glamorizes sex.  What we need is to encourage our schools to give priority to abstinence-centered programs.”

However, there is little evidence that sex education on abstinence-only programs really work.  Government Accountability Office’s evaluation (2004) has found many scientific inaccuracies in the curricula.  Also, abstinence studies published in medical and scientific journals on teenage pregnancy did not prove a decrease in pregnancies, STDs, or sexual activities of teens who have participated in this program.

Conclusions

According to a FOX News contributor and psychiatrist, Keith Ablow, “The reason why there was a reported pregnancy pact made by some girls in Gloucester High School (where pregnancy rate quadrupled in 1 year) was because teen pregnancy is glamorized by media.”

The abstract of the study published in several medical and scientific journals on teenage pregnancy concludes that if you will limit the adolescents’ exposure to portrayals of sex in media or sexual content on television, this might reduce their risk of teen pregnancy.

A Grave Concern

This 4% increase in teenage pregnancy rates has caused grave concern among health professionals.  “In this technology-driven world, young teenagers, especially girls, are always looking for ways to connect with others as well as themselves.  One way that they could do that is to have a baby,” says Dr. Keith Ablow, FOX News contributor and psychiatrist.

“We really need very rigorous public health response to counteract this because it’s not pretty.  Ultimately, we will have babies nurtured by mothers who can’t provide them with all the things they need – this might be the long-term consequence,” Ablow added.  Furthermore, he said “That act is really self-centered.  Basically, you’re declaring that it is all about you.  And the people acting this way might be our worst role models.”

Low Birth Weight

The report also showed that low-birth weight is on the rise in the U.S.  You very well know that babies who are born below 5 pounds and 8 ounces have a high risk of health problems and developmental delays.

In 2005, about 21 of 1,000 girls from 15-17 years old became pregnant, but in 2006, there are about 22 out of 1,000.  These teenage pregnancy rates recorded its highest hit in 1991 when it recorded 39 births for every 1,000 teens.

And out of these pregnancies, there are 320,000 babies that were born prematurely.  Therefore, it jeopardizes their survival including their long-term good health.

According to Edward Sondik, National Center for Health Statistics director, “This does not only affect teen health today, but also their well-being for the succeeding 20-40 years, as well as the health of their children.”

Highlights of the Study

Here are the other highlights of the study:

•    38% of births come from unmarried women, and up from 37% in 2005.
•    Low birth weight percentage also increased for the past 2 decades – in 1990, only 7% of infants have low birth weight, while in 2006, it increased to 8.3%.  Sondik said that changing obstetric interventions, maternal birth age, and multiple births all contributed to this trend.

These teenage pregnancy rates were compiled reports from studies and statistics of 22 federal agencies.  It covers 38 key indicators of the well-being of a child including health, infant mortality, academic achievement, and behavior.  It also considered the number of children who are living in poverty.

Oral Procedures

Within 4-7 weeks after your last menstrual period (LMP), you can abort the embryo through an abortion pill (RU486, Mifepristone).  This procedure requires 3 clinic visits.

•    1st visit – you will be given pills to kill the embryo.
•    2nd visit – if the abortion did not push through after 2 days, you will be given another drug that will induce cramps and expel the embryo.
•    3rd visit – ensures that the procedure has been completed.

Surgical Procedures

In addition, there are also surgical procedures for teenage pregnancy abortion:

•    Manual Vacuum Aspiration: only until 7 weeks after LMP– a long, thin tube will be inserted into your uterus.  Then, a large syringe attached to the tube will suction out the embryo.
•    Suction Curettage: between 6-14 weeks after LMP – the doctor will stretch open your cervix using metal rods.  Then he will insert a plastic tube in your uterus connected to a suction machine in order to pull the fetus apart and bring it out of your uterus.
•    Dilation and Evacuation: between 13-14 weeks after LMP – the doctor will insert numerous seaweed rods into your cervix 1-2 days before abortion.  Then, he will pull the fetus with forceps (crushing the skull to ease removal).
•    Dilation and Extraction: 20 weeks onwards – for 2 days, your cervix will be stretched open by inserting seaweed rods.  Next, the doctor will grasp a fetus leg with forceps (using ultrasound) and pull it out until it reaches the head.  Then, scissors will be inserted to pierce the base of the skull before placing a suction catheter to remove the brain.  The fetus skull will then collapse to facilitate removal.

Emotional Impact of Abortion

There is strong evidence that teenage pregnancy abortion brings a lot of post-traumatic stress and might last for days or even years.  Its symptoms are:

•    Alcohol and drug abuse
•    Sexual dysfunction
•    Suicidal thoughts
•    Flashbacks of abortion
•    Depression
•    Guilt
•    Relationship problems
•    Eating Disorders

Recent studies also say that abortion is higher for women below the poverty line.  “Unintended pregnancies will surely happen if you cannot afford birth control,” says Laurie Rubiner, Public Policy Vice President of Planned Parenthood.

It’s also fitting to know that teenage pregnancy abortion rates have steadily dropped since 1980.  “Most women having abortion today are moms who are struggling to raise the kids that they already have,” according to Rachel Jones, Guttmacher Institute senior research associate.

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).

For the teens who have received comprehensive sex education, they were 60% less likely to report that they became pregnant or impregnated someone compared to those who did not study sex education.  And for those who were educated to abstain, the incidence of pregnancy was 30% lower compared again to those who were not educated about sex at all.

However, researchers believe that the result on abstinence-only education was statistically insignificant because in the categories they analyzed, only few teens fit into it.  In addition, neither approach reduced the likelihood of sexually transmitted diseases, but then again, the results were not really statistically significant.

These results were based from the responses of 1,719 teens, and appeared in “Journal of Adolescent Health.”  One thing is clear, the survey results have proven that teaching comprehensive sex education is the best way to prevent or reduce teenage pregnancies.

Implementation Procedure

But although the study has provided evidence that comprehensive sex education has more value than abstinence-only approach, it did not show the educators how they should implement this type of education in the classroom.

A professor at England’s Oxford University, Don Operario, Ph.D., said “To maximize community acceptability and audience comprehension, we need to understand better how to deliver sex education in the most effective way possible.”  Through creating a common standard of implementation across the nation, teenage pregnancies can truly be reduced significantly.

“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)?

The Costs

It is expensive to be pregnant and have a baby.  According to stories on teenage pregnancy, normal deliveries would range from $3,000 to $5,000 (more if there will be complications).  Then there are maternity clothes, diapers, formula, baby bottles, baby toys, and baby clothes.

Aside from financial costs, consider also the time that you will spend with your grandchild if your daughter still lives with you.  Will you be the one to take care of the baby when your daughter is in school?  Or do you need to hire a babysitter?

Reflections

Some teenagers are lucky if their parents will help and support them during their pregnancy.  However, some teenagers reveal taking care of themselves and their babies single-handedly.

Aside from emotional and psychological difficulties, some heath risks are also involved in giving birth at a young age.  “Since teenagers will most likely have low birth weight, this is another cause of concern,” says Edward Sondik, the Director for National Center Health Statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

When you ask girls to share their stories on teenage pregnancy, they would tell you that they’ll practice either abstinence or safe sex if they could turn back the hands of time.  It’s because most of them became bitter from losing their childhood too early.

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.

Also one of the effects of teenage pregnancy is physical change.  As your uterus expands, simple things such as different clothing choices and your inability to participate in sports may be depressing to you.

Emotional Effects

Moreover, dealing with unplanned pregnancy may be scary.  This is a natural response.  Other emotions that you’ll encounter include:

•    Initial excitement
•    Frustration
•    Resentment
•    Fear
•    Confusion

Emotional effects of teenage pregnancy do not end with you.  Your child may also suffer self-esteem problems if you let him or her grow up in a one-parent household.  According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “One-parent families are becoming more tolerated in Western industrialized societies.  However, they are often not successful.”

Children of teenage parents go through tremendous emotional pressure.  They often feel unloved, especially if there are no father figures present in their lives.

Financial Effects

Also according to Gordon Hinckley, author of workshops for U.S. Conference of Mayors, “Children who grew up in single parent homes usually live below poverty.”  This is because teen mothers are not yet prepared to handle the financial responsibility of having a child.  Since she is usually left alone to raise the baby and earn a living, the last resort could be to rely on welfare or government aid.

However, all hope should not be lost.  The effects of teenage pregnancy may be unavoidable, but a lot of people (including your family and friends) are there to help you along the way.

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

Once a teenager becomes pregnant, it is normal for prenatal care to get delayed.  This is because they often have denial, deferred pregnancy testing, and fear of telling other people about their condition.

Another concern is the use of alcohol and drugs, as well as cigarette smoking.  If the teenage mother used any of these during her pregnancy, it will increase the probability of teenage pregnancy problems such as physical disabilities (immature heart or lungs) or brain defects (mental retardation) in her child.

Financial Risks of Teenage Pregnancy

More often than not, the future is not always promising for the teenage mother.  According to R.A. Maynard, author of “Economic Costs and Social Consequences of Teen Pregnancy,” here are some statistics:

•    2 out of 3 teenagers who became pregnant drop out of school.
•    Without finishing their studies, these teenagers lack the job skills needed for them to get good jobs.
•    Income of teenage mothers may be very low (compared to those giving birth in their 20s or 30s).  As such, these teens may become dependent on welfare or their family for financial support.

And if you are one of them, Robin Elise Weiss (postpartum and childbirth educator), says “Majority of your teenage pregnancy problems may be avoided with early prenatal care, proper nutrition, and support from family, friends, and community.  Just decide to take an active role in caring for your baby in spite of the hardships that you are facing in your life.”