The Effects of Teenage Pregnancy Can Be Emotional and Economic in Nature

The effects of pregnancy to teenage woman are not confined to health risks. Aside from the fact that teenage mothers are prone to malnourishment, pregnancy complications, and birthing problems, there are many more setbacks that pregnancy at a very young age can bring. Most of which belong to the realm of emotional and economical factors.

Emotional Effects of Teen Pregnancy

Pregnancy is considered as one of the most momentous occasions in the life of a woman. However, it should be noted that if pregnancies are unplanned, and if such happened at a very young age when the mother is not psychologically ready for child bearing, several negative circumstances may happen. Included in the list of emotional effects of pregnancy to teenage woman are as follows:

Confusion

Teenage mothers may feel confused as to what they are supposed to do with their lives. They may question their capability of being a mother and they may eventually question their responsibility to the child in their womb.

Women who are confused with their capability to look after a child may resort to abortion. According to recent population statistics, almost seventy percent of teenage women who have unplanned pregnancies opt to abort their babies. The reason primarily lies in the fact that they are not capable of raising their children or they think that they are not actually ready to be a parent.

Fear

Included in the list of emotional effects of pregnancy to teenage woman is fear. The teenage mother may fear a lot of things when faced with an unplanned pregnancy. She may fear her parents or the society. She may also feel fear for motherhood and the responsibilities that it brings. A teenage mother may even fear that her partner will eventually leave her because she got pregnant.

Resentment

Aside from confusion and fear, the teenage mother may actually resent her pregnancy primarily because she is not prepared to face the negative consequences of such. She may eventually realize that pregnancy is difficult, as well as child birth and motherhood.

Frustration

Frustration usually happens after the teenage mother gives birth to the child. She may eventually feel that being a mother restricts her capabilities and potentials. This is primarily because motherhood can affect one’s opportunity for higher educational attainment, career development, social interaction, and other activities that most people find to be personally fulfilling.

Economical effects of pregnancy

There are also many economical effects of pregnancy to teenage woman. According to recent national statistics, two out of every three women who are faced with teenage pregnancy will eventually drop out of school. As such, they will eventually end up with having lower educational attainment. Such may lead to lack of job skills.

According to national surveys regarding personal income, most mothers who had their first pregnancy in their teenage years usually have a monthly income that is fifty percent less than what other women earn. Moreover, most teenage mothers actually become financially dependent on their family.

In cases when the family of the teenage mother cannot provide for her needs and that of her child, the teenage mother is forced to look for meager ways to earn a living. As such, she will likely end up having low paying jobs. When teenage mothers have low paying jobs, there is a high possibility that she and her child will be mired in poverty. GP