Hey ladies!
In class we have been talking about the challenges of teen pregnancy and the options you have. I have found some articles on these topics that make you think of everything that comes with early motherhood.
In the past, teenage pregnancy was not only nothing unusual but it even used to be the norm. In fact, it still is in many developing countries where women often get married at a young age and have children soon afterwards. However, in the industrialized countries of today, teenage pregnancy is mostly considered as a problem, almost a tragedy. Why is that?
The main pressure on young pregnant women is, of course, to come to a decision about the unborn child, considering the options of keeping the child, adoption and abortion. Other pressures are education and money. For one, young teenage women in industrialized countries are generally expected to get educated and find work. This becomes almost impossible when having a baby without a strong social network. Then, there often are financial pressures, since the lack of education often leads to unemployment or the dependency on low paid jobs or welfare. Does it surprise you that two-thirds of teen mothers never receive their high school diploma? Do you think it would be difficult to complete your education if you had to take care of a child?
Most of the people put a lot of thought and planning before they decide they want to have children, since raising a child is an extremely difficult task, which requires a lot of psychological, physical as well financial strength. The first and most important thing about teenage pregnancies is that teenage is a very tender age, and hence teenagers lack the physical as well as psychological maturity required for conceiving children.
Facing an unplanned pregnancy can be very difficult and scary for a teenager, and deciding what to do will be even harder. No matter what her political persuasion, it always comes down to a very intimate, personal decision that no teenager makes without some degree of emotional trauma. All of the options: abortion, or raising the baby, or allowing another individual to adopt the baby carries emotional pain and personal sacrifice.
What do you think would be the best way to get all of these challenges out so teens can think about these before making decisions? And do you think percents will go down if teens knew what the consequences were? Do you think teen pregnancy is a big problem in your community?
Molly Ewigman
http://www.livestrong.com/article/12457-teen-pregnancy/#ixzz1GiYK4DsJ
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-01-26-1Ateenpregnancy26_ST_N.htm
I think that there are many challenges to teen pregnancy and you named most of them! However, many teens who get pregnant, or even those who arent pregnant but just having sex, dont fully recognize all of the challenges that teens have to face when they are pregnant. The best way to get these challenges out and make teens aware of what they are is to educate them. When you know better, you do better (most of the time). If many teens dont know that they will have to decide how they are going to get money to support the child and their selves, continue education, and be able to just find the time to spend with their child, they will make careless decisions when having sex. They will then be forced to deal with these challenges as they approach them rather than being aware previously and being able to make an informed decision about sex and safety, as well as the possibility of pregnancy. Teens need advocators they feel comfortable talking with so that they can ask the questions they may be afraid of asking their parents. They need people who are more educated than their peers about the challenges of teen pregnancy. When they are better informed about the struggles teenage mothers face, they can possibly make safer, better decisions when it comes to sex. Teen pregnancy is a huge problem here in our community and the U.S. as a whole. If teens knew all the the consequences and challenges of teenage pregnancy then I think the rates will definitly go down. The AIDS scare here in the united states has made those rates drop so that must mean that they are educated about the consequences of contracting AIDS and have some have decided to have safe sex so that they do not contract AIDS or HIV. If teens were just as informed about the challenges of pregnancy then those rates might drop as well. However, teens do make foolish decisions even when they know the possible consequences and are well educated about the challenges. It might just be up to the individual, what do you all think?
ReplyDeletecomment above by Seqwinya Stevens
ReplyDeleteIn concidering all the challenges which teen mothers face both before and after their delivery, I think it is important to keep in mind the effects that the immaturity of the age group upon these important decisions. I agree that none of the choices are easy and that teen mothers are subject to emotional trauma no matter which decision they make, but I am not sure that we can completely blame a lack of sexual education. I am not convinced that these girls have a lack of sexual education or rather have not had access to sexual education. It is not particularly difficult to come by. Most education systems in the US that I am aware of have some kind of sex ed class, even if it is inadequate. I went to private catholic school and even we had an intense program to go through. The internet also gives a wealth of knowledge on this topic, and most people have access to it. I think we have to consider the idea that it also might be the emotional immaturity of the age group which leads to kids not using contraception and not being knowledgable about their options after conception. Maybe they don't want to do the research involved, maybe they don't think it will happen to them, I don't know, but I think it is an important factor to consider.
ReplyDelete~Megan Moore~
Teenage pregnancy is considered a problem today in industrialized countries today for the most part because of cultural and societal norms have changed tremendously. As you have mentioned in the past teenage pregnancy was not considered as big of an issue, however, the teens you are referring to were usually married. Teens in the early 1990s and before were expected to find a husband and giving birth was a big aspect of marriage .
ReplyDeleteIt does not surprise me that 2/3 of teenage mothers have never received a high school diploma because once becoming a mother for many parenting is a first priority and time or patience for education may become challenged. Although this does not surprise me it is not impossible to do (earn a high school diploma and mother). I would consider it difficult to complete my education and care for a child. This may sound harsh but parenting does complicate things it just depends on the person as to whether it is possible to cope.
All of these challenges can be minimized by enforcing education. Speaking of sex especially in regards to teenagers is a sensitive subject. If it is presented in a caring yet informative way and not meant to be a scare tactic a lot more teens would pay attention. Also if teens were encouraged to conduct their own research in relevance to sex and specifically teenage pregnancy they would understand the consequences more and the percentage could potentially go down. This is not guaranteed however because every one is in control of their own life and some of the consequence may affect some more than others. I have heard that several teens receive majority of their information about sex online.
In my community teen pregnancy is extremely prevalent but to consider it a problem may not be suitable. Sadly in my community teen pregnancy is beginning to become normal and is accepted.
-Tiffany Williamson