Teen+Pregnancies

Teen Pregnancies Teenagers haven’t done enough in their lives to be having children –anonymous. Teens should be growing up not growing babies. Teen parents have to struggle to raise their children and most have a tough time yet manage to get by. Teen pregnancies have many causes and effects on teen parents live but still have a solution. Definition Teen pregnancies are a controversial topic. According to Webster teen pregnancies are when a teenager gets pregnant and raises a child at a young age. Teen have to be sexually active in order to be pregnant. Sexually active is teens who admit to having tried sex assuming the first sexual expensive leads immediately to regular and frequent sexual activity. Teenagers who have had sex usually become sexually active increasing the chances of teen pregnancies. On the other hand abstinence is voluntary forbearance especially from sex at all. Abstinence decreases the possibilities of teen pregnancies There are many causes for teen pregnancies .teens are exposed to TV, adds, movies , videos ,shows while these influence teen sexuality. The actors and actresses are “selling sex appeal “says bode Janet in the book kids having kids the unwed teenage parent p.11. Many f these teens see the actors as role models and want to imitate their actions. Also in many movies and shows the actors portray sex as no big deal and rarely do they ever get pregnant. Hence many teens think the same rules apply to them. In reality that’s just Hollywood and these teens become teen parents. Many other teenage girls get pregnant intentionally .some girls have the need of affection from a person and they try to fill it with “love” from a sentimental partner. Love blinds them and they make plans with the person but the honey moon doesn’t last forever .economic problems kick in and the girls is left alone with a baby to take care of. Emotional problems can cause girls to make decisions that can affect them for a lifetime says Nardo Don in his book “teen sexuality” Consequently growing up means learning greater things .Therefore teens think being sexually active with someone makes them “cool”. In many cases this “cool” can destroy their hopes and dreams. To their friends they might not be a child anymore, but in reality teens are too young to be sexually active. Janet bode states in her book kids having kids that “you’re in love, curious and things happen” p.20 Lastly common causes for teen pregnancies were drinking, smoking using drugs and partying. Teens are just teens and most teens experiment with many substances. Well this experimenting can make the risks for teen pregnancies even higher. When teens are high or drunk they have no control of their actions and can cause a pregnancy. Later on this drinking and smoking can cause severe health problems for the parent and the baby. Causing the baby disabilities and premature birth. Effects Teen pregnancies affect the teen parents in emotional ways. Teen parents are young and while most kids their age are enjoying their life’s teen parents are watching over a baby. 40,000 teenage girls drop out of school each year because of teen pregnancies. Most teenage mothers drop out because of social view on them says Nardo Don in “teen sexuality” p.36. Teen parents have poor school performance compared to non parent teens. Therefore teen parents “see no importance in school and drop out “states Nardo Don in teen sexuality. It’s hard to take care of a baby get good grades and still have a job. Most teen parents pick and choose that education is not as important as income and as the baby. This usually sacrifices their futures and education. Another effect on teen parents is financial. Most teens don’t have jobs that could support a family .teens priorities shift and change from school to a baby. They must buy diapers, milk and necessities for the baby. Most teens can’t afford these necessities and must rely on the government for support .this is why most teens are on welfare, food stamps and public housing. Justa Camilo a sixteen year old Brockton teen has lived in public housing because her and her baby had nowhere to go since the baby’s father had left the two. Camilo Stated that “she hated living there it’s like a jail. No one visits you from certain times otherwise you could lose the apartment. This puts 25 percent more need on public services says Christine Leim from CQ researcher. This impacts all of us because the government cuts down on some other services in order to still provide for these teens. Teen pregnancies are a big hole in the government’s wallet. A major effect in teen pregnancies is stress teen. Parents never dealt with a baby before. They must endure the crying sleepless nights. Justa camilo a sixteen year old mother stated “when I first had liandra I did not sleep about seven months I went to work school came home to crying". Sometimes teen pants get frustrated and become depressed. Depression can lead to many things such as child neglection, physical and verbal abuse and also emotional abuse. In order to be a good parent teens must be happy with themselves. Sadly most teen parents see their children as mistakes and neglect their children    Statistics There are estimated one million teen pregnancy in the US alone. Many teen mothers are Hispanic and African Americans. The reason why most teen mothers are Hispanic and African American are because of poverty. There about 40,000 teenage girls who leave school every year because they ate pregnant. Very large portion of these girls never return to school. 34% of teen parents don’t get a high school diploma by age 22 and less then 2% of moms with babies before 18 who earned college degrees by age 38 according to Gale researchers. Some teen mothers struggle with health care. Medical care for a normal baby cost about 2,000 for the first year. Most teen mothers never even had prenatal check-up because of the scarcity of money. In cases where the parents can't afford it the government kicks in and pays the pills. According to the CQ Researcher the government spends billions to stop pregnancies. The government thinks it less expensive to stop a pregnancy them to pay for the necessities. Solution Teen pregnancies are a serious matter. A baby is neither a toy nor a joke. The common way to prevent a pregnancy is using a condom. Condoms are very useful when teens don't want to get pregnant teens also use the pill of birth control pill to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. These are the most reliable solutions to stop the growth rate of teen pregnancies. These methods are recommended by health specials and even help teachers. Ms.S from Brockton high tells her students that condoms help prevent pregnancies and HIV. Condoms are reliable but the most reliable us simply being abstinent. Being abstinent there is no chance of getting pregnant. My solution my solution for teen pregnancies would be to create programs for teen mothers to stay school. This will enable mothers to stay in school and get a better education and maybe one day they can support their child without the need of welfare. My program will also help them get part time jobs so they can support their child in the meantime. My solution for teens that are sexually active is to use birth control and have it more available to them so that they can lower their risk of being teen parents. The problem with Teen pregnancies can be avoided. They have many causes and effects but they also happen to have a solution. We can prevent teens from getting pregnant by making birth control more available to them. Teens know the risk they take while having sex yet they still choose to be sexually active. Another way teens moms can benefit is continue in school and get a part time job with my program. The program is to get the teens to graduate and have a better future for their children. Robin, Elise Weiss. “Teen Pregnancy.” About.com. November 2009. March Of Dime. May 12, 2011 [|Http://pregnancy.about.com/od/teenpregnancy/a/teen-pregnancy.?p=1]. This Bode, Janet. //Kids Having Kids: the Unwed Teenage Parent//. New York: Watts, 1980. Print. This book is full of facts of teen pregnancies and their sexual actions. This books does a good job at portraying the meaning of teen pregnancies. It shows why teens want to get pregnant or why they become sexually active. Nardo, Don. //Teen Sexuality//. San Diego, CA: Lucent, 1997. Print. This book by Don Nardo is very inquisiting and it was the most factual out of all my sources. This book was filled with facts and it was easy to understand. Meagan, Foreman. "Pros and Cons." //Taking Responsibilities ;New Federal Money to Prevent Teen Pregnancies Gives States Some Options//. 2011. //CQ RESEACHER//. 5+. Web. 20 May 2011. This database source was realiable and it had alot of different point of views .This was a intrsting source. The source included many statistics. Weiss, Robin Elise. "Teen Pregnancy - Facts About Teen Pregnancy." //Pregnancy Week by Week Calendar Pregnancy Symptoms and Pregnancy Test//. March of Dimes, 29 Nov. 2009. Web. 20 May 2011. . This article was the most helpful of the articles. It included information of the pregnancy rates in the united states and also had what are the negatives of teen pregnancies. Camilo, Justa M. "Teen Pregnancy." Telephone interview. 20 May 2011. The interview reviewed and agreed to the facts i found in my research. The hardships of being a teen parent are being told by the real story of Justa Camilo and her daughter. They were abandoned by the baby’s father. PRESENTATION LINK []