The Impact of Teenage Pregnancy Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Teenage Pregnancy Essay The reality TV series 16 and pregnant and Teen Mom are two great examples showing the everyday struggles of teenage pregnancy and a day in the life of a teenage mother. By no means do these two shows glorify teen pregnancy. Teens seem to think that they are inevitable and nothing will happen to them. All it takes is one time to have sexual intercourse to become pregnant. While being wrapped up in the excitement, lust, adrenaline, rush and at times even under the influence these young teens do not seem to think about the outcome that may occur from making the decision to partake in intercourse. The Big Brother sister Program has proved to steer children in the right direction, have a positive impact on these children and encourage these kids to be all they can be. The Big Sister program should address the issue of teen pregnancy by providing sexual education, guidance, free contraception and a respected role model to young females. Providing these teens with sexual education concerning the impact of teenage pregnancy regarding the wellbeing of a teen mother and child, loss of education, and the lack of parenting skills will influence young teens to make better decisions and teen pregnancy will decrease in our community. Teenage pregnancy may seriously impact the wellbeing of their child as well as themselves by not seeking proper medical care which may cause high blood pressure, anemia, toxemia, and Placenta Previa (Bodeeb 2011). Many teens do not even realize they are pregnant until about three or four months, Due to the fact that teens are unaware of the physical and internal changes the body makes to prepare a home in the womb for the baby. It is important for a mother to seek medical attention as soon as possible to make sure of a healthy pregnancy. The early stages of pregnancy are the most important. A mother needs to be aware of the pregnancy for such reasons as: taking prenatal vitamins, smoking cigarettes, drinking or any prescription taking while being pregnant (Bodeeb 2011). Those acts may cause serious long term birth defects and medical complications for the baby. Certain tests need to be performed while in the first few months of a pregnancy as well to make sure there are not any complications. At four months the Down syndrome test is performed on the child while in the womb. That is an issue that any mother would like to know about their unborn child so proper decisions can be made and the mother can find out where to go from then. Un Expecting bleeding may occur and a young mother may seem to think it is an abnormal period, but really it may be a miscarriage and if proper procedures aren’t taken it can result to the loss of the mother. A proper DNC must be performed. Teen pregnancy will be a challenge due to the fact that teens are not provided the skills that are needed to handle a pregnancy and mother hood. This may very well affect the wellbeing of the mother and the child. It is necessary for a teen mother to portray skills for pregnancy. Patience, maturity, and the ability to handle stress is a part of pregnancy. Pregnant teens are at more of a higher risk of postpartum depression syndrome, which starts after delivering the baby. According to CDC, girls who feel down and sad, either while pregnant or after birth should talk openly to someone they trust. Depression can absolutely interfere with taking care of a newborn (â€Å"Teen Pregnancy: Medical Risks and Realities†, 2005-2012). Postpartum depression affects many mothers life while trying to care for their child. This depression makes it hard for a mother to have the want or need to take care of their baby, cry consistently, and may cause the mother to shut herself out away from the rest of the world(†Teen Pregnancy :Medical Risks and Realities†, 2005-2012). Teens are at higher risk of this depression because they are less experienced, scared, the lack of social life and simply because they just do not know how to handle a helpless child depending on the young mother. Teens most of the time lack these skills to obtain a successful pregnancy. Bodeeb also states that according to The U. S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that babies born to teen mothers may have weaker intellectual development and may have on going medical complications. Babies born to teen mothers may have medical complications such as: The growth of the child, which is called premature birth. The earlier a baby is born the more risk there is of respiratory, digestive, vision, cognitive, and other problems (â€Å"Teen Pregnancy: Medical Risks and Realities†, 2005-2012). It is not easy attending high school while expecting a child, especially having to deal with being judged by classmates. Regardless if any teen mother is affected by the comments or snickering being made by the other students, it does not help the situation or make it any easier. These acts that occur all the time in school may cause the young mother to no longer want to attend school . Finding a sitter for the child is a burden because not all parents of a young mother are supportive of the situation. In some cases a young girl getting pregnant while still living at home and attending school may result in her getting thrown out of her home , which makes it even more complicated to attend classes. After having a child the mother is usually given six weeks for recovery and to spend time with the mother. The time missed by the student may result to failure of classes or getting behind. This is when most teens decide to not come back to school because they figure it is more of a hassle and simply do not know what to do. There are some high schools that have day cares located inside the school, but not all. It is a struggle for teens to put their child in day care, especially if they cannot find a job that will work around the school schedule and spending time with the baby. The government does provide assistance in child care but they do not pay for the whole thing. It was recently reported by CBS 2 News that Chicago’s South Side Paul Robenson High School has 115 girls who are pregnant out of 800 girls who attend the school (Roush, 2009). According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics, teen pregnancy is not just local problem and birth rates have been rising during the past few years after more than a decade of decline (Roush, 2009). Soo Ji Min, executive director of the Illinois Caucus for adolescent Health, an organization that advocates for policies to promote sexual health and education among teens said that; the No child Left- behind is the culprit for eliminating sexual education in school. She claimed the lack of information in the schools led to the increase in teen pregnancies (Roush, 2009). If schools are teaching about abstinence and not giving teens the knowledge they need to know about sex and protection, these children are not receiving any information to protect themselves. To continue to discuss the importance of the statistics of pregnancy among teen girls and the impact on their education, less than half of young women who have had a child as a teenager go on to finish high school or let alone go on to pursue studies in college (Roush, 2009). It is becoming harder for anyone to find a job without a college education or nevertheless the bare minimum of a GED or diploma. Bill albert ,a chief Program officer of the National Campaign founded in 1996 to help women stated that; a teenage girl has a three in ten chance of becoming pregnant before turning 20 (Roush , 2009). Without saying adolescent mothers are bad mothers it is safe to say that young mothers lack the ability for proper parenting skills that will play a role in the impact of teen pregnancy on young mothers. The earlier stages of parenting behavior tend to occur from the risk process of stress. Diversion of attention away from socialization, urgent goals of providing shelter and substance, lack of social support, and lack of opportunities to enhance parenting skills all may contribute to the preventing difficulties faced by young mothers living in disadvantaged circumstances. Again these examples provided may be symptoms of postpartum depression syndrome. Teen mothers may simply face a barrier providing for their child and get discouraged in the process and tend to lead to the lack of judgment in providing for the child (Socio Economic Disadvantages and child Development pp185-204). Child parenting skills may consist of aggressive behavior from the child. If a child is acting out, simply unruly, often angry, gets in trouble in school, or defies the parents, these may be signs of aggressive behavior. Aggressive behavior from the child is more likely to occur due to a teen having a child at such a young age (Socio Economic Disadvantages and Child Development pp185-204). A teen mothers harsh discipline strategies may also play a role in aggressive behavior from the child. It is hard for a child to discipline a child in the correct manner. In many cases young mothers tend to get overwhelmed and accidently hurt or abuse the child because they get frustrated. Just like their mothers the child of a teen is more likely to experience abuse and neglect and become pregnant as a teen as well (Cheour, 2011). In high school prom was a big deal, but if being pregnant during the occasion it may take away the memories and the pleasure of enjoying the high school experience. Time is limited with friends and sports are completely out of the option while being pregnant. Not only does a child need to remain a child with less stress as possible, there is no need for a young girl to carry the burden of having to take care of a helpless child when some of these teens can barely take care of themselves. The impact of teen pregnancy on young mothers is a more serious issue than some may seem to realize. The concern is of course in regards to a young adult having the proper education provided to decrease teen pregnancy, even if the issue may not be eliminated altogether. The children are our future and by bringing forth the Big sister program filled with volunteers that are willing to guide, assist in young teens making the right decisions, and simply just making a fun positive way of learning about safe sex the numbers of these pregnant girls in school have a chance to decrease. If this program only changes one young woman’s perspective and makes her realize the outcome that may occur from bringing a beautiful life into this world the goal will be accomplished.