Newbold 1

Karley Newbold
Final Paper
August 4, 2014
Teen Pregnancy
Teen pregnancy is an issue that will never go away Nu!bers could be lower but teens
are still out there getting pregnant and bringing babies into low inco!e "a!ilies There are !ore
progra!s in high schools that include a teen !other to bring her baby to school so she can
graduate A lot o" teen !o!s never "inish #igh $chool let alone get their %&' #aving a child is
a huge responsibility that inter"eres with studies, ti!e and dedication it ta(es to "inish high
school )*n 201+, al!ost 2,-,000 babies were born to teen girls between the ages o" 1- and1./
0##$1
Pregnancy is so!ething that cultures are beco!ing used too * (now when * went to #igh
$chool there were three teens in !y grade 02unior1 that where e3pecting * (now that getting
pregnant was not on the !inds o" the teenagers while they were engaging in intercourse As a
culture we are 2usti"ying that teens are able to beco!e young !others, but in reality it is adding
to "inancial stress and an increase in young adults with no high school diplo!a )The adolescent
!ay or !ay not ad!it to being involved se3ually *" the teen is pregnant, there are usually weight
changes 0usually a gain, but there !ay be a loss i" nausea and vo!iting are signi"icant1
&3a!ination !ay show increased abdo!inal girth, and the health care provider !ay be able to
"eel the "undus 0the top o" the enlarged uterus1/ 04orvic(1
There are !any ris(s that co!e with having a baby at a young age 5ost teenage !others
try to avid the "act that they are pregnant and try to continue their li"estyle the way it was be"ore
drin(ing, drugs, !ultiple partners etc People o"ten "orget that the baby being born to a young
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teen !o! could possibly have health ris(s )These are health ris(s "or the baby and children
born to teenage !others are !ore li(ely to su""er health, social, and e!otional proble!s than
children born to older !others Also, wo!en who beco!e pregnant during their teens are at
increased ris( "or !edical co!plications, such as pre!ature labor, and social conse6uences/
0$wier7ews(i1
)Teenage births are associated with lower annual inco!e "or the !other &ighty percent
o" teen !others !ust rely on wel"are at so!e point Teenage !others are !orse li(ely to drop out
o" school 8nly about one9third o" teen !others obtain a high school diplo!a Teenage
pregnancies are associated with increased rates o" alcohol abuse and substance abuse, lower
educational level, and reduced earning potential in teen "athers *n the :ntied $tates, the annual
cost o" teen pregnancies "ro! ta3 revenues, public assistance, child health care, "oster care and
involve!ent with the cri!inal 2ustice syste! is esti!ated to be about ;, billion/ 0$wier7ews(i1
People don<t reali7e the cost o" how !uch having a baby is, which leads to the teen depending on
their parents 5ost parents can<t ta(e on the "inancial burden o" "eeding another !outh *t is sad
to see that a high percentage o" teen pregnancies occur in low9inco!e "a!ilies, where alcohol
abuse and substance abuse is very pro!inent The teen !o! will not en2oy the sa!e #igh
$chool e3periences all the other students will because o" the "inancial burden having a (id put on
her and her "a!ily
)About =-> o" these pregnancies are unplanned, which in any population can increase
the ris( o" proble!s The biggest ris( "or teen !others is delaying prenatal care or worse, ,2>
received no care at all/ 0?eiss1 =-> is a very large nu!ber "or unplanned pregnancies, its very
sad to see that !any people weren<t thin(ing about protection during the ti!e o" intercourse $o
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!any lives can change when you hear that so!eone is pregnant *t 2ust doesn<t a""ect the !o!
and "ather o" the baby, but it a""ects the parents o" those (ids and the "a!ily !e!bers also *ts not
very "air how !any people it will a""ect and how it will a""ect the!
Prenatal care is very i!portant "or any pregnancy, but especially "or a new !o! because
there bodies aren<t 6uite ready to have a baby )The reason "or lac( o" prenatal care is usually
delayed pregnancy testing, denial or even "ear o" telling others about the pregnancy 5ost states
have a health depart!ent or university clinic where prenatal care is "ree or low cost and patent
con"identiality is very i!portant, !eaning no can tell the teens !others "a!ily/ 0?eiss1 )?hile
"acing the gri! realities o" teen pregnancy is not pleasant, this is not the picture that has to be
painted Teen !others are per"ectly capable o" having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby
?ith the proper nutrition, early prenatal care and good screening "or potential proble!s the
!a2ority o" these potential proble!s will not co!e to light $upport "ro! the "a!ilies and
co!!unities is a !ust "or the young, new "a!ily to be success"ul/ 0?eiss1
Fa!ily support is a very big deal when it co!es to "acing a teen pregnancy ?hen you
(now you have people out there helping you and (now they support you with your decision it
will !a(e is a lot easier on the situation as a whole Fa!ilies can !a(e and brea( the deal o" a
teen pregnancy, i" you have a "a!ily that doesn<t want you to (eep it they are going to !a(e you
"eel pressured into giving it up ?hen you have a "a!ily that supports you in wanting to (eep the
baby it causes less hardship and stress "or the !other e3pecting
)5any teens worry about what their "a!ilies will say when they "ind out that they are
pregnant $o they avoid telling their parents or so!eone else who !ight be able to help the! "ind
support This delays their prenatal care, !a(ing the pregnancy even !ore ris(y "or the!selves
and their baby< 0?eiss1
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Parenting s(ills are another thing that will co!e with beco!ing a parent 5any people
worry that they won<t be "it to be a parent at an older age, but 2ust i!agine being a teen parent
and having to worry about the ways you will parent ) There are !any progra!s in place to help
teen parents learn parenting s(ills, co!plete their education, particularly high school, and "ind
!eaning"ul e!ploy!ent or "urther training and education with the idea o" obtaining a better 2ob
The truth is a teen parent will need !ore support and perhaps ti!e to co!plete these tas(s
#aving good childcare that e!powers the teen parent rather than "orces the teen to abdicate to
the paid care provider is a !ust/ 0?eiss1
The T4 world is beco!ing so!ething that we have to worry !ore and !ore about what
is on and who should be watching it * can say "or !ysel", ever since 1@ A Pregnant and Teen
5o! ca!e on * have been addicted There is so!ething about that show and the way teen
pregnancy is portrayed that !a(es you get all into the show 5y !o! will always say, )all you
are doing is pro!oting that type o" stu""/ and * "ire bac( saying, ) no * don<t, this is li(e "ree birth
control/ * can<t wait to tell her ne3t ti!e that the show encourages sa"er se3 )The ne3t ti!e
your teen turns on 5T4<s )1@ and pregnant,/ avoid any disparaging re!ar(s The show !ay
actually encourage hi! or her to practice sa"er se3, according to a new study/ 0?ilson1
1@ and Pregnant pre!iered in Bune 200. and has been on "or "ive seasons, with a total o" 4,
episodes through 8ctober 201+ The show "eatures one teen every episode and "ollows her
through several !onths during and a"ter pregnancy The docu!entary9style show inspired
several spino""s, including the popular Teen 5o! Coth 1@ and Pregnant and Teen 5o! have
e3perienced their share o" controversy The shows are o"ten critici7ed "or gla!ori7ing teen
pregnancy/ 0?ilson1 )*nstead o" really helping viewers understand the day9to9day
responsibilities o" attending to a new in"ant9 scrubbing poop stains or spit9up out o" clothing or
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dwelling on the !undane, 5T4 chooses to "ocus on the girls volatile relationships with the
babies< "athers or their new body piercings or tattoos Parents Television Douncil 'irector
5elissa #enson wrote on DNN )That !a(es "or better T4/ 0?ilson1
People have "ound that 1@ A Pregnant led to !ore searches and tweets regarding birth
control and aberration *t is suggested that teen !other shows account "or around one9third o"
the overall decline in teens birth in the :nited $tates during that period )The ti!ing o" the
introduction do 5T4<s 1@ and pregnant is such that it !ight conceivably have contributed in
so!e !easure to the !ost recent, very sharp decline &ver since its introduction, various
observers have !ade con"licting clai!s about the show<s in"luence on teens $o!e have
highlighted the show<s "ocus on the di""iculties o" raising a child at such a young age and have
concluded "ro! this coincident ti!ing that the show is at least partially responsible "or the recent
decrees in teen childbearing rates 8thers argue that the show gla!ori7es teen pregnancy, with its
cast !e!bers essentially beco!ing !edia stars, whose lives are "ollowed in the tabloids well
a"ter their show airs/ 0Kearney, Eevine1
* "ind it !ind boggling that teen birth rates have reached a record low :tah<s rate has
"allen !ore than +0> )Feviewed !ore than 1,000 studies that analy7ed outco!es such as
preventing teen pregnancies or births, reducing se3ually trans!itted in"ections, or reducing rates
or ris(y behaviors such as having unprotected se3 and !ultiple se3 partners/ 0$i""erlin1
)5ost people are getting !arried later and putting o"" starting a "a!ily, and its possible that teens
are !irroring what they see in their own "a!ilies or their "riends "a!ilies The report also gathers
data "ro! the !iddle o" the downturn in the :$ &cono!y, and rec(ons typically lead to so!e
slow down in birth rate/ 0$i""erlin1
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)Fepeat teen birth 0 de"ined here as having two or !ore pregnancies resulting in a live
birth be"ore age o" 20 years1 poses greater challenges because additional births !ight "urther
constrain the !other<s ability to attend school and obtain 2ob e3periences *n"ants who were
second teen births were born preter! in 2010, co!pared with 12@> "or "irsts birthsG 11> o"
second teen births were low birth weight, co!pared with .> o" "irsts births %iven that !ost
pregnant teens co!e into contact with the health9care syste! while receiving prenatal care/
0%avin1
Teen Pregnancy is an issue that is never going to go away Teen pregnancy statistics right
now are at a low and that is probably because the econo!y isn<t very good 5aybe teens are
getting !ore o" an education on se3, which e6uals to teens being s!arter and sa"er with se3
)There are !any di""erent (inds o" teen pregnancy prevention progra!sAbstinence education
progra!s encourage young people to wait to have se3 until !arriage, or until they are !ature
enough to handle se3ual activity and a potential pregnancy in a responsible !anner Knowledge9
based progra!s "ocus on teaching (ids about their bodies *t also provides detailed in"or!ation
about birth control and how to prevent se3ually trans!itted in"ections/ 04orvic(1 *t does !a(e
you wonder i" ever since 1@ A Pregnant aired, i" the rates really dropped because o" thatH * thin(
having se3 education in schools at a younger age would help the percentage o" teen pregnancy to
decline even !ore The best way to "i3 a proble! is to address it, educate the people on it and
then "ind a solution "or it *" we continue to ignore the proble! the percentage o" teen !o!s will
start rising again
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?or(s Dited
$wier7ews(i, $tanley B lll, 5' )Teen Pregnancy, Donse6uences o" Teenage Pregnancy/
#ealth Do!!unities, 8ctober +1, 2000 ?eb Buly 14, 2014
?eiss, Fobin &lise, EDD& )Facts About Teen Pregnancy/ Pregnancy aboutco!, August
2+, 201+ ?eb Buly 1,, 2014
?ilson, Bac6ue DNN)$tudyI 5T4<s J1@ and pregnant< led to "ewer teen births/,
?eb Banuary 1+, 2014
Kearney, 5elissa $ and Eevine, Phillip C )5edia *n"luences on $ocial 8utco!esI The
*!pact o" 5T4<s 1@ and Pregnant on Teen Dhildbearing/, ?eb Banuary 2014
4orvic(, Einda B/Adolescent Pregnancy/ NKTi!es, ?eb $epte!ber 12, 2011
$i""erlin, Ale3andra )?hats Cehind The 'rop in :$ Teen Cirths Fates/ ?eb 5ay 4,
201+
%avin, Eorrie ) Fepeat births a!ong teen9 :nited $tates 200,92010/ ?eb April -, 201+
##$gov )Teen Pregnancy and Dhildbearing/ ?eb Buly 1@, 2014