Factors Causing and Affecting Teenage Pregnancy

This paper is research based on the topic “Teenage pregnancy”. It talks about the definition of teenage pregnancy and a research based on teenage girls getting pregnant at an early age. In this paper too it defines causes and effects of teenage pregnancy. Most importantly it states about an experience of a closet friend more like a sister to me that went through teenage pregnancy.

Teenage pregnancy is a teenage girl between the ages of 13-19 becoming pregnant. It is a term that is used to refereed to girls that did not reached the level of legal adulthood. In some cases, for girls teenage pregnancy is the best time of their life, because they are getting to hold a child in their arms. On the other hand, teenage pregnancy to some girls is an embarrassment to their families and a suffrage for their parents. A famously quote by a man named Arthur Campbell stated, “The girl who has an illegitimate child at the age of 16 suddenly has 90 percent of her life’s script written for her”. The causes of teenage pregnancy is peer pressure, lack of sex education. Effects are the parents, and being a parent at young age.

Overview

According to researches teenage pregnancy has always been a current issue each year. Every year, practically 7.5% of each of the 15-to 19-year-old high school young ladies become pregnant in the US (Hoffman and Maynard, 2008). Among the created nations, the United States has the most elevated teenager pregnancy rate. It is twice higher than that of the UK, multiple times higher than that of Germany and France, and more than multiple times than that of Japan. In the US, 34% of young ladies get pregnant at any rate once, preceding the age of 20. Under 33% of youngster moms complete their secondary school training and just 1.5% complete their school instruction. The maternal passing rate for adolescent moms is 2.5 occasions higher than for develop moms from the age gathering of 20 to 24. Besides, every year, the US citizens spend around $7 billion on youngster pregnancies.

Causes

Peer Pressure

Young people as a rule feel over the top strain to fit in with their mates. Frequently adolescents go under the impact of their companions, while settling on choice about sexual relationship. Notwithstanding when they are not completely arranged for any sexual relationship, they get associated with it to seem advanced and cool among their companions. As indicated by the Kaiser Family Foundation, over 29% of adolescent pregnant young ladies have revealed that they felt forced to include in sex, and 33% pregnant youngsters have expressed that however they were not prepared for a sexual relationship, they proceeded, so as to keep away from dismissal or disparagement.

Lack of Sex Education

In our Samoan families’ sex is never discussed, we hardly talked about it. The moment we talked about it our parents be like, that is nothing to talk about or you want to be cheeky. If not they would just tell us to shut up, and besides we find it uncomfortable to talked about. However, we not talked about is how teenage daughters in a family start to get pregnant, because they just do it without being aware of it. She received little or no knowledge about sex, because we kept stop the talk about in our families and societies.

Effects

Parents

To most parent they find it really shocking hearing the news of their daughter getting pregnant if not to their son. The parents may also be really disappointed, and feel that they lack responsibility of keeping their child safe. Their duty as a parent fail, and the parents would either keep this sense of guilt or let it go. In addition, all their dreams they dreamt off for their daughter or son is gone once they found out about this kind of issue. Especially having a hard time thinking about what their family members would say, even their friends and close people.

Teenage Parents

In becoming a parent at a young age is such a difficult task. The reason being because you would be juggling a lot of responsibilities. There would be responsibilities from school, family, and taking care of a child. On the other hand, it would be difficult to take care a baby due to financial problems because the girl or the son is both still in school. In some cases, the teenage parents would find it hard to cope with the rest of their life, that sometimes they forgot to give their child attention they need.

Then again, young guardians can discover they have all the vitality on the planet to stay aware of babies. They can likewise be superior to anything more seasoned guardians at managing the new way of life of being a parent; they're vastly improved at managing next to zero rest, for instance. In any case, youthful guardians who are still physically creating while pregnant can battle with supporting two developing bodies without a moment's delay. Being a parent can make it harder to get training or get a new line of work. Juggling the duties of being a parent with work, school and a public activity can be tiring. It can likewise be exceptionally hard to get tyke care, and practically difficult to get moderate kid care. These challenges can make it difficult to adapt monetarily, and can make guardians feel forlorn and separated from their family and companions.

Experience of a Closest Friend

Teenage pregnancy walked into the life of one of my closet childhood friend when she was 18. She was more like a sister, grew up together, went to elementary and high school together. The smartest, geek girl that took first place during our Aoga Faifeau school every time. However, life got in the way and she got pregnant during her last years in high school. She never planned it, or having an intend that something like this would happened. She explained this whole experience as “a worst nightmare yet a worth lifetime experience of her life”. Her name is Julia Sasa, a childhood closet friend of mine.

During her high school years, she was like any ordinary teenage girl. Living up her high school dreams, and enjoying as much as she can. She fell in love with a guy that she thought would be the man of her dream. The one and only guy that she does anything for him, love him like no other girl could love him. They were everywhere in high school, like hangout together, do everything together like any other high school couple would do. When Julia became a senior, she found out that she was pregnant with her first born. She was shocked yet really worried.

In finding out she was pregnant, Julia was scared of her parents especially her dad. Julia’s dad was very strict when it comes to her, since she is the eldest of the family. She got beaten up so many times by her father when she gets in trouble, but this news of her getting pregnant was something else. She thought to herself in how she is going to tell her dad this news. Also growing up from a small village where everyone talks and news travel liked waves, this was another concern for her. So since it’s her first pregnancy, she decided to hide from her parents, waiting for the right time to tell them.

During her first pregnancy, Julia still went to school with her big belly upfront. She did not care of what other kids think or say about her. I remembered seeing her walking around campus, with a smile on her face not minding the big belly she has now. However, like any other first pregnancy, a girl would cover their stomach up, like wrapped it around with something. The reason is because it’s to cover from the family, and other people. I think this what she did, that is why something much worst happened to her.

Time passed by and something that no one could ever imagine would happen to her. She had a premature birth. A premature birth is a birth that took place more than three weeks before it is due. In easier term a premature birth is a birth that took place before the 37 week of birth. In most case premature birth, the baby would have complicated medical issue. There are stages of premature birth there is later preterm, moderately preterm, very preterm, and extremely preterm. In Julia’s condition, she had late preterm birth, and her baby did not make it.

It was a difficult situation for her, that she cannot bear it the day she gave birth. After she gave birth to her premature baby there was a funeral held at my village for her baby. However, the hardest part on this day was she cannot go to her baby funeral. She had to stay back because she has lost so many blood, so she need to recover. So she cried from the hospital and mourn for her loss baby that was buried on that day. Months after her first born, she got pregnant again with their second child. She was still in high school, when she had her second born. This time she was very careful with her pregnancy, and did everything she can to make this one live. It was such a happy feeling for her now that she has recovered and was pregnant for another baby. Her first born was a lesson learned for her and now she is ready.

On March 17, 2017 Julia gave birth to a handsome son. She named him Faigame Sasa, the baby that gave her another whole new world. It changed some parts of her life, and most importantly it brought so much joy and happiness. Holding onto him on the day he gave birth Julia said it was something else she has never felt. This was just a start of a new life and beginning for her.

Julia graduated from high school with her new born child. Now she is attending college, about to graduate in May. Then after college she is planning to join the military, doing everything for her son’s sake and will. So he can grow up knowing that his mommy did everything she can, and he is the reason that she has become a better person she is now. The moment he steps into this sinful world that is the time she knew her future.

Teenage pregnancy has been an issued happening worldwide. It is a shame, an embarrassment but to most teenage girls it is something else. In most cases the girl would feel that she should not have done it and they would either abort their baby, or give it for adoption. However, they should know that it is what they did, and they should not be ashamed of it. They sometimes think that the family think it is a disgrace, the people of the village would have talked about it non-stop yet all of these should not be in the way. Being pregnant at a young age is a good thing most researchers say it is a time where they would know where their life would go, but in some cases it is not.

Julia getting pregnant at a young age was a lifetime experience that was great to her. After giving birth, she states it is true people talked about it, but as long as you relive your life after getting pregnant, like a get a job and finish school then it is nothing wrong. It is a choice of a person to decide, if they want a baby then decide the kind of life you want. In having a baby as for me, this moment was a moment I knew where my life would head on to. There would be no more sitting around, but do everything I can for my son and his future. It is hard but once you look at your child everything would be easy and worth doing.