Teenage Pregnancy

A few weeks ago, I was at my job helping a customer when a young girl caught my attention. She could not have been older than 15, and her belly was too large to be hidden. She was noticeably pregnant, and what struck me as more odd was that she was pushing a stroller with a young infant whose only word seemed to be "mommy," referring to the young girl.

 I am often alarmed when I see an extremely adolescent girl experiencing motherhood at a time when her main concerns should be far less than those of raising another human being. 

The reality of the matter is that every year more and more teens are having children at an alarmingly young age. This issue raises the question of what can be done to prevent and lower the rates of teenage pregnancy. 

In order to prevent teenage pregnancy, teenagers need to have a comprehensive understanding of abstinence, contraceptive techniques, and consequences For most teenagers, the real consequences of having a child at such a young age are unknown. 

Teens need to be aware of the harsh reality of raising a baby and the negative effects that an unplanned pregnancy can cause in both the mother and the child's lives. In the article "The Decline of Teen Marriage Is a Serious Problem," Patrick F. Fagan talks about the effects of having a child out of wedlock at a very young age. 

He states that the mother's new offspring can experience the following: "Lowered health for newborns and increased risk of early infant death; Retarded cognitive, especially verbal, development; Lowered educational achievement; Lowered job attainment: Increased behaviour problems; Lowered impulse control; Warped social development; Increased Welfare dependency". Teenage mothers must be aware of the tremendous effect their offspring will have on society in the future, and the high risk of the cycle repeating once this child becomes a teen. 

Teens must also be aware of the fact that an unplanned pregnancy will take a toll on other aspects of their lives. For example, as Fagan points out, less than one-third of teen moms who have a baby before they are eighteen or before they finish secondary school Also When exposed to such information about the results of an unplanned pregnancy, teens are forced to analyze whether sex is worth the risk of forever changing their lives, and those of their future children. 

 Although there are many different ways to prevent a teenage girl from becoming pregnant, the only one that is absolutely effective is sexual abstinence. This method is the only one that guarantees no risk of getting pregnant and protects the teen from getting any STD's. 

For many years abstinence has been viewed as a decision based upon a religious or moral belief. In the article "Promotion of Sexual Abstinence: Reducing Adolescent Sexual Activity and Pregnancies," Hani R. Khouzam says, "Sexual abstinence is not associated with public health risks and needs to be presented and promoted as the most effective primary prevention for unplanned pregnancies" In this article, Dr. Joycelyn Elders proposes teaching sexual abstinence as prevention for pregnancy, not as a religious or moral belief. 

 In a study involving 7,000 teens, the students were taught one of three abstinence curriculum's stressing abstinence as a pregnancy prevention method. They were surveyed three times based on their attitudes on the issue. After taking the abstinence curriculum, the studies found that from these students, a significantly higher percentage of them remained virgins than those who did not go through the program. 

 With results like this, it becomes evident that abstinence courses in schools are a sure way to get teens to realise the responsibility that comes with becoming sexually active, and to get them thinking about choosing to remain abstinent. The more information teenagers are given on the subject, the higher the chances that they will make this decision. For this reason, it is important that teenagers be taught the health benefits of choosing to remain with abstinence. 

SEX IS WORTH THE WAIT! Conquering new ground and excellence is what should be pursued with all fervency.