Why is it important to be educated on teen pregnancy?

Teen pregnancy is significant due to its many complications and consequences. When a teen mom is pregnant, they are often viewed negatively, resulting in discrimination and negative social stigma (Healthcore Clinic, 2023). Teen pregnancy can cause stress, depression, and even suicide that not a lot of people talk about. If that cycle continues it could potentially lead to substance abuse on the teen mom. Lack of support from friends and family is important as well because it can make teen moms feel isolated (Healthcore Clinic, 2023). When the support is not there while adjusting to being a new mother it can lead to difficulty in parenting, social withdrawal and more. Isolation and increased stress are important factors because it has a long term effect on the teen mothers, and that can form unhealthy choices being made for the mom and child. When entering parenthood, teen mothers lack knowledge of child care, parenting skills(Tenaw, Ngai, & Lam, 2024) and those are important for teen moms to know but unfortunately people lack spreading that knowledge. 

What are the effects of teen pregnancy?

Teenage pregnancy can come with many different harmful effects that can impact a person mentally, emotionally, and physically. One of the effects caused from teen pregnancy is medical complications. It raises risks for the baby such as deafness, low birth weight, blindness, infant mortality, and more (Gongala, 2024). Furthermore, not only does it provide complications for the baby; but also for the mom as well. Such as high blood pressure, anemia, preeclampsia, which stems from the lack of knowledge and proper prenatal care from the young mom (Gongala, 2024). Teen mothers experience more complications during labor as well, such as c-sections and post hemorrhages (Calle, Bartha, et 2021).  Another effect of teen pregnancy is its impact on education, many teen parents drop out of school due to the stress of raising their baby which can overall affect their schooling, and future goals. While also being judged by peers can lead to drop outs as well, most of those dropouts come from humiliation and embarrassment (Gongala, 2024). This essentially can affect the young moms from pursuing a higher education such as college. Society as a whole has an effect on teen pregnancy. Lack of acceptance from others can take a toll on teen moms' mental health, while also not being able to get a good job because of the negative stigma on teen pregnancy (Gongala, 2024).

How can we advocate for teen pregnancy?

• Providing prevention programs as well are often known to promote safer sex, and reduce teen pregnancy (Office of Population Affairs, 2020)

•  Prevention programs can also make sure that the youth complete school and have goals for themselves while talking about potential infections from having unprotected sex (Feijoo,1999).

• There can be more support systems provided for the teen parents, such as teachers, counselors, and parents so they can receive the correct guidance

•  We can advocate by talking about contraceptives and how we can make it available to teens.

Reflection & Conclusion 

Based on the information I reviewed, I believe that teen pregnancy is preventable if we let go of the negative stereotype. Rather than judging a pregnant teen, let’s help them instead because like Healthcore Clinic (2020) said teen pregnancy faces a lot of discrimination. I believe that some parents and educators like to steer away from talking about sex because it’s an “uncomfortable” topic but it needs to be talked about more. We can’t try and prevent something when no one acknowledges it, and I feel like adults acknowledge it after the teen is pregnant, by then it's too late. What we need to understand is that teen mothers and fathers are human too; yes they are young but that gives more of a reason to give out a helping hand. Some teens are forced into pregnancy such as rape or peer pressure we never know the back story of teen pregnancy so they shouldn’t be discriminated or feel isolated. If we can’t stop teen pregnancy as a whole then at least still provide those prevention programs like Feijoo (1999) explained so that teens can have more knowledge about the use of condoms and birth control. 

References 

Feijoo, A. N. (1999). Teenage pregnancy, the case for prevention. Washington DC: Advocates for youth.

Gongala, S. (2024, October 15). 11 negative effects of teenage pregnancy on society. Home • Teen • Safety. 

HealthCore Clinic. (2023, October 3). The physical and emotional effects of teen pregnancy on the mother.

Office of Population Affairs. (n.d.). Strategies for prevention and overall well-being. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

Tenaw, L. A., Ngai, F. W., & Lam, K. (2024). Explore the lived childbirth experiences, challenges following childbirth, and coping strategies of teenage mothers: A qualitative meta-synthesis. Midwifery, 104128.

de la Calle, M., Bartha, J. L., Lopez, C. M., Turiel, M., Martinez, N., Arribas, S. M., & Ramiro-Cortijo, D. (2021). Younger age in adolescent pregnancies is associated with higher risk of adverse outcomes. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(16), 8514

Answers: 1.D. 2.D

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