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Cresalle Gibson

Mrs.Kenly

British Literature

21 March 2019

​The Effects Of Teenage Pregnancy

In this paper, you will hear of the causes of teen pregnancy as well as the effects on teens, the

babies, and society as well. Teen pregnancy is a worldwide problem and until recently had

reached almost epidemic proportions in the United States. It appeared that with the applied

sexual education in schools, teen clinics and readily accessible birth control, including abortions,

teen pregnancy had declined. Once again these numbers have started to be on the rise. Although

this problem transcends race, it seems to be increasing disproportionately within the poorer

areas.

Teens know what they should do in order to prevent pregnancies so, the issue becomes why

don’t they? Aside from pregnancies as a result of rape or incest, the answer is simple. They are

teenagers and as such, there is not much thought of consequences. Having spoken with many, I

have heard quite a few of the same responses:

● “ I’ve had sex before and didn’t get pregnant.”

● “ I didn’t think you could get pregnant the first time.”

● “ I didn’t want to get on the pill.”

● “ My boyfriend didn’t want to use condoms.”

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● “ My boyfriend said he loved me and if I got pregnant, we would get married.”

● “ I was high and didn’t know I was having sex.”

● “ We didn’t plan on having sex, it just happened.”

As you can tell by these answers, most teens have no idea of the seriousness of their poor choices

nor the consequences. Being a teen myself, this makes me sad.

All too often, after becoming pregnant, teens continue to make poor choices. The most

obvious choice would be to tell your parents and together make a rational decision about what to

do. These are the things you could do:

1. Terminate the pregnancy

2. Opt for adoption

3. Continue the pregnancy

None of these choices are easy but a teenager is not equipped to handle these decisions alone.

Many times they keep the pregnancy secret.

There is a time limit and excessive costs factor involved with termination or abortion is no

longer an option. Speaking only from a clinical point of view, “ once passed 20 weeks, abortions

are no longer available in most states.” The cost factor according to the Atlanta Center For

Reproductive Health, “.... can vary from $360 dollars within the first three months to as much as

$1,200 after that.” As stated before, a lot of times teens from lower-income households would

find these costs overwhelming, to say the least.

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Women around the world have tried to end unwanted pregnancies whether abortion is legal or

not, often putting their lives in danger by self-inducing or seeking a dangerous illegal procedure.

Unsafe abortions are defined as a procedure for terminating a pregnancy that is performed by an

individual lacking the skills, knowledge, and environment that doesn’t conform to minimum

medical standards. These botched procedures occur most in places where abortion is illegal.

Women or girls who have unsafe abortions are at risk of serious medical problems such as:

● Incomplete abortion

● Hemorrhage

● Infection

● Uterine perforation

● Damage to the genital tract and internal organs

● Blood poisoning

● Reproductive tract infections

● Pelvic inflammatory disease

● Sepsis

● Necrotic bowel

● Infertility

The biggest risk of all is death. We’re losing young girls due to strict abortion laws and lack of

funding to places such as planned parenthood which refers teens to where they can go for safe

abortions. Teen mothers matter!

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​ Methods of unsafe abortion include drinking toxic fluids such as turpentine or bleach. The

NCBI states, “Other methods involve inflicting direct injury to the vagina or elsewhere—for

example, inserting herbal preparations into the vagina or cervix; placing a foreign body such as a

twig, coat hanger, or chicken bone into the uterus; or placing inappropriate medication into the

vagina or rectum”. Unskilled providers also perform dilation and curettage in unhygienic

settings, causing uterine perforations and infections. External injuries are also used, such as

jumping from the top of stairs or a roof or inflicting blunt trauma to the abdomen.

According to the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information), “the burden of

unsafe abortion lies not only with the women and families, but also with the public health

system.” Every woman admitted for emergency postabortion care may require blood products,

antibiotics, oxytocics, anesthesia, operating rooms, and surgical specialists. These things aren’t

cheap. The financial and logistic impact of emergency care can overwhelm a health system and

can prevent attention to be administered to other patients.

Preventing unintended pregnancy should be a priority across the world. Educating young girls

regarding their reproductive health needs to be incorporated in schools. In nations that are not

opposed to contraceptive use, increasing contraceptive services is necessary; this includes

providing accurate information choices and proper use of contraceptive methods. Governments

and nongovernmental organizations need to find effective ways to overcome cultural and social

misconceptions that restrict women from receiving necessary health care.

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In nations where abortion is legal, providing women better access to health centers that

perform abortions is imperative. Practitioners need to become better trained in safer abortion

methods and be able to transfer patients to a medical facility that is capable of providing

emergency care when a complication arises. All health facilities should treat women with

incomplete abortions to the appropriate equipment and trained staff needed to ensure that their

care is consistently available and provided at a reasonable cost. A cost that isn’t detrimental to

our economy. In addition, postabortion family counseling needs to be an essential part of the

service. Most women go through a lot of emotions after having an abortion. It isn’t an easy

process. We all need someone to vent to. Some women are forced to get abortions such as

women who get pregnant from rape. You have to ask yourself, would you want a child out of

violence? The most common answer is no.

For various reasons, adoption is rarely considered. The consensus is that no one wants to

adopt a child, in particular, any child of color. They find it unbearable having a child they know

nothing about. A lot of times the grandparents feel the same way about adoptions. Never do they

consider that the child may be afforded a better way of life. This will include an abundance of

love and better opportunities in life.

The third option sadly seems to be the one more often taken. Usually, after keeping the

pregnancy hidden there are no prenatal doctor visits. Even with prenatal care, teen pregnancies

are often problematic. Nutrition isn’t the best and bad habits of the teen like smoking and
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drinking really come into play. The adverse results being, low birth weight and premature birth

seem to be the most common problems. Along with with these problems, some extra care in

handling these babies. This creates more stress for the already ill-equipped teen moms.

Particularly if there is no support system. Grandparents are liable for financial support and are

still in the workforce themselves. The young fathers are still doing teenage things and spare little

time if any towards the care to the new baby.

The stress of becoming a teen mom can lead to depression and suicidal thoughts, sleepless

nights, arranging childcare, making doctor appointments, and attempting to finish high school

can be enough to cause PTSD. According to the United States Department Of Health And

Human Services,” 77 percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned, the physical health along with

mental health is a problem of great concern.” There may also be overwhelming fatigue, feelings

of worthlessness, panic attacks, and trouble bonding with the baby. Teen mothers are also more

likely to fall into these risk factors: low education levels, history of child abuse, limited friends,

unstable home, and living in low-income communities.

Only about one-half of teen moms have their high school diploma and only ten percent will

complete a 4-year college education. In addition to all of this, according to the Maternal Child

Health Journal, “ ...teen moms have the poorest health in all categories of women studied.”

Health is a very serious issue among young mothers. The health implications of teenage

pregnancy include premature birth, infant mortality, anemia, pre-eclampsia, postpartum

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depression, urinary tract infections, and acute pyelonephritis. It’s already hard enough just being

a teenager by itself and to then add health scares is despairing.

Children of teen mothers are more likely to live in poverty and suffer higher rates of abuse

and neglect. It is also clear that children of teenage mothers are at much higher risk for lower IQ

and academic achievement later on. This includes repeating a grade and being at greater risk of

social-emotional problems such as:

● Difficulty making friends

● Managing frustrations

● Anxiety

● Severe tantrums

● Resolving conflict

● Working in groups

● Defiant behavior

● Lack of attention span

● Inappropriate outbursts

● Lack of respect towards authority figures

Social-emotional problems occur in children of teen moms more than 3 times the norm of other

mothers in different age groups (Caruso,2004). A lot of times teachers and parents just say the

child is “bad” ignoring the real problem behind their unacceptable behavior.
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Children with teen parents clearly face many struggles. The parents have passed these

hardships onto their generation. It’s like a curse. Daughters of teen mothers are more likely to

become teen parents themselves than girls born to older moms, according to the National

Campaign, while sons born to young teens are significantly more likely to be incarcerated. The

research shows that children born to teen parents tend to struggle socially and academically to

keep up with their peers.

The Urban Child Institute states, “Young mothers are more likely to live below the poverty

level.” They tend to have more children in smaller gaps of age. Since they often quit school and

can only qualify for low wage jobs, they are commonly dependent on welfare and often live with

their parents.

According to the Urban Child Institute, “Teen pregnancy costs US taxpayers as much as 28

billion per year or an average of 5,500 for each teen parent”. These costs are all associated with:

● Increased incarceration rates among children of teens

● Lost revenue because of lower educational attainment

● Low income among teen mothers

● Increased health costs

● Foster care

Due to the low income of teens, they have to rely on welfare benefits as previously stated.

With issues of health, both physical and mental, teen moms have to rely on state medical benefits

as well.
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The government is already responsible for the care, feeding, and housing of incarcerated

people let along with many other things. Foster parents receive a stipend every month for taking

in unwanted children of teen moms. All costs are associated with teens who give birth before the

age of 18.

Baby dumping continues to be on the rise as ignorance of teens’ sexual health, coupled with a

fear of punishment and shame, stops pregnant mothers from seeking help when they need it

most. This puts a strain on local government budgets because the police are brought in to try and

find the mother. Whether the mother is found or not, the baby will need medical attention. If the

baby survives, he or she will be placed in some type of foster care. Odds are these babies won’t

be adopted because there is no medical history or general family background known about them.

After studying and scanning various references relating to teen pregnancy, It is concluded that

teen pregnancy is a drain on our society and no one has a solution. I say this because, given the

information on how to prevent pregnancies, they still don’t. Knowing the outcome of having and

raising a child while still a teen should never be an alternative to safe sex. Teens need to want to

engage in safe sex. The new generation looks down upon safe sex, forgetting that pregnancy isn’t

the only thing that results from not being protected. They think it’s lame to use protection. I’ve

heard it all. There are a number STDS. Some are even deadly. A list of them includes:

● HIV

● Aids
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● Genital herpes

● Chlamydia

● HPV

● Syphilis

● Gonorrhea

● Bacterial Vaginosis

● Hepatitis

● Trichomonas

There are more STDS being discovered as of today. No teen wants that which is why society

must properly educate them. It’s also on the teens to stop trying to fit in. I say this because some

of their friends may not use condoms and they will then follow. Keep this in mind, you should

only have safe sex or no sex at all!

​Works Cited

Brain Balance Achievement Centers. ​Help With Behavioral Issues.

www.brainbalancecenters.com.
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Lisa B Haddad. Nawal M Nour. ​Unsafe Abortion: Unnecessary Maternal Mortality.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2709326/

Mcwhorter, John. ​Tough Truths About Teen Pregnancy. ​March 31, 2013.

Obos Abortion Contributors. ​The Impact of Illegal Abortion.​ February 22, 2019.

https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book-excerpts/health-article/impact-of-illegal-aborti

on/

The Urban Child Institute. ​Learning More about Social and Emotional Development.​ January 26,

2016. www.urbanchildinstitute.org.

U.S Department of Health & Human Services. ​Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing​. (2017).

Www.hhs.gov.

Walker, Mark. ​Teenage pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes: a large population based

a retrospective cohort study. ​2007.

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​ ww.youth.gov.
Youth.Gov.​ Adverse Effects. 2008. w