1

Chapter1

INTRODUCTION

Nowadays, teenage pregnancy is not new to us, most especially the

young women living on indigent areas. Teenagers are more likely attached

with their peers than with their parents due to strong peer pressure. Early

adolescence also represent the period of sexual maturation (Montgomery,

2003). It is one among the many issues that they may encounter which cause

drop outs among female secondary students. Early pregnancy can cause

anguish, possible health risk, and in some cases, limited life option (Brindis

and Philber, 2003). This scenario is so obvious to everyone, hence, imposed

to be a major problem of the society that results in population growth, physical

immaturity and financial problems (Spear, 2004).

There is a rising trend of pregnant young women in the country and

most of them are unmarried. They are more vulnerable to death during

pregnancy and mentally in motherhood .This shows that young women have

inadequate information about pregnancy (Fair and Fearless Freeman, 2005).

They provide evidence on low economic status (Grant and Hallman, 2006),

and served to be their path to economic independence and adult status

(Turner, 2004). The factors that influenced adolescents engaging early

pregnancy are as follows: unsafe sex, deprivation, substance misuse, school

dropout, bad schools performance in school and low family income (Tsai and

Wong, 2003).
 2

Pregnant youth are more likely to encounter more problems during

pregnancy rather than older women. Teenage mother faces difficulties such

as dropping out of school and physical, psychological, social and academic

problems. Some of the participants become pregnant as a result of

transitional sex in order to meet their basic needs, while other became

pregnant as a result of sexual violence and exploitation (Williams, 2005).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this qualitative study is to describe the experiences of

teenagers during pregnancy. This is to define the causes and effects of early

pregnancy especially on the students. It will show how teenagers cope up with

this situation and what are the things that they must need to consider

surviving and/or refraining it from happening.

Research Questions

The research questions that guided this study are the following:

1. What are the experiences of teenagers who became pregnant and

a mother in an early age?

2. How did the teenage mothers face the situation?

3. What are the insights of teenagers who got pregnant early that can

be shared to other students and the community as a whole?

 3

Significance of the Study

The sectors that can benefit from this study are the following:

Department of Education. In this study, the DepEd will be able to

identify the effects and causes of early teenage pregnancy among the

students. Also, they can generate ideas for solutions regarding this matter.

Teachers. They will be aware and understand this phenomenon and

they will keep an eye to their students and help them trail the right path.

Parents. This will serve as a guide for their parents into letting their

children be aware in early pregnancy. And they can also gain more

knowledge on what are the things they must need to do to prevent this to

happen.

Students. It can give awareness and orientation on what are the

negative effects of teenage pregnancy in their lives as a youth. This study

also helps them to resist from this to happen.

Definition of Terms

Lived Experiences. It refers to everyday experiences of a person and

their knowledge from it (Mapp, 2008).

Early Pregnancy. It is defined as a worldwide issue on women who

got pregnant at an early age (Raj et. Al, 2010).