Teenage pregnancy is a situation where a female individual becomes pregnant at an early age of between thirteen to nineteen years. At this age, they are still very young to be called a parent since they have not yet attained adulthood stage. They can be intentional pregnancy or unintentional where the young girl participates in unprotected sex unaware of the consequences. There are several different factors that contribute to such kinds of early pregnancies. Such factors include peer influence from others, ladies engaging in early sex, lack awareness and knowledge on sexual reproduction. Pregnancy to a higher percentage of the teens can land them into so many challenges in their daily lives. At this age, these young mothers still depend on their parents for upkeep. They cannot afford to take care of the child as well as themselves.
When the girl has suspected that she is pregnant, most of them will opt to terminate their education there. The result is poor educational progress which will later deprive them of securing best employment opportunities in the future. Since they have the responsibility of taking care of the young child, many are forced to look for any kind of employment that can provide them with daily meals with nothing to save. The majority will end up being employed as nannies. There are several reasons attributed to this.
Drugs and alcohol are one of the reasons that have led to teens engaging in sex. With the influence of other friends, they may expose themselves to drinks especially at the parties or places of social gatherings. They may take large amounts of alcohols without realizing the final effects it has on the functionality of the brain. They are exposed to men and they may find end up participating in unprotected and unsafe sex. If they were not on safe days then the outcome is unintentional pregnancy which they will realize later. Another key issue is the experimenting with drugs that can sway their logical thinking capability and decision making.
Teenagers who normally come from the low social economic background are mostly the victims of these pregnancies. They are brought up in a poor parental care environment, suffering from abject poverty. Their parents do not have enough resources to meet their requirements. As a result, they will not attain the best education level as the parents cannot afford to sponsor them. What remains of them is dropping out of school. Their goals and success are cut short. These parents too do not provide them with the necessary guidance and counseling that could enable these children to live a better life as well as making best decisions. They fail to warn them of the dangers and negative consequences associated with sexual practices. The kids may find themselves in a wrong company which predispose to the unsafe environment. Since these kids do not have the basic knowledge of reproduction, they will find themselves enjoying themselves in unprotected sexual behaviors.
Due to teenage pregnancy, the victims will undergo several challenges in their lives. First, the chances of dropping out of school are very high. They are no longer anxious about proceeding with their education. Majority of them do not make to high schools. So they do not possess the necessary skills that could secure them the best jobs in the future. So we find most of them are unemployed or if they are lucky to secure a job, the wages they receive are very low. The little amount they get will not sustain them to meet all their needs. In other words, their welfare is not pleasing at all. In addition, their children are not well taken care of because of insufficient resources. They spend most of the little they on food for them and their young children. Their development progress is then delayed as a result. The majority will suffer from pregnancy linked diseases for example anemia and blood pressure.
It is crystal clear that the consequences of teenage pregnancy are devastating because they negatively affect social, economic, academic, spiritual, and psychological aspects of human life. It means that teen pregnancy is a real problem in the society that needs to be rid off as soon as it is identified. This paper suggests some of the effective solutions that should be executed.
First, teens should be encouraged to embrace abstinence from sexual practices whether vaginal, anal or oral because that is the hundred percent sure way to prevent teenage pregnancy. Health organizations have put emphasis that abstinence from sex among the teens is the most effective decision that helps to avoid early pregnancy, contracting Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and unplanned parenthood. Institutions of learning are encouraged to develop abstinence-only sex education programs to create awareness and discourage teens from engaging in risky sex ( Jemott et al. 218).
Previous research has shown that this kind of intervention drastically reduces the frequency of teens being initiated into sex for those who participated in abstinence-only sex program. However, it should be noted that this program works best only for preteens and children in their early teens. In the article "Promotion of Sexual Abstinence: Reducing Adolescent Sexual Activity and Pregnancies," 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". This article posits that sexual abstinence should be taught with an aim to prevent teenage pregnancy but not moral or religious uprightness.
Although abstinence has been found to be the most effective method of curbing teenage pregnancy, it has been noted that it only has substantial effects on children who are preteens. Therefore, to find a solution to those who have already been introduced to sex, we propose a second solution which is the use of contraceptives. Contraceptives include hormonal methods such as the pills or barriers like condoms that are used during sexual intercourse to prevent pregnancy. Research reports on contraceptive use indicates that among the fifty-two percent of sexually active teens, a third of teenage girls did not use any form of protection the last time they engaged in sex. The top reason why they did not use the contraceptive is that their sexual partners refused to use. Therefore, this finding indicates the lack of education concerning the importance of contraceptive use. The society should create this awareness so as to help change teenagers’ mindset and behavior towards practicing safe sex (Promoting Abstinence, Being Faithful, and Condom Use with Young Africans 132).
In addition, parent-child communication may help to shape children about moral values and open talks about sexual behaviors that would help prevent teenage pregnancies. Parents can influence the teenagers’ decisions about love, relationships, and sex more than peers and media do. If parents ideally start the conversation about sex with preteens and teens consistently then it would be very beneficial in avoiding teenage pregnancies. Parents should be free with children so that the teens can ask them any question relating to sex and relationships.
Parents have the greater responsibility of molding their children in order to grow up with encouraging the behavior. They should take time guiding them on the importance of sexual abstinence. It will not only prevent pregnancy but also sexually transmitted diseases. If the parents play their major role in nurturing and imparting them with the knowledge abstaining from this mess, these children will not mess around. Whatever parents warn the child against will remain in their mind for long. So the parents should communicate to their children at an early stage before attaining teens age so that when they reach the adolescent stage, they know how to carry themselves on. This will reduce the rate of pregnancy at such earliest time ("Teen Pregnancy: Improving the Lives of Young People and Strengthening Communities by Reducing Teen Pregnancy: At a Glance 2011" 213).
There is a need also of stressing on the essence of undergoing complete schooling. Education should be emphasized at all costs. This will keep the child fully engaged on matters related to his or her own career and not sex. Their mind will be much occupied and they cannot have time to spend on other non-constructive acts. They will have to strive in order to attain the highest level of education in order to earn enough salary that will sustain all their needs in the future. They should be informed that a bright future and a happy family ahead of them lie on their dedication towards education.
Moreover, older teens should be given an opportunity to serve as mentors to the young peers then it results in substantial behavior changes about sex. The reason is that not every parent or adult has the audacity to face the teenagers and discuss the issues relating to sex. Schools are the best venues to use this strategy because students have an ample time to gather in small groups to talk about healthy relationships and teen sexuality. Teenagers tend to be receptive more to messages of safe sex coming from their peers than when they hear from adults (Wiley, et al. 166).
Media has a major role in discouraging and reducing teen pregnancy. Programs that aim at educating the youths on abstaining from sex and discouraging unprotected sex will help a lot. Such programs should emphasize on the use of condoms whenever the youths participate in sexual activities to prevent chances unintended pregnancy. The programs should touch on measures that will prevent a girl child from pregnancy, for example, use of contraceptives
In conclusion, early pregnancy is a major concern to the society and any nation as well. However, this menace affecting young female individuals can be avoided if the necessary steps and measures are given much attention. Every individual should play his or her own role in helping these young children. We should devote most of our time guiding them to grow into good citizens in the future. People who will be depended upon and be roles model to the future generations.
Summary
Teen pregnancy is very common especially in this generation we are in. Many children who are at their lower levels of schooling are forced to suspend or drop out of school because of pregnancy. They are faced with so painful tasks of raising their young ones. Although some may see it easier to raise that child, still they encounter several social issues that are linked to this menace facing them. Some of the common problems include; being unable or taking too long to get employed and at times if they are lucky to secure one, the wages are poor because of lack of skills. At this age also, they have to depend on their parents to meet their welfare needs. There is also financial pressure since they are not able at that stage to finance for their basic needs, for example, food and clothing. The major causes of these pregnancies are; indulging in sexual practices at an early age, being brought up in families in which the parents are not taking their responsibility roles of offering guidance and counseling to their daughters on the dangers and consequences of engaging in sex, being in a company of friends who abuses drugs and drinking alcohol, lack of education on the consequences of unprotected sex and importance of using contraceptives after sex. However, there are ways which can be undertaken to prevent this act. Parents, churches and schools have a greater role to play in educating this young generation to abstain from early sex engagement, harmful impacts of drugs and alcohol, benefits of concentrating on their education, the outcome of unprotected sex and reasons of using contraceptives after unsafe sex. A policy protecting these females should be introduced too.
Works Cited
Jemmott, Loretta S, et al. Promoting Health Among Teens!: Abstinence-only Intervention : an Evidence-Based Curriculum Proven Effective in Reducing the Risk of Hiv, Stds and Teen Pregnancy.
Khouzam. "Promotion of Sexual Abstinence: Reducing Adolescent Sexual Activity and Pregnancies." Journal of School Health, vol. 64, no. 5, 2011, pp. 205-210.
"More than One-Third of Teens Never or Inconsistently Used Contraceptives During Their First Sexual Relationship: New Findings Reveal Patterns of Contraceptive Use During First Relationships." Stayteen, 2014.
Promoting Abstinence, Being Faithful, and Condom Use with Young Africans. Lexington Books, 2012.
Wiley, David, et al. Sexuality Education in Texas Public Schools: Just Say Don't Know. Texas Freedom Network Education Fund, 2009.
"Teen Pregnancy: Improving the Lives of Young People and Strengthening Communities by Reducing Teen Pregnancy: At a Glance 2011." PsycEXTRA Dataset,
