Teen Pregnancy Research Paper

Charmagne Thomas October 31, 2012 English 1101 Roseanna Almaee Teen Pregnancy Teen pregnancy is a growing problem not only in the United States but worldwide. Our country has the highest teen pregnancy rate. Teen pregnancy occurs due to a number of reasons. Many young girls are uneducated about unprotected sex and the consequences. Teens should know the consequences of becoming pregnant at an early age before they become pregnant, not after the fact. Most pregnancies are unplanned, there are options to choose from and there’s always counseling to help choose what’s best for the mother.
Studies show that about 800,000 girls become pregnant each year, (www. datehookup. com/content-teen-pregnancy. htm). Three in ten teens get pregnant at least once before turning twenty years old. Pregnancy is the leading cause of teen girls to drop out of school. They can’t handle the stress between homework and a baby. Not even half of teen mothers graduate and it’s less likely for them to earn a college degree. Some girls think that a baby will save their relationship. Eight out of ten fathers aren’t with the mother of the child. In most situations they can’t help the baby’s mother because they’re not financially stable themselves.
The daughters of teen mothers are more likely to become teen mothers themselves and their sons are more likely to end up in prison, (www. stayteen. org/teen-pregnancy). When a teen finds out she’s pregnant it could be worst moment in her life. It brings a lot of stress, physically and emotionally. The thought of telling parents is what hurts the most. Most girls are ashamed and afraid to ask for help. They feel like they’ve let everybody down, could’ve been more careful, and their future plans are now just dreams. Denial will only cause more problems.

There are options to choose from and there’s always counseling to help choose what’s best for both, the mother and the baby, (http://www. teenpregnancy. com/). Birth rates are beginning to increase again. Most pregnancies are unplanned, that’s one of the reasons the mother doesn’t know she’s pregnant and doesn’t seek medical assistance. There are facilities to go to if you don’t have the money to go to a physician and the information will be kept confidential. A teen body is still growing so it’s not healthy and could cause problems with the baby so you have to take in more food and nutrition then you usually would.
A lot of teens do drugs and alcohol which could harm, the baby in many ways, mainly premature birth, (http://pregnancy. about. com/od/teenpregnancy/a/Teen-Pregnancy. htm). My friend Jakeria is a teen mother so I decided to interview her. She found out she was pregnant the first semester of our sophomore year. She said “when I took that pregnancy test I didn’t think it was real, I was in denial so I took a couple more but the result didn’t change. ” Jakeria felt like her life was over and it was the end especially with her senior years coming up and all the events that would be taking place.
She really didn’t think she could handle being a mother. Jai’dyn, her son was born April 1, 2011. It was a life changing event for her but was the best moment of her life. She came back to school the last couple of weeks to take her finals and get caught up on some work. She graduated with me May 26, 2012. Jakeria said “I didn’t plan this but I knew I had to face the consequences after the risks I took and after looking at my son I now have a reason to strive to be better so I can prevent him from making the same choices I did. ” She’s now attending a technical school and doing whatever it takes to take care of her and her little one.
There are no stupid questions to ask when it comes to sex. There are many forms of birth control and there’ no reason teen pregnancy can’t be prevented. Some girls plan to get pregnant for other reasons. Media has a big impact on teen pregnancy. Some girls just think it’s cute but don’t know all the complications that comes with being pregnant. Girls don’t think it could happen to them until it does. . It’s better to be educated on sex and know the answer before making any decision, (http://teenadvice. about. com/od/sex/tp/All-About-Teen-Pregnancy. htm) Teen pregnancy is a common issue today.
Schools should educate more on sex and the consequences. Planned parenthood also offers low cost birth control to teens which is positive. It could happen to anyone but its best to use prevention, it’s worth the wait. In the future, each teen should be aware of the risks involved and know of ways to prevent pregnancies. Works Cited Jakeria Neal, friend that experienced teen pregnancy www. datehookup. com/content-teen-pregnancy. htm http://pregnancy. about. com/od/teenpregnancy/a/Teen-Pregnancy. htm http://teenadvice. about. com/od/sex/tp/All-About-Teen-Pregnancy. htm http://www. teenpregnancy. com/