The Impact of Contraceptive use on College Graduation Rate (Essay Sample)

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Impact of Contraceptive use on College Graduation Rate
 
 
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Lecturer
Date of Submission
The Impact of Contraceptive use on College Graduation Rate
Despite the fact that many women agree that unplanned pregnancies could affect their higher education they have continued to put themselves at risk by engaging in unprotected sex. In USA reports indicate that 87 percent of community college students believed that unplanned pregnancy would make it hard to achieve their education goals but they continue to engage in unprotected sex. There are many college students who drop out of school after the birth of an unplanned child and some never go back to school to finish their college degrees. Unfortunately, sex education is not frequently addressed in colleges and there is low levels of contraceptive awareness which resulting to the rise of unplanned pregnancies. Lack of contraceptive education is also evident in the community as parents do not like discussing sex education with their children. They believe the education will introduce the children to sex early but they fail to admit that their children are already engaging in unprotected sex with opposite sex. Moreover, in school sex education is not highly considered as the teachers feel they want to focus on what they believe to  be core subjects. The inadequate knowledge about the contraceptive methods in the community and among the students shows there is a need to evaluate the effects of contraceptives use of on college graduation rates.
According to Brooks et al., 2019 access to contraceptives enhances graduation rates by 12%.  The students who face the challenge of accessing contraceptives come from the lower socioeconomic levels which cause lower educational attainment. Such students from the lower and middle class believe contraceptives are expensive and they want to focus on core needs such as food and clothing. Besides, they are not able to access health insurance which covers contraceptive methods. Burke et al., 2022 recommends the need for the government to focus on providing low-or-no cost contraceptives to encourage the students to consider using the contraceptives. Besides, the use of contraceptives will allow the students to gain other advantages such as reducing menstrual pain and minimizing absenteeism. When the female students are in menstruation sometimes it can cause severe pain making them unable to attend the class lessons and ultimately unable to graduate. Contraceptive methods such as the oral contraceptives allow one to plan when they can experience the periods. Therefore, the use of contraceptive methods will help to improve graduate rate and women prospects for higher education.
Besides, the use of contraceptives will reduce reproductive health related diseases which will increase the graduation rate. Begun et al., 2019 find the use of the modern contraception in preventing pregnancies is a unique health intervention. Although contraception methods are rarely used in improving health, it has health consequences. For instance, the oral contraceptives help to protect against the uterine fibroids. This is because the oral contraceptive encourages the production of progestin hormones that reduce the impact of estrogen that cause fibroids. Besides, oral contraception helps to inhibit ovulation and this helps to reduce the risk of ectopic pregnancy. Many female students die because of ectopic pregnancy which reduces the graduation rate. The oral contraceptive helps to reduce the risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer. The oral pill helps to minimize the carcinogenic impact of estrogen on endometrium. Besides, the use of contraceptives helps to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. With the increase of conditions like obesity students are at risk of cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke. The contraceptives help to reduce the occurrence of the conditions thus giving an opportunity to the students to complete their college education. Therefore, it is crucial to encourage the students to take the contraceptives not only to prevent pregnancies but also to obtain other health benefits.
Besides, the use of contraceptive methods have economic benefits that help to improve the college graduation rate. First, the contraceptive help the students to avoid abortions of the unwanted pregnancies. The students engage in unsafe abortion as many of them do not have financial capabilities to seek abortion services. Bruce et al., 2022 find that the survivors of the abortions suffer consequences such as disability and deaths. Besides, the treatment of complications from unsafe abortions requires substantial resources which drain the family resources. The distress in the family results in psychological effects to the students which encourages college dropouts.
However, the use of the contraceptives such as the implants do not protect the students from HIV/AIDs and the sexually transmitted infections. This is because they allow fluid exchange to the people engaged in sexual intercourse. Magidson 2019  observes that HIV/AID Sero prevalence range now ranges between 0.36-1.2 % following the increase of sexual engagements among the students. Many students are only concerned about pregnancies and they ignore contacting the sexually transmitted diseases. Unfortunately, this is affecting the college graduation rate when the students realize they have HIV/AIDs it affects their confidence and motivation to pursue their career goals. Besides, the stigma and discrimination to the students living with HIV/AIDS affects their self-esteem and results to psychological conditions like anxiety and depression. This has resulted in the rise of college dropouts due to the unconducive environment for the students with HIV/AIDS.
Therefore, it is important for colleges to initiate programs that focus on creating awareness of contraceptives. This will help to change the negative attitude especially toward the hormonal contraceptive methods and make them realize their benefits. Besides, the curriculum should be integrated with sex education which will ensure the students understand the benefits and disadvantage of the contraceptive methods. The colleges should create a communicative environment that allows the students to express their concerns about contraceptives and get the necessary assistance. Besides, colleges should establish reproductive health centers where the students can get low cost or free contraceptives based on the doctor's recommendations.