Teenage Pregnancy Prevention (Essay Sample)

Teen Pregnancy Prevention
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Introduction
Teenage pregnancy describes pregnancy in adolescent girls who have not attained the age of 20 years. Cases of teenage pregnancy were exceedingly rampant in the early1990s which led to an increase in the number of children born by teenagers. However, these cases have subsided due to increased use of contraceptives. Teenage pregnancy is a complex issue. This is because many states face challenges while trying to regulate it. Adolescents whose ages range from 12 to 14 years are more likely to become pregnant when they engage in unprotected sex. This is because their tender age makes them vulnerable to older people whose intention is to use them for sexual gratification. Studies reveal that about two thirds of adult pregnancies occur when teenagers attain the age 18 years (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevenion, 2010). There are various factors which expose teenagers to early pregnancies. These include; young age, poor school performance, economic disadvantage, older male partners, and single parenthood. The goal of this paper therefore is to discuss the issue of teenage pregnancy as a major problem that societies encounter and to provide various preventive measures that communities should implement to help them reduce incidences of teenage pregnancies.
Statement of the problem
Teenage pregnancy causes personal, family and societal problems. For example, when a teenage girl gets pregnant, she suffers serious consequences. She also makes her family members to suffer. The girl’s carelessness forces her family members to intervene so as to help her cope with the pregnancy. This ends up overburdening her family members. Therefore, it is the role of the person who impregnates the girl to cater for her financial and emotional needs so that she can be able to cope with the pregnancy adequately. However, most men disappear thereby leaving the girl with no option but to seek the assistance of her family members (Farber, 2009). Therefore, it is obvious that teenage pregnancy is a problem that should be given serious attention in all societies around the world because of its devastating effects on the girl child.
Discussion
Studies show that 4 out of 10 girls in the US become pregnant before they are ready to provide for their children adequately. As a result, the US has the highest number of teenage pregnancies when compared to other industrialized states around the world. Research shows that 60 out of 1000 girls deliver a child every year. Therefore, the American society spends a lot of money to enable it cater for teenage pregnancies and other teenage pregnancy related complications. For example, the US government spends about 40 billion dollars every year to enable it cope with the issue of teenage pregnancy in the region. Teenagers receive financial support from welfare groups and Medicaid. These funds allow them to cater for their pregnancy related needs adequately (Sarantaki & Koutelekos, 2000).
Studies reveal that children born by mothers who are above 20 years of age are stronger, healthier and more educated than those born by teenagers. The health problems that children born by teenagers encounter include infant death, respiratory problems, and cerebral palsy. Moreover, teenagers do not have refined parenting skills. This state of affairs makes their children to develop unfavorable social habits. They perform poorly in schools and repeat grades because of their poor learning habits. In addition, such children end up becoming teen parents because they lack proper parental care (Farber, 2009).
Possible solutions
Since most families worry about teenage pregnancies, various measures should be implemented to help reduce such incidences. Sex education and training on contraceptive use serve as the main preventive measures because they are the ones that most healthcare institutions advocate for. However, there are those people who become edgy whenever such solutions are proposed. This is because they believe that other people in the society would treat them as inferior parents (Farber, 2009). However, those people should stop pretending that such things do not happen and accept them when they occur...