Teenage Pregnancy And Prevention

Teenage Pregnancy and a Way to Prevent It

Teenage pregnancy Ð'- it can't happen to me. This is the mindset that most teenagers have these days. Teenagers feel that they are invincible and that things, such as pregnancy, happens to others, but that they are immune to it. A lot of teenagers believe that you can't get pregnant the first time you have sex, if a girl is on her period, pregnancy cannot occur, among other myths. The reason teens believe this is that the education on sex isn't teaching them. Whether it is from their parents or school, teenagers aren't being educated on sex and pregnancy properly. The facts aren't being given to them; the risks aren't imbedded into their minds, and the statistics on what does happen aren't given to them straight. Without being taught effectively, teenagers don't realize that they don't have to have sex to be cool, that pregnancy can happen to them, and the consequences that can happen could possibly forever change their lives.

Eight hundred and twenty thousand teen girls become pregnant each year (The National.) Some may be planned, but for the most part, those 820,000 are unwanted, unplanned pregnancies. Teens that become pregnant are pregnant because they either didn't know about the preventative measures or they just chose not to use them. Either way, it is now a problem for them and something that is going to have to be dealt with. If the teens didn't know, it is not just their problem; it is society's problem as well for not properly teaching. It should be part of a parent's job, but some believe that only roughly 5% of all children are given any sex education in the home (Bolmeier 14.) "The responsibility for sex education should be shared by the parents, social services in the community and particularly, the schools. Unfortunately, however, sex information to youth is provided by peers. . ." (Bolmeier 12-13.) And that information from peers is usually from music, movies, and television, which, all three, like to fabricate. Those venues don't show the real-life consequences of having sex, and if they do, it shows the family living happily ever after, like having a baby is no big deal and doesn't change lives that much. If we want teenagers to realize the dangers and responsibilities of being sexually active, then society needs to do something about it. Yes, parents should teach their children the risks and consequences of engaging in sexual activity, but let's face it, parents don't always do what is best for their children. So if the parents aren't going to teach them, schools need to have programs to ensure that teens receive the information. What the teens choose to do with it is something no one but they can decide, but at least the phrase "I was never taught" won't hold any value or truth.

Some teenagers I'm sure are smart enough and have learned enough from basic knowledge what may happen when two people have sex, unprotected or not. But what I'm sure most don't realize are the emotional problems that can occur. Teens, as we all know, watch television and movies. In the movie "How To Deal", a young girl becomes pregnant. She decides to keep the baby and the movie shows her trying to get through school and her life. What the movie doesn't show are the emotional issues that the girl goes through. The movie paints a rosy picture of her having her baby and being happy in the end. But the truth is, with a baby, someone's life will never be the same. The young girl, which is usually the only one taking care of the baby since only 20% of fathers stick around (The National), can go through postpartum depression, can have resentment towards the child, not to mention the stress. But movies do not show this. The only way teenagers can fully realize the responsibility and how much their life will change with having a baby is being taught but someone non-fictional; and that is either parents or teachers. Without a sex education class in schools, teens may never realize all the emotions involved in pregnancy, and how these emotions can affect them.

It is a known fact that teenagers want to be independent, make their own choices, and being in control of what happens in their life (McFeely 3.) Teenagers believe that a way of being an adult and making their own decisions is having sex. Many believe that is a grown up thing to do, and it is, but at the ages of 14, 15, and 16, no one is grown up enough to truly know they are ready to have sex and face the consequences. But because there is no education in the schools, when the feelings that are associated with sex are felt, these young teenagers engage in the activity without knowing how to properly protect themselves and their partner. School systems know what goes on with teenagers, but a blind eye continues to be turned on the issue. The schools educate teenagers on how to pass SAT/ACT exams, teach them all about history and math and English, etc. so that the students can go out into the world and make something of themselves and make a difference. But it is kind of difficult to make a difference when there is a baby needing your every attention. So why is it that history and math and English etc. are taught, but a sex education class to educate teens on the risks, responsibilities, and lasting effects of sex and pregnancy are not. The issue of sex is just as important as any other topic for young people, maybe even more, since during the teenage years, that is what is basically on everyone's mind, not what the difference a Japanese leader made in Japan.

Teenage pregnancy has been around for year. It may have been kept a better secret and not as public as it is now, but it is something always has and always will be around. There have been many ways to prevent pregnancies, such as teaching abstinence as the only way to live to going to the extreme end of it with handing condoms out in schools. Neither one of these are great solutions to the problem. If abstinence only is taught, then the teens don't get the information needed on the effects of not waiting. But then again, handing condoms out in the hallways is a way of saying, "sex is good, and you should do it and when you do, use this." By just handing condoms out, the information about sex and the effects also aren't taught. So the solution to this problem can be by teaching teens the effects of sex, how to protect themselves and what may lie ahead if they don't in a sex education course in high school.

A sex education class taught in the schools should teach about biological growth, how