Teenage Pregnancy

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Teenage Pregnancy

By

Ami Bernal

April 20, 2008

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Did you know that even though the statistics of teen pregnancies are high there has

been a decrease since 1995 with more young teens waiting to have intercourse till they are older. They are making better choices with either using contraceptives or just practicing abstinence.

According to the Wikipedia online,” Teenage pregnancy in the United States is defined as an under aged girl becoming pregnant. The average age of menarche, which is the first menstrual period in the United States is 12.5. Although this number varies by race, weight, and the first ovulation occurs irregularly until after this. The average has been declining and is continuing to decline as of today”. 46%, which is almost half of 15-19 year - olds have had sex at once. 13% of

young teens had sex by the age of 15. Most of the young teens have had sex by the time they reach 17. For their first time with sexual intercourse and they do not even marry till about their mid - to late 20’s. Teens now are waiting longer before they have sex because of the risk of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and unwanted pregnancy’s. In the U.S., pregnancy rates are still very high.

In 2002 there were some females and males between the ages of 15-19 years old have already had sex by the time they reached 15. The percentage rates are 13% of women to 15% are males and comparing it with 1995 rates which was 19% and 21%. The unfortunate part of it is, is that women that had sexual intercourse before the age of 20 years old said that their first was not on a voluntary basis. Those women were between the age of 18 to 24 years old and that is 10% of them. The decline started in 1995 to 2002 for teens who have had sex. The average was 49% to 46% in women and 55% to 46% males. In the Guttmacher Institute it is also stated that “More than three-quarters of teen females report that their first sexual experience was with a steady boyfriend, a fiancÐ"©, a husband or a cohabiting partner”.

There are many risks related to teen pregnancy such as the risks to the baby having a low birth weight due to the mother not having proper nutrition. Babies that are low birth weight may have complications like the organs not being fully developed and things such as the intestinal problems bleeding in the brain. Some young teens may not get regular prenatal visits. Prenatal care is very important for the mother and the baby. So the mother’s weight and the growth of the baby can be monitored.

Other consequences of teenage pregnancies are approximately 80%. Teen mothers eventually have a low income and have to rely on the assistance of welfare. Some may drop out of school. Approximately one third of them get their high school diploma. Even though it is not the end of the road, there are several ways to prevent teen pregnancy by the use of contraceptives such as oral birth control, Depo-Provera, which is injected four times a year every three months. There is also the Norplant is an implant inserted under

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the skin. There is also the choice of using the emergency contraceptive pills. These are to be used within 72 hours after having unprotected sex and lastly there are condoms for the males. As documented in the Guttmacher Institiute by Abma, JC et al, the condom is the most common method used