Teen Pregnancy

Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy is detrimental to society and needs to be addresses, because approximately one million teenagers become pregnant a year (Health communites.com 1). Teenage unwed mothers have been a dilemma in the United States for numerous years. Although the rate of teenage pregnancy has lessened, the problems branching from teenage pregnancies continue to distress the nation. In Georgia, 66% of high school students reported being sexually active in 1994 (Wiechman 7). Many teens are sexually involved and so not take the time out to protect themselves. In 1995, over 29,000 of Georgia’s teens became pregnant (Wiechman 7). Phrases like “teenage pregnancy,” “teens having babies,” and everyone needs to get involved” are common subjects in society’s conversations.

The increase in teen sexual activities is also becoming a problem in our society. Four out of every ten girls in the United States become pregnant before the age of twenty (Nation’s Health 2). Fifty-six percent of the 905,000 teenage pregnancies in 1996 resulted in births, 14% of those were miscarried, and another 30% resulted in abortions. Only one third of the 905,000 pregnancies were planned (Henshaw 5). Most parents who have close relationships with their children and do not hesitate to punish their children have been able to keep their children out of these statistics. This is possible because the parents with close relationships with their children are easier to make their children do as they say, most of the time the children are quicker to go and talk to their parents about what is going on in their lives.

Teen pregnancy is not the big issue it is the repartition and the pattern that follows teen pregnancies. Twenty-five percent of teenage girls who give birth have another baby within two years (Health communities.com 4). Thirteen percent of makes born to teenage mothers are more likely to be incarcerated and 22% of girls are more likely to become teenage mothers (Health communites.com 6). Studies show that teen mothers who so not return to school after giving birth are less likely to instill the value of education to their children, creating a pattern (Hillard 2). Most teens that become pregnant a second time knows that there is someone there to take care of the child foe them. Majority of the teens do not care for their first child; therefore, they have more because they do not have to deal with the children. The teen just take the child to someone who they know will take care of them and leave their responsibility behind.

Most of the time it is not the girls that are conceited or overly confident that are getting pregnant, but the girls with low confidence in themselves and their educational future. There are also those whose parents that have low level of education. In today’s society many teenagers think of becoming an adult involves being in sexual relationships, but they do not consider the responsibilities that comes with sexual relationships. Teen’s lack of knowledge of sex and contraceptives is also a growing reason why more teens today are becoming pregnant. Health communities.com also stated that teenage births are associated with lower annual income families which rely on welfare (8). Most teens have sex because of their friends being sexually active and do not want to feel left out. Peer pressure is also a leading reason why teens are becoming more sexually active, resulting in high pregnancy rates. Most teenagers that come