Essay on Teen Pregnancy

About one million teens get pregnant each year, which mean 2,800 teens get pregnant each day (Sound Vision, 2001).

Also 3 in 10 women get pregnant before turning twenty years old (Sound Vision, 2001). Teen Pregnancy is on the rise, and it is disgraceful. It can affect a teen mom’s future in school, relationships with others, along with not being able to take care of their child. The future of the teens that get pregnant is affected. They cannot finish school, daycare is too much, and they want to be like normal teens.

School should be very important to every teen. Only forty percent of teen moms who are under the age of eighteen, graduate high school, also about 1.5% of teen mothers get a college degree before they are thirty (Kristin Brooks Hope Center, 2005). “At the beginning of the school year I did night school two nights a week, it was horrible, you see all the drops out in night school. When I came home Alex (her son) was in bed.

All the credits from night school went to senior year, now my schedule is packed, I don’t have any time during school to sit down and do study hall” (Carrico, 2011 ). Consequently, without their high school diploma or college degree, they cannot get good jobs. Which means they end up needing welfare. Teen Pregnancy cost taxpayers an estimated 6.9 billion each year (Rip N Roll Inc, 2010). It is not just the teen moms future that has consequences, the child’s future does too.

The sons of teen mothers are 13% more likely to end up in jail, and the daughters are 22% more likely to become teen moms also (The National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2004). Not only does it ruin their education, but their relationships with others. When teen mothers become pregnant their relationships with their family, friends, and the father of the baby can change a lot. The teen parents may fight because the mother could be frustrated with the baby, and take it out on the father. In the same way the teen moms parents can think that they made the wrong decision by keeping the baby, or their friend’s parents don’t want their kids being friends with you, because you are pregnant and might be a bad influence.

If the teen’s parents would talk to them more, it could have made them wait. 9 out of 10 teens say it would be easier for them it avoid sexual activity if they would of had more open conversations with the teens parents (U.S Department Of Health and Human Services, 2009). Also, research shows that if their parents tell their child to wait, they are more likely too (U.S Department Of Health and Human Services, 2009). Additionally, teen pregnancy can also hurt the teen fathers.

It can change the relationship with their girlfriend, and with their parents. There parents might think that they are not a good father, and they may fight with the mother of the baby a lot, over what jobs they have to do. They now have adult responsibilities, such as having to support the family financially, and the mother emotionally. Both parents are financially responsible for the child until they are eighteen (U.S Department Of Health and Human Services, 2009).

“Living with each other is basically marriage-you can’t get away. If you go out, and the other person is by herself, she’s going to notice if you’re not there” (Fathers Day Every Day, Page 3) In fact, having a baby can lead to fighting between the two, and most teen moms are unmarried. Both parents have problems with others, but also problems with not being able to take care of the child. Big responsibilities come with being a teen mom. Daycare is very expensive, a cheap daycare can cost up to thirty-five dollars a day, adding up to one hundred and seventy five dollars, for a five day week. In addition, once you have a baby, you cannot think about yourself, the baby comes first.

“I’m graduating a year early just to be with my son” (Carrico, 2011). You cannot worry about buying new things for yourself, because you have to really think, who needs it more, me or the baby? Money, is one of the biggest worries of most teen moms. They have to find enough money to pay for their child’s, diapers, formula, and also new clothes. Teen parents often get money from friends, family, or WIC. WIC is a federally-funded health and nutrition program for women, infants, and children (State of California, 2010).

WIC helps families by providing checks for buying healthy supplemental foods from WIC-authorized vendors, nutrition education, and help finding healthcare and other community services (State of California, 2010). Some parents might think their child is mature, and able to take care of the child. But no teen can independently and successfully take care of their child. Because they don’t have a education, or job. However, without finishing school statistics say that they most likely wont have a high paying job, also burdening our society (Roskind, Herston, 2009).

The teen pregnancy birth rate has increased 3% between 2005-2006 (Rob Stein, 2010). If schools started making classes about teen pregnancy, this is a way to prevent it. Right now, teen pregnancy is being called a “epidemic.” To prevent this, parents can create a closer relationship with their child, talk to them about teen pregnancy, and also make sure their child knows the facts about it (Laura Ramirez, 2006). In the same way, teens can also prevent teen pregnancy by knowing that it is okay to say no. Another option is to have safe sex.

It will take a long time, but hopefully soon teen pregnancy will not be referred to as a “epidemic” anymore. ? Brown, Sarah. “Preventing Teen Unplanned & Pregnancy.” Policy ; Practice (19426828) 68.2 (2010): 11-14. Academic Search Complete.

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