Teenage pregnancies and effect on health and education

Introduction and Claim

Several challenges often characterize the stage of adolescence. The hormonal and physical changes are some of the few factors that pose challenges to the adolescents as they adapt to their new looks and emotions. Primarily, the main issue that stands during the adolescent age is peer pressure and the need to fit in. Many teenagers are pushed to behave in a manner that would otherwise be appealing to their peers so that they are capable of being part of something. Ideally, it is through peer pressure that several teenagers have fallen victim to cases of teenage pregnancies. In a bid to fit in, teenagers engage in several activities including sexual acts to appear mature and knowledgeable. While the stage is confusing, it is even more challenging to have to go through it pregnant and face the stigma of missing school or suffering health complications. Teenage pregnancies are capable of affecting the health of girl, which also affects their education because they are forced to drop out of school or defer their education. Therefore, many girls are prone to suffer many setbacks because of teenage pregnancies.

Background

Sexual behavior becomes a challenging factor resulting in severe consequences such as pregnancies and the contraction of STI’s among adolescents. Teenage pregnancies continue to be on the rise despite actions taken to educate adolescents on the implications of irresponsible sexual behavior on their health and education. Teenage pregnancies are not a new phenomenon. On the contrary, many of the past teenage pregnancies have been associated with culture. As such, in the past, teenage pregnancies were not mainly considered a scourge. However, in the contemporary world, the rate of teenage pregnancies continues to rise even with the threats of sexually transmitted diseases and global scourges like HIV/AIDs. Mainly, this increment has been associated with the teenagers’ curiosity to experiment as well as to try to fit into the social trends of their peers (Langille 1602). While several measures have been taken to encourage the teenagers to abstain from sexual conduct, many continue to engage, and the results of such behavior are linked to teenage pregnancies statistics.

Body

Teenage pregnancies have been deemed pregnancies that occur to girls who are below the age of 20 (Honig 181). Teenage pregnancies continue to be on the rise despite actions taken to educate adolescents on the consequences of irresponsible sexual behavior on their health and education. The cases of teen pregnancies have been associated with several cases of teenage girls having to defer their education or drop out because of the stigma and responsibilities that are attributed with motherhood.

The actions of teenagers in most cases are associated with the fact that most are ignorant of the consequences of their actions. Teenagers are more capable of avoiding teenage pregnancies when sex education is emphasized, and clear understanding of sexuality is vouched for by the society. However, the sex education that is offered in the schools is more basic than it is factual. If the teenagers are taught more about sexual activities and the consequences that arise from irresponsible sexual behavior rather than being pushed to abstain, more of them will be more knowledgeable in the decisions that they make.

However, Langille (1602) claims that teenage pregnancies do not have much of a severe effect on the education and health of the teenagers Teenage pregnancies are perceived as not to affect the health or education of the teenagers. They are capable of leading normal lives even after being mothers. It has become part of the norm. Therefore, teenagers are capable of continuing their education and maintain good health.

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While this point of the argument is partially true, teenage pregnancies can adversely affect the health of the individual. The individual may decide to drop out of school because of the stigmatization thus affecting their education (Langille 1602). Therefore, it is prudent that proper guidance and education is accorded to the teenagers to help curb teenage pregnancies and enable the adolescents to lead normal and satisfactory lives in their adolescent years.

Annotated Bibliography

1. Honig Sterling. “Teen Pregnancy.” International Journal of Adolescents and Youth, vol.14, no.4, 2012, p.181-187. The author notes that many of the teenage pregnancies affect girls who are under the age of 20 years and therefore, their full body development is not complete; which poses a serious risk to their overall health .
2. Langille, Donald B. “Teenage Pregnancy: Trends, Contributing Factors, and the Physician’s Role.” Canadian Medical Association Journal, vol.176. no.11, 2007, p.1601–1602.  The emerging trends associated with teenage pregnancies such as the prevalence and containment of the same are discussed in detail in the article. The author goes further to explain the role that is played by physicians who have handled teenage pregnancies on how to curb them.
3. Pillow, Wanda. “Teen Pregnancy and Education: Politics of Knowledge, Research, and Practice.” Educational Policy, vol.20, no.1, 2006, p.59-84. Essentially, the article focuses on the effects that teenage pregnancies have on the education of the adolescents. The author further looks into other research studies that have been conducted associating the effects of teenage pregnancies on education.
4. Wall-Wieler, Elizabeth, Leslie L. Roos, and Nathan C. Nickel. “Teenage Pregnancy: The Impact of Maternal Adolescent Childbearing and Older Sister’s Teenage Pregnancy on a Younger Sister.” BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, vol.16, 2016, p.120. Teenage pregnancies are bound to not only affect the lives of the pregnant girl but also her siblings. Younger siblings will primarily be warned against similar behavior while older siblings would be looked upon to offer guidance (Wall-Wieler 120).
5. Watson, Linnea, and Vogel, Linda. “Educational Resiliency in Teen Mothers.” Cognet Education, vol.4, no.1, 2007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2016.1276009 Despite the challenges associated with teen pregnancies, teenage mothers have shown resilience in completing their education and pursuing their goals. Ideally, in their article, Watson and Vogel look into how teenage mothers embrace their circumstances and use it to advance in their goals.