Teen Unwed Pregnancy as a Problem in America

TEEN UNWED PREGNANCY AS A PROBLEM IN AMERICA.

Every twenty-six seconds, a United States teenager becomes pregnant, every fifty-six seconds, another adolescent gives birth, and every hour, fifty-six children are born to teenagers. These facts are based on estimated figures from the United States Department of Health. There are many teenagers in this world today who are having premarital sex and not taking any precautions. Everyone always thinks, "This could never happen to me." That is not true. Once you become pregnant, you must face all of the consequences that come along with it!

By the age of nineteen, one in four black women and one in seven white women are already mothers. Seven percent of young men become fathers while they are still teenagers. Nearly one quarter of teens that have a baby have a second within two years of their first. These young parents are suddenly faced with huge responsibilities and confusing choices.

Pregnancy puts a lot of physical demands on a woman's body. It is especially demanding on a teenager, whose own body is still developing and growing. For this reason, teens run a higher-than-average risk of having serious complications with pregnancy and childbirth, such as premature or prolonged labor, anemia, and high blood pressure. These potential problems can threaten their lives and the baby's. A teenage mother is more at risk of pregnancy complications. These risks are even greater for teens that are less then fifteen-years of age.

Teen mothers and their baby's face increased risks to their health. Teenagers often have poor eating habits, smoke, drink alcohol, and take drugs. This increases the risk that their babies will be born with health problems. A baby born to a teenage mother is more at risk than a baby born to an older mother.

Nine percent of teenage girls have low-birth weight babies (under 5.5 lbs.), compared to seven percent of all mothers nationally. Low-birth weight babies may have organs, which are not fully developed. This might lead to lung problems, respiratory distress syndrome, or bleeding in the brain.

Adolescents who have babies are putting their babies at risk not only in health concerns, but for other reasons also. It is said that the children of adolescent mothers are at an increased risk for being a teen parent themselves and for dropping out of school. The children of teenage mothers are at an even greater risk of lower intellectual and academic achievement, social behavior problems, and problems of self-control. This is due to the effects of single parenthood, lower maternal education, and larger family size. Teenage mothers are at a greater risk of socioeconomic disadvantage throughout their lives than those who delay childbearing until their twenties. They are generally less educated, have larger families, and have higher levels of non marital, unintended births.

The overwhelming majority of teenage births are a result of unplanned pregnancies. Studies show that a young woman's household income has a huge impact on what she decides to do after she becomes pregnant.

Some teenagers depend on the publicly funded Medicaid program to provide for their health care. This does not include teenage abortion. Therefore, abortion is not a popular choice for young women today.

Research shows that girls whose parents have had many years of education tend to put off having children longer than other girls. Girls who feel positive about their future are more likely to choose abortion than those who feel that their future is bleak.

Childbearing is most concentrated among teenagers who come from poor or low-income backgrounds. Eighty percent of the young women who give birth fall into the low-income category. Statistics show that black and Latino girls are more likely than white girls to keep their babies and become teen mothers. Many teens decide to keep their babies. Still each year, about 20,000 teens in the United States place their babies in adoptive homes. They feel that adoption is the best choice for them and for their baby.

It can be very easy to conclude that the fathers of children born to teenager mothers are teenagers themselves. However, that is not the case. Males father two-thirds of babies born to teenage mothers over eighteen years of age. Some

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