Teenage Pregnancy

In this era where parties are thrown everywhere and advancement of technology has paved its way of tearing family intimacy apart, who would have been surprised with the issues on teen pregnancies?

The major causes of teenage pregnancy are distinguished according to tradition, culture, and social status.

In this century where sex below the age of 20 is a trend and is even considered normal, sexual relationships among teenagers without the comprehensive information about sex has become adaptable. Every teenage girl will most likely indulge in sexual pleasures when armed with raging hormones and minimal adult supervision. Alcohol and drug in-takes have contributed to teenage pregnancy as these intoxicate the teenage girl’s brains and make her get involved in unintended erotic activity. Sexual abuse (e.g. rape) is also considered a factor in teenage pregnancies. Furthermore, it has also been noted that age discrepancies among partners can most likely contribute to teenage pregnancies, thus, resulting to abortion.

Teenage pregnancy has now become unrestrained. Who couldn’t have read those headlines that circulated in the worldwide web in February 2009 about Chantelle Steadman, a 15-year-old teenager who has become a teenage mother at her age? Alfie Patten, still at the age of 12 at the time of Chantelle’s conception, whom she claimed to be the father of daughter Maisie, has been revealed to be not the real father after the result of the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) test has been released. The DNA test has been conducted after two other boys, aged 14 and 16, claimed that they could have been the father of the baby. Who could have thought that a girl as young as Chantelle could have been sleeping with different boys?

With all the facts being presented in the open, how can parents help their daughters avoid the mishaps of it? Or perhaps help them to at least cope up with the effects in case it was not possible to prevent it.

In most parts of the world, many efforts have been made in order to educate the youth about sexual activity and birth control. Statistics show that through these efforts, the rate of teenage pregnancy in the United States has dropped by at least 23% and 11% in average among teens ages 15-17 and 18-19, respectively.

However, in a country like ours where Catholicism is the major religion, sexual education has been banned as it has been believed to encourage teenagers to indulge in sexual activities. However, how can this belief solve the rampant abortion and unwanted pregnancies? Even the use of contraceptives is being discouraged as it promotes unethical indulgence in activities unacceptable to the teachings of the church. However, they analyze it, there are only two options for a teenage pregnant girl - either she will have the baby aborted, or she will fight for it and eventually become a teenage parent. Statistics alone can prove that an increasing number of 64,000 teenagers had abortions in the Philippines, a country where abortion is illegal, and yet claiming to be Catholics.

It has been found out that teens that have good rapport with their parents are less likely to experience pregnancy. Good communication will ensure that the teens make right decisions when it comes to their sexual activities. Education plays a vital role for the teens to know about their unlimited options. Teaching teens about contraceptives will educate them into a healthy sexual relationship with their partners. They may be taught with the importance of birth controls, but it is not because they are encouraged to have free love, but instead to control the numbers of teenage pregnancies. Abstinence should also be stressed out along with the usage of contraceptives. Assure them that it is ok to say “no” to sex until they are much ready – emotionally and socially.