Sociology

Teen pregnancy is a persistent problem in the United States. From 60 teenagers for every 1000 who got pregnant in 1991, a steady decline in the rate of teen pregnancy was registered until 2005 when only 40.5 teenagers were reported pregnant. Despite the fact that the rate could still be considered high, it again climbed to 42 the following two years. When converted into more concrete figures, these rates would show that every year, about a million teenagers are getting pregnant in the United States, accounting for about 13 percent of total births in the country. While it was found that a great majority of them (80 percent) did not plan their pregnancies, 1 out of 4 teenage mothers gave birth after only two years (Healthcommunities.com). In 2007, the Michigan League for Human Services reported that the rate of teen pregnancy in the state of Michigan was higher than the national average at 53.4  meaning that slightly more than 53 teenagers in Michigan became pregnant during that year. A much lower rate than both the national and the state average, however, was reported in Marquette County where only 22.5 or more than 22 teenagers for every 1000 became pregnant during the year (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2009).

Teen pregnancy has several causes. One of these is the fact that many American teenagers are not getting enough education about sex  especially safe sex. Birth control methods are not being properly taught (or not being taught at all), in many schools, leaving teenagers entirely in the dark. Aside from safe sex, teenagers are also left in ignorance about the consequences of sexual activities. In other words, they do not even know that engaging in sexual activities could get them pregnant at such an early age, much less what it would be like to be a mother at the age of thirteen, fourteen, or even sixteen. Newspaper accounts often tell about teenage students of schools that do not teach sex education who engage in sexual intercourse totally unprotected and get pregnant after the act (Miller, 2006).

Another cause is the lack or the total absence of parental guidance when it comes to sex. Many parents consider the subject taboo. They not only avoid discussing the subject with their children but also prohibit them from talking about it among themselves. In other words, sex is strictly a forbidden topic in their household. Because of this, their sons and daughters grow up without any knowledge about sex. They do not know many things about the subject. For instance, they do not know how to conduct themselves whenever the subject is being discussed they do not know how to resist their friends who are pressuring them to engage in sexual activities they do not know how to protect themselves in case they could no longer resist the temptation to have sex with their boyfriends or girlfriends and they do not know that unprotected sex do not only transmit diseases but could leave the girl pregnant and later a very unprepared teenage mother both emotionally and financially. Unavoidably, most teenage mothers blame their parents for their predicament (Miller, 2006).

Some teenagers become pregnant because older men have taken advantaged of them. Majority of such cases result from sexual abuse or rape. Some of these cases even involve male relatives of the victims. In all of these cases, however, the men are always older by several years. Another cause of teen pregnancy is peer pressure. This comes from the girls friends and also their boyfriends. Because they have not been taught at school and not supervised by their parents at home, teenagers do not know how to say No to both their friends and their boyfriends. Some of them are afraid that if they do not have sex with their boyfriends, they would not only lose their boyfriends but also their friends (Miller, 2006).

Teen pregnancy has negative consequences for both the teenage mother and her child. Studies have shown that majority of the teenage mothers leave school as soon as they find out that they are pregnant. In fact, it was found that only about 33 percent were found to have finished high school. Because of this, in majority of the cases, the mothers do not earn enough to support their babies. Even if the fathers actually marry the mothers, studies have also found that many of the fathers also earn low wages. Because of this, a great majority of teen mothers (about 80 percent) have to rely on welfare in order to survive. In many cases, teenagers who become pregnant, unaware of the ill effects of smoking and alcohol and substance abuse, continue their bad habits while pregnant, thereby endangering the health of their babies. The other negative characteristics of teenagers who become pregnant are their poor eating habits and their refusal to regularly submit to prenatal care. The former results to low birthweight while the latter is more alarming because of the finding of the American Medical Association (AMA) that the babies born to women who do not have regular prenatal care are 4 times more likely to die before the age of 1 year (Healthcommunities.com, 2000).

Studies found that the children of teenage mothers are not being feed properly. This could be explained by the fact that teenage mothers are not earning enough. Because most of them have not even finished high school, teenage mothers are also incapable of providing their babies with the needed cognitive and social stimulation. This situation prevents their children from obtaining adequate academic achievement. Also because of their financial and educational inadequacies, teenage mothers have also been found not only to abuse their babies but to neglect them altogether. Statistics also show that there is a 13 percent chance for the sons of teenage mothers to experience life in prison while their exists a 22 percent chance that their daughters would also become pregnant while in their teens (Healthcommunities.com, 2000).  

Several options are available to a teenager who finds herself pregnant. She could opt for an abortion decide to keep and raise the baby and keep the baby for a later adoption. It is recommended, however, that the teenager should discuss these options with her parents before a choice is made. If abortion becomes the choice, it should be done within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy. This choice, however, remains a controversial one because almost all religious denominations do not approve of abortion. Abortion is also considered risky because it is illegal in some states. Because of this, abortion procedures are being held in underground facilities where the safety of both the mother and her baby could never really be assured. In the state of Michigan, the records at the Department of Community Health showed that 1,744 teenagers aged between 15-17 chose abortion with the consent of their parents in 2001 (Nowak, 2004).

The other option is adoption. If the mother does not want to abort her baby but is certain that she could not afford to care for her baby, this is the option for her. Financial reason is not the only motivation for this option, however. The age of the mother is also a reason for putting up the baby for adoption. If the teenage mother and her parents believe that she is too young to give proper care to her baby, adoption could still be considered. This option becomes more attractive if the teenage mother decides to go back to school and finish her schooling (Brouwer, 2004).

The last option is for the teenage mother to keep and raise her babe herself. The decision to adopt this option entails a careful consideration of the changes that are about to take place in the life of the mother. A decision of whether to leave school and look for a job has to be made since she already has her baby to support. The mother should also be aware that after she gives birth to her child, her life would no longer be her own. She has her child to consider now, therefore, she could not go out with her friends anymore (Brouwer, 2004).