I chose this. It was my responsibility to be out on the street and take care of myself. I’m old enough to where I can support myself, take care of myself if I want to, and I’m choosing not to. So, it’s not my parent’s or anybody else’s fault. It’s mine if I get in trouble or I end up getting hurt somehow.
—Ashley, 18 year-old pregnant homeless woman Runaway or homeless teenager girls are five times more likely to become pregnant and two times more likely to have more than one pregnancy than those who are not homeless. Some young women say that that the reason they are homeless is because of some type of abuse or neglect at home and others say it was because they became pregnant and were kicked out of their homes. Teenagers that are living on the streets might lack an education and may be participating in criminal activities to survive, thus making it easier to become pregnant. One of the main reasons that teens who do not have a stable home become pregnant is where they live, if they share a rented room, live with strangers, or in shelters they have a higher chance of becoming pregnant. Statistics show that there are twenty six pregnancies among thirteen women, ages 18-26. 48% of teens that have lived on the streets were said to have had at least one pregnancy. Very little is known how these young pregnant girls deal with this difficult situation while being homeless.
0 Comments
According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry babies born to teen mothers here in the United States are at risk for school failure, poverty, and physical or mental illness that may last a lifetime. The reason these babies are at risk is because there parents may not know their roles as a mother, being a mother requires patience, medical care, being aware of infections, substance abuse, and the many complications that pregnancy causes. While pregnant teenage girls need to become aware of the damage that can be done to the fetus if drugs or alcohol are being used during the pregnancy.
Premature Babies Teenage mothers are more likely to give birth prematurely than mothers that are over the age of twenty. Mothers under the age of twenty are also more likely to have pregnancy complications, anemia, & high blood pressure, this risk is even greater for teens under the age of fifteen. Babies that are born to teen parents are more likely to be low-birthweight or be born prematurely. The babies that are born prematurely are more likely to pass away in the first year of their life. In 2005 16.4 out of 1,000 babies who had parents under the age of fifteen died. The Mother's Health Smoking, doing drugs, drinking alcohol, and eating unhealthy are the main causes in increased health problems among babies. Pregnant teenagers are more likely to smoke than women ages 25-34. 17% of pregnant teens smoked in 2004 compared to the 10% of women ages 25-34. Keep Healthy There are simple ways that you & your baby can stay healthy during a pregnancy!
Infections Out of the 19 million sexually transmitted infections reported each year 9 million affect the girls ages 15-24. Finishing school is extremely difficult when you are having/have a child, especially when you are young.
Reasons why teen moms do not finish school: • feeling embarrassed or awkward at school - the teen may not feel as welco med by teachers/students • health concerns for the mother and the child/children • lack of support - teen mothers need someone to support them and keep them in school • the need to work - some mothers are on their own and need to support their child • being behind in school - teen moms miss a lot of school causing them to become begins •finding a daycare - it is difficult to find someone that you trust to watch your child during the day while you're at school * Despite the fact that finishing high school as a teen mom may be difficult and overwhelming it is important for the mom and child/children. Finishing school gives the mother more opportunities in life and also gives her self respect and helps build confidence. Other options: • special schools for pregnant teens and teen moms • schools with day care centers • homeschool • night school • community college Mothers: 30% of all teenage girls that dropped out of high schools have said that pregnancy was the main factor. 34% of teenage girls who had been teen mothers did not earn a diploma or GED. Only1.5% of teen moms earn earn a college degree by the time they are 30. Take a moment and imagine life without a father or having a father that was absent most of your life. Believe it or not it happens in so many people's lives and it happens to children that have teenage parents as well. The fathers often go unnoticed in teenage pregnancies, we focus on the mother and baby and their needs, but remember a father is impacted as well and they need advice and help too, they also have rights to see their child/children. An unmarried father has the visiting and custody rights a long with the responsibility of child support and caring for the child/children while he is taking care of them. FACTS ABOUT TEEN FATHERS • they are less likely to finish high school then their peers • 8 out of 10 teen fathers do not marry the mother of their child • according to Lifeline Family Center only 20% of teen fathers marry the baby's mother • teen fathers (married or unmarried) are required to pay child support until the child is 18 years old • teen fathers are always older than the mothers by a few months or even a year When you hear the words "teen parent" your mind automatically pictures a teen mother right? But what about the father? In shows about teen pregnancies the whole point is focused on the mother and her struggles with the child and even though the fathers are filmed they do not show how they are impacted. Fathers care and need advice and help just as much as the mothers do, that is in fact their child as well. ADVICE FOR FATHERS • show that you will be involved in your child's life before they are even born, even if the mother and you are no pager together • definitely be there for your child and the child's mother after the child is born • be able to have a stable job that can help out with the child/children expense • enjoy watching your child grow up fast before your eyes, you will be proud you chose to be in his/her life Do children of teen mothers have a higher risk of health issues than those with adult parents? The answer is yes, children that have teenage parents may have health problems when they are growing up. In this blog I will be focusing on the children of the teen mothers rather than teen moms and their statistics. There are a lot of challenges that babies from teen mothers face. Children from teen mothers are more likely to be born prematurely and may be under weight, this increases the risk of several different disabilities that may be long-term. The daughters of teen mothers are 22% more likely to become teen mothers themselves and the sons are 13% more likely to be in prison. These children may also experience more abuse or neglect from their teen parents compared to the parents who are older and have waited to have a child. Children that have mothers from the ages of 18-19 are almost 40% more likely to have a reported case of abuse or neglect than those mothers who are between the ages of 20-21. Abuse that is reported may cause the child to be put in a foster home. FOSTER CARE The chart above shows the children that are put in foster care. As the chart shows, teen mothers are teenagers are more likely to be entered into a foster care or have different people take care of them through their young lives. Close to 1/3 of girls that come out of foster care have at least one child. ADOPTION About 1 million children in the United States live with adoptive parents. 2% of women at any age place their child up for adoption, and less then 1% of teenage mothers put their child up for adoption. Teen moms mostly give birth to their child/children. The rate for teenage mothers putting their children up for adoption has declined over the years. In the United States abortion rates have declined a great number and it is also being reflected in significantly lower abortion rates among teenagers. The report "U.S. Teenage Pregnancies Birth & Abortions, 2010: National & State Trends by Age, Race, & Ethnicty" shows declining pregnancy, birth, and abortion rates among teenagers of all ages, races, and ethnic groups in the United States. Efforts being made to ensure that teenagers are preventing unwanted pregnancies seems to be paying off, you can see this in the decline in births and pregnancies among teens in the past few years. During the year 1990 for every 1,000 teens 116.9 teens were becoming pregnant (ages 15-19) thus making 1990 the high in teen pregnancies. The teen birth rate dropped from 61.8 for every 1,000 teenagers in 1991 to 34.4 per 1,000 in 2010. During this time the teen abortion rate fell the most, from 43.5 abortions per 1,000 teens to 14.7 abortions per 1,000 teens in 2010. Texas, along with many other states have the lowest abortion rates among teenagers.
Breaking the Cycle of Teen Pregnancy Breaking the cycle of teen pregnancy could be a major factor in the decline of abortions around the world. Before explaining the details of how to break the cycle of teen pregnancy below is a list of statistics of teenage pregnancies. • more than 365,000 teenagers (15-19) gave birth in 2010 - 57,200 were second births - 8,400 were third births - 1,200 were fourth or higher births • 91% of teen mothers used birth control but only 22% used the most effective types of birth control How to reduce repeat teen births • Talk to teen mothers about avoiding any other unplanned pregnancies • Remind sexually active teens to use protection • Tell teen mothers about support services that may help prevent in further pregnancies • Warn teen mothers about the negative effects of the child's heart when having children so close together Are television shows like Teen Mom or 16 & pregnant promoting teen mothers or are they simply showing the negative affects that having a child at a young age can have on your life? Statistics show that shows similar to the ones that are aired on MTV such as, Teen mom & 16 and pregnant do not have a negative effect on the teen pregnancy rates and actually seem to have a positive effect on the decline in rates over the past few years. This year economists from the Brookings Institution and Wellesley College found that the television shows aired on MTV having to do with teen pregnancy may have been responsible for a third of the decline in teen pregnancy rate here in the United States during those years that the shows were being aired. Although there are great mother-daughter moments during the shows it mainly shows the audience how teen pregnancy is a big change in your life, and it shows life issues and hard truth about how your life changes once you have a child, especially at a young age. During the years 2008 and 2012 the teen pregnancy rate in the United States fell rapidly, around this time the shows Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant were just starting off. The president of MTV, Stephen Friedman said, "When we developed 16 and Pregnant, teen birth rates were reported to be on the rise, so we created this series as a cautionary tale on the hard realities of teen pregnancy. We are deeply grateful to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy for their expert guidance.
Why is teen pregnancy a big deal?
Teen Pregnancy is a problem because children are having children and despite the decline it is still happening a lot here in the United States. According to the article from Harvard Health Commentaries 1 in 4 teens will still become pregnant before the age 20 despite the rate dropping. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy points out that the only way to prevent teen pregnancy from happening for sure is for teenagers to not be sexually active at such a young age. Below are other suggestions to try and stop teen pregnancy before your child/children even think about it. 1. Communicate; talk with your child about sex at a young age. 2. Share your values; let your child know why you feel sex at a young age is bad and why they should wait. 3. Explain the risks and consequences. 4. Rules; set curfews and rules for your child, be sure you know the friends and there families that your child associates with. 5. Know what music your child is listening to and what they are watching on television. 6. Help your child set goals for the future, make sure your child knows that they can go far in life. After doing more research I found a program called SASS. The SASS program or Self Awareness & School Support is a program that meets weekly with young girls and their families, the group encourages abstinence while providing support to these girls during the difficult transition from girlhood to maturity. The groups activities are those that help the girls become aware of what a healthy relationship is and helps with there self esteem, which helps them get through the 7th and 8th grades. A new thing that the group has added is mother-daughter time and father-daughter time to help improve the relationships. I personally think that a program like this should be known to more schools and more children around the world. The whole point of their program is to prevent teen pregnancy one girl at a time. Teen pregnancy in the United States is a major issue because the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate of the Western industrialized world. The United States spends 7 billion each year due to the cost of teen pregnancy. Becoming a mother at such a young age may cause issues in a persons life because they now must take care of a child while they are still learning to grow up themselves. The majority of teen mothers occurs with young ladies between the age of fifteen and nineteen. Statistics show that 34% of teenagers have at least one pregnancy before the age of twenty, and 80% of the young women that have a child at this age did not intend to. Among the women that have a child during their teen years 79% of them are unmarried and 80% of these unmarried teen mothers end up on welfare. Many women that have had a child as a teenager do not finish high school or go to college. Only 1/3 of teen mothers complete high school and receive their diplomas and by age thirty only 1.5% of women who had a pregnancy as a teenager have a college degree.
|