Teenage mommy

Chapter 1

Introduction

There are a lot of teen mothers growing up in this world wondering, what if I would have stayed in

school? What could I have become? Would it have made my life easier if I had thought first? There is

many causes for teen pregnancy. They lead to the need for the desire of love by another person. 

One might have a poor home life and would want something like their peers have. A teen may have a

low self-esteem and simply be looking for acceptance. However, many teens that have a wonderful

family and are very confidante about looking for the few minutes of pleasure. As several teens use the

excuse that sex feels better without a condom pregnancy is likely to occur just because of that simple

saying. 

Having a child comes with a lot of responsibility. Teens don’t think of the consequences of their actions.

Children take up a lot of time, which also means, no more school. The teen should first understand that

all their free time is lost, that she will have to find some way to live for herself and the child, and that

any future plans are now not what she was planning. ...

Teenage pregnancy, which is detrimental to the health of mother and child, is a common public health

problem worldwide. It is a problem that affects nearly every society- developed and developing alike. It

is one of the key issues concerning reproductive health of women not only in developing but also in

developed countries. There is a growing awareness that early child bearing has multiple consequences in

terms of maternal health, child health and over all well-being of society. Although prevention of

unwanted teenage pregnancy is our primary goal, many adolescents continue to become pregnant. The

purpose of this article is to review current trends and issues on adolescent pregnancy to update the

practitioners. The readers are provided with more recent data on adolescent sexuality, contraceptive

use, and childbearing as well as suggestions for addressing the challenges of teenage pregnancy.
The adolescent period covers the age of 10-19 years. 1This is a period of transition from childhood to

adulthood. Adolescence is a distinct and important biological and social stage of development.

Pregnancy in a girl aged between 10-19 years is adolescent or teenage pregnancy. Adolescent pregnancy

continues to be a complex and challenging issue for families, health workers, educators, societies and

governments, and adolescents themselves.One of the important factors for the rapid population growth

in the world is adolescent childbearing.

Statement

“These kids, acting like lions with their unplanned pregnancies and sunny delights.”

“I’m pregnant”

These are some statements particular in situations with a teenager with a low tone and head bowed

making the urge to tell her parents her situation. It’s hard to accept but that’s the way it is.

Scope of the study

This study covers the early pregnancy situation in the Philippines wherein every year there’s a consistent

increasing rate of teenage girl having kids.

Chapter 2

Relevant theories

Highlights of the causes

 Long term relationships lead to pregnancy. Precautions may not be taken in such a situation.
 Carefree sex or rather casual sex without thinking too much about it.
 Lack of sufficient knowledge of the preventive measures.
 Immaturity.
 Lack of guidance from elders.
 Hushed up affairs.
  Rape
 Lack of self control
 Experimenting
 Not using birth control devices or they failing at times.
 Passion

Effects

 Physical changes in the body system, detrimental to the health of the teenager.
 Early responsibility . Not adequately equipped to cope up with the pregnancy.
 Complications due to lack of knowledge of handling it.
 Body-systems not attuned to early pregnancies and can result in miscarriage or pregnant
defects.
 Uterus expands. Need to consult a doctor for further sexual activity.
 Emotional trauma of handling a child at such an early age.
 Changes in life-styles, affecting the overall personality.
 Lose out on usual teenage activities and fun and frolic.
 Termination of pregnancy affects the general health.
 Teenage activities such as drinking, smoking ,eating fast foods, taking drugs have negative
impact on pregancy.
 Has to consult doctor about her activities during pregnancy and also later if required.

Chromosomal abnormalities
Miscarriages caused by chromosomal abnormalities are random occurrences. More than half of
miscarriages are caused by chromosomal abnormalities-problems with the structure or number of
chromosomes in the embryo or with the genes that the chromosomes carry.

Emotional Effects of unplanned pregnancy

 Initial excitement
 Confusion
 Fear
 Resentment
 Frustration
 Unable to accept the situation.
 Depression at times.
 Decision problem of whether to terminate or continue pregnancy causing uncalled for
emotional trauma.
 Effects

Effects of teen pregnancies on the children involved. These children are far more likely to grow
up in poverty, to have more health problems, to suffer from higher rates of abuse and neglect,
to fail in school, to become teen mothers, to commit delinquent acts and adult crimes, and to
incur failed adult marriages and other relationships. 

The burdens of early childbearing on disadvantaged teens are undeniable. Trying to untangle
the factors which contribute to teenage pregnancy from its effects, however, leads to a "which
 came first, the chicken or the egg?" dilemma. Educational failure, poverty, unemployment and
low self-esteem are understood to be negative outcomes of early childbearing. These
circumstances also contribute to the likelihood of teen pregnancy.


In general, teen mothers have much lower levels of educational attainment than other women,

which severely limit their career options and sharply increase their likelihood of economic

dependency. Only 70% of teen mothers complete high school or earn a GED, and far fewer

Risk Factors. Although it is not inevitable, some life circumstances place girls at higher risk of

becoming teen mothers. These include poverty, poor school performance, growing up in a

singleparent household, having a mother who was an adolescent mother, or having a sister who

has

Teenage pregnancies have become a public health issue because of their observed negative

effects on perinatal outcomes and long-term morbidity. The association of young maternal age

and long-term morbidity is usually confounded, however, by the high prevalence of poverty, low

level of education, and single marital status among teenage mothers.

Children of teenage mothers have significantly higher odds of placement in certain special

education classes and significantly higher occurrence of milder education problems, but when

maternal education, marital status, poverty level, and race are controlled, the detrimental

effects disappear and even some protective effects are observed.

If one is a teenage girl and engaged in sexual acts, there are chances that she might get pregnant any

given time. The teen pregnancy signs do not differ much from those signs and symptoms of pregnancy in

any women. However, there are some particular signs and symptoms that might help a teenager
 determining if she is pregnant. But the only way to know with assurance is to have the pregnancy

diagnosed by a qualified health care provider. Nevertheless, before seeing such health care provider, a

teenage girl might also take a pregnancy test as such tests are generally up to 99 per cent accurate.

Teenage mothers are, to a lesser extent, gain adequate weight during their pregnancies, and that leads

to low birth weight of baby that is associated with infant and childhood problems and a high percentage

of infant mortality. Low-birth weight infants are more likely to have bodily organs those are not yet

developed that again, can result in complications like bleeding in the brain, respiratory distress

problems, and various gastrointestinal problems.

Early Teen Pregnancy Signs

There are many teen pregnancy signs. In some girls these early signs of teen pregnancy might occur for

reasons other than being conceived. For instance, if a teen is remarkably stressed or active, she might

experience one or more pregnancy symptoms common in teenagers. Early signs and symptoms of teen

pregnancy are listed below:

 a missed menstrual cycle

 morning sickness; nausea or vomiting

 frequent micturation

 soreness and fullness of breasts

 fatigue or distress

 changes in mood and appetite

Although having a pregnancy test is the most common method a teenager can tell that she is pregnant

before going for any medical diagnosis, such early signs are worth noticing. Things like distress or

increased activity levels might create many of such signs that include delaying a menstrual cycle or cause

fatigue or changes in hunger.

Later Teen Pregnancy Signs

ignore. Some of those teen pregnancy signs are:

 enlarged abdomen

 weight gain or loss

 different aches like backache or headache

 quickening (sensation of the fetal movement)

 different food craving

Trained and qualified health care professional can also detect additional signs and symptoms of teen

pregnancy while performing physical examination and other procedures like ultrasound screening. Such

signs and symptoms involve changes in the sizes and shapes of the uterus, changes in the cervix, or

sound of fetal heart beat.

Sex Talk is Not the Norm

Young people interviewed for this article generally feel that educators and even their parents avoid the
topic of sex. What they know about sex is what they hear from peers, read from magazines or watch in
DVDs. They say that it is very seldom that they can openly talk about sex with their parents or teachers.

Granted that some of them may know the consequence of having unprotected sex, it still leaves doubt
whether they are emotionally strong enough to resist the temptations of the pleasures associated with
it.

Not Just Sex Education but Counseling

That is why it is very important to inject serious counseling side by side with sex education. It is one
thing to know the biological and science aspect of having babies, it is entirely another matter to really
understand the meaning and responsibilities of parenthood.

If there is a module on sex education that will show a documentary, for instance, of a teenage parent
who is forced to quit school and work as a laborer on a 300/day wage, then it can be a more effective
deterrent rather than explaining the A to Z of the human reproductive system. In school, these young
people at certain age groups or grade level can have workshops where they can be encouraged to talk
freely about sex. There should also be face-to-face counseling sessions with sex educators who can
meaningfully mentor them about the real consequence of unwanted or teenage pregnancies.

Out-of-School Youth Face Higher Risk

If schools can have this kind of sex education and counseling practices, what about the need of young
people who cannot attend school due to poverty? It may seem appropriate to assume that this sector
needs more focus.

For one, they have more free time for social interaction and consequently, more chances at sexual
encounters. Secondly, most of them live in depressed communities and are therefore situated in
families where parents are more focused on how to earn a living rather than on giving their children
counseling about sex. Worse, their parents could be siring more children than what they can really
afford. Thus, children in these families may tend to think like their parents, i.e., having more children
mean getting more “blessings.”

It is therefore also crucial to have both meaningful sex education and direct counseling in both formal
and non-formal education systems. Schools can easily adopt a more relevant curriculum while local
governments (i.e. barangays) can implement sex counseling programs directed towards the youth
especially those who have no access to formal education.

Teenage pregnancy is on the rise in the Philippines and women’s groups said it is time to introduce sex
education in government schools.
But their proposal has met with stiff resistance from the country’s influential Catholic Church.
According to the World Bank, the Philippines is among the top ten countries where there is an increasing
number of teenage mothers (3.6 million) and these statistics often translates to a higher incidence of
poverty in the country.
Women’s groups are alarmed by the steady increase in teen pregnancies. Seven out of every 10 women
who are pregnant are teenagers, and most of them are younger than 19.
Dr.JuniceMelgar, executive director, Likhaan, said: “We need to stress that delaying the age of
pregnancies are important for them, not just physically to save their lives because of the risks of early
pregnancy, but also economically, because we know that young people who are able to have
opportunities are the people who are able to delay sexual engagements, especially having pregnancies.
These are the ones that are able to finish school and have a better job.”
Non-governmental organisations are pushing for the enactment of a Reproductive Health bill. That piece
of legislation would uphold the use of artificial contraceptives and institutionalise sex education in
schools.
But the influential Catholic Church’s opposition to it has put it on hold.
Dr JuniceMelgar said: “Unfortunately, even sexuality education is being challenged and opposed by
conservative forces in the Philippines. Whether we like it or not, whether parents approve it or not, the
young people are getting all source of information from the Internet, from their peers, etc.
“And if there’s no authoritative voice that tells uniformly on a standard basis what’s the harm, what are
the risks, how can young people avoid the risk of early pregnancy? Then the risks to young people will
stay as is, or could even increase the incidence of teen pregnancies in the country.”