Thursday, December 17, 2009

Teen Pregnancy

Think twice because there’s no going back.
Teen Pregnancy affects ¼ of high school students. It is one of the leading causes for high school dropouts and poverty. Once pregnant there are only three options. Keep the baby, have an abortion or give the baby to a foster home. Some teens even resort to suicide. Parents have brought teen pregnancy to the attention of the media with ads and campaigns against it and people nation-wide have been informed.
Alex Isidro a freshman at South East High School said teen pregnancy is “stupid” he says “Why throw your life away for sex. I mean you need to make something out of life. Getting pregnant from sex is luckier than getting diseases like HIV or AIDS, but both can ruin you life”. When asked if he knew anyone who was in this situation he replied “No, because I hang around the right people.”
There are many consequences for teenage pregnancy. Teen mothers are most likely to be dropouts and 1.5% of teen mothers that complete high school go to college and get a Degree.80% of teen mothers end up getting welfare according to an article on Thenationalcampaign.org. There it states that there are ways to prevent a teen pregnancy like using a condom or taking birth control pills. In a poll done in Thenationalcampaign.org against teen pregnancy it states that teenagers who have a strong emotional attachment to their parents are most likely not to be sexually active and that one out of three teen goes to parents for advice for sex.
Suicide and depression a major factor in getting pregnant. Depression can be a “very dangerous disorder, particularly during pregnancy because depression can often drain your desire and energy; pregnant women with the disorder may not seek appropriate prenatal care” according to Suicide.org. Depression during pregnancy may also increase the likelihood that you will abuse alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs during pregnancy. When it is most severe, depression can lead to self-harm or even suicide, causing the death of your baby because it leads to depression. According to Suicide.org “A University of Michigan study indicates that 20% of pregnant women may suffer from depression, but few seek treatment.” The study also found that pregnant women who had a previous history of depression (about 25%) are more than twice as likely as other women to suffer from depression during their pregnancy.Evidence suggests that depression can affect the unborn babies.
Many cases of teen sex are because of peer pressure. 1/3 of boys’ ages 15-17 say they feel pressure to have sex, often from male friends. Teen girls feel less pressure--only 23% said they felt such coercion. Researchers questioned 1,854 subjects between the ages of 13 and 24 in a national survey. Statistics shown on Thenationalcampaign.org shows Latinos have the highest pregnancy rate with 561,052 pregnancies a year followed by Caucasians, Asian/Pacific Islander and African American in California. Statistics also shows that teens around the age of 10 – 14 are most likely to get pregnant and also that the United States has the highest rating of teen pregnancy in the western hemisphere. So don’t think about sex focus on your studies but if you do make sure it’s safe sex.