The long-term consequences include lowered educational achievement, medical complications, higher subsequent fertility, low labor force participation, reduced earnings, a lifetime of economic stress and limited opportunity, and marital failure.
Talk with their teens about sex, including:
- encouraging them not to have sex.
- encouraging them to use effective birth control to prevent pregnancy, along with condoms to protect against sexually transmitted diseases.
Because teenage pregnancy deters increased education, it leads to significant amounts of lost earnings, which negatively effect the economy as a whole, the study points out: Nearly one-third of teen girls who have dropped out of high school cite early pregnancy or parenthood as a key reason.
Peer Pressure and Sexual Abuse
The partner may manipulate the other to have unprotected sex which leads to unintended pregnancy. Sexual abuse is also another reason why teens may become pregnant. Early sexual abuse has been linked to later teen pregnancies.Teen pregnancies carry extra health risks to both the mother and the baby. Often, teens don't get prenatal care soon enough, which can lead to problems later on. They have a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure and its complications. Risks for the baby include premature birth and a low birth weight.
Pregnancy in Your Teen Years
- low birth weight/premature birth.
- anemia (low iron levels)
- high blood pressure/pregnancy-induced hypertension, PIH (can lead to preeclampsia)
- a higher rate of infant mortality (death)
- possible greater risk of cephalopelvic disproportion* (the baby's head is wider than the pelvic opening)
What causes teenage pregnancy?
- Lack of information about sexual and reproductive health and rights.
- Inadequate access to services tailored to young people.
- Family, community and social pressure to marry.
- Sexual violence.
- Child, early and forced marriage, which can be both a cause and a consequence.
A woman can get pregnant and have a baby as soon as she begins ovulating, or producing eggs. This typically occurs about a year after they first begin menstruating, which for North American women, usually happens between the ages of 11 and 12. The early onset of menstration is called "precocious puberty."
The researchers found that babies born to teenage fathers had a 15 percent increased risk of premature birth, a 13 percent increased risk for low birth weight, and a 17 percent increased risk for being small for gestational age.
Teen pregnancy is a health issue that has an effect on all of us. A child having a baby as a teenager is more likely to face critical social issues like poverty, poor education, risky behaviors that lead to poor health issues, and child welfare. The financial cost of teens having babies is financially devastating.
Another study reported that teen mothers face significant levels of stress that can then lead to increased mental health concerns. In addition to higher rates of postpartum depression, teenage mothers have higher rates of depression. They also have higher rates of suicidal ideation than their peers who aren't mothers.
In order to prevent teenage pregnancy, teenagers need to have a comprehensive understanding of abstinence, contraceptive techniques, and consequences. Although there are many different ways to prevent a teenage girl from becoming pregnant, the only one that is absolutely effective is sexual abstinence.
Because of the consequences of teen pregnancy for young women, families and states, helping young people prevent such pregnancies can improve economic opportunity and lead to significant public savings.
