Teenage pregnancy is usually a crisis for the pregnant girl and her family. Common reactions include anger, guilt, and denial. If the father is young and involved, similar reactions can occur in his family.

Babies born to teenage mothers are at risk for long-term problems in many major areas of life, including school failure, poverty, and physical or mental illness. The teenage mothers themselves are also at risk for these problems.

Pregnant teens can have many different emotional reactions:

• some may not wwant their babies

• some may want them for idealized and unrealistic ways

• others may view the creation of a child as an achievement and not recognize the serious responsibilities

• some may keep a child to please another family member

• some may want a baby to have someone to love, but not recognize the amount of care the baby needs

• depression is also common among pregnant teens

• many do not anticipate that their adorable baby can also be demanding and sometimes iirritating

• some become overwhelmed by guilt, anxiety, and fears about the future

There may be times when the pregnant teenager’s emotional reactions and mental state will require referral to a qualified mental health professional.

If pregnancy occurs, teenagers and their ffamilies deserve honest and sensitive counseling about options available to them, from abortion to adoption. Special support systems, including consultation with a child and adolescent psychiatrist when needed, should be available to help the teenager throughout the pregnancy, the birth, and the decision about whether to keep the infant or give it up for adoption.

TEEN PREGNANCY OUTCOMES

 Teen pregnancy is bad for the mother.

 Future prospects for teenagers decline significantly if they have a baby. Teen mothers are less likely to complete school and more likely to be single parents. Less than one-third of teens who begin their families before age 18 ever earn a high school diploma. Only 1.5% earn a college degree by the age of 30.

 There aare serious health risks for adolescents who have babies. Young adolescents (particularly those under age 15) experience a maternal death rate 2.5 times greater than that of mothers aged 20-24.

 Common medical problems among adolescent mothers include poor weight gain, pregnancy-induced hypertension, anemia, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Later in life, adolescent mothers tend to be at greater risk for obesity and hypertension than women who were not teenagers when they had their first child.

 Teen pregnancy is closely linked to poverty aand single parenthood. Almost one-half of all teenage mothers and over three-quarters of unmarried teen mothers began receiving welfare within five years of the birth of their first child. The growth in single-parent families remains the single most important reason for increased poverty among children over the last twenty years.

 Teen pregnancy is bad for the child.

 Children born to teen mothers suffer from higher rates of low birth weight and related health problems. The proportion of babies with low birth weights born to teens is 21 % higher than the proportion for mothers age 20-24. Low birth weight raises the probabilities of infant death, blindness, deafness, chronic respiratory problems, mental retardation, mental illness, and cerebral palsy. In addition, low birth weight doubles the chances that a child will later be diagnosed as having dyslexia, hyperactivity, or another disability.

 Children of teens often have insufficient health care. Despite having more health problems than the children of older mothers, the children of teen mothers receive less medical care and treatment. In his or her first 14 years, the average child of a teen mother visits a physician and other medical providers an average of 3.8 times per year, compared with 4.3 times for aa child of older childbearers.

 Children of teen mothers often receive inadequate parenting. Children born to teen mothers are at higher risk of poor parenting because their mothers – and often their fathers as well – are typically too young to master the demanding job of being a parent. Still growing and developing themselves, teen mothers are often unable to provide the kind of environment that infants and very young children require for optimal development.

 Children of teenagers often suffer from poor school performance. Children of teens are 50 % more likely to repeat a grade; they perform much worse on standardized tests; and ultimately they are less likely to complete high school than if their mothers had delayed childbearing.

ABORTION

• One in five women (19%) obtaining abortions are teens.

• 45% of teens who become pregnant unintentionally have abortions. .

• 29 states currently have mandatory parental involvement laws in effect for a minor seeking an abortion.

• About 40% of teens who have abortions do so without their parents’ knowledge or consent.

• The reasons most often given by teens for choosing to have an abortion are being concerned about how having a baby would change their lives, feeling that they are not mature enough tto have a child and having financial problems.

HOW TO AVOID TEEN PREGNANCY

Sex and Contraceptive Education for Teenagers

Sex and contraceptive education may be the most effective way to reduce teen pregnancy. Yet, teenagers are generally uninformed about the availability, efficiency, and choices of contraceptives available. A little number of schools districts teach sex education. Most of these – promote abstinence instead of teaching teenagers how to protect themselves if they are going to have sex.

Who have had sexual intercourse

at different ages

• Teens must be educated and informed about how to change their sexual behavior and how to use contraceptives correctly. They need basic information about how to protect themselves and their reproductive health.

• Teenagers must develop skills in communication and sexual decision making so that sex does not just “happen”.

• 25 % of teenage mothers give birth to a second baby within 2 years. Teenagers must be aware of the consequences of having more than one child at a young age.

10 Tips For Parents To Help Their Children Avoid Pregnancy

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy has reviewed recent research about parental influences on children’s sexual behavior and talked to many experts in the field, as well as

to teens and parents themselves. From these sources, it is clear that there is much parents and adults can do to reduce the risk of kids becoming pregnant before they’ve grown up.

Finally, although these tips are for parents, they can be used by adults more generally in their relationships with teenagers. Parents-especially those who are single or working long hours-often turn to other adults, teachers, psychologists, social educators, for help in raising their children and teens. If all these ccaring adults are on the same „wavelength“ about the issues covered here, young people are given more consistent messages.

So, What to Do?

1) Be clear about your own sexual values and attitudes.

2) Talk with your children early and often about sex, and be specific.

3) Supervise and monitor your children and adolescents.

4) Know your children’s friends and their families.

5) Discourage early, frequent, and steady dating.

6) Take a strong stand against your daughter dating a boy significantly older than she is. And don’t allow your son to ddevelop an intense relationship with a girl much younger than he is.

7) Help your teenagers to have options for the future that are more attractive than early pregnancy and parenthood.

8) Let your kids know that you value education highly.

9) Know what your kkids are watching, reading, and listening to.

10) These first nine tips for helping your children avoid teen pregnancy work best when they occur as part of strong, close relationships with your children that are built from an early age.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Myra Pollack Sadker , David Sadker Teachers, Schools, and Society

• Brown S., Eisenberg L. The Best Intentions: Unintended Pregnancy and the Well – Being of Children and Families. Committee on Unintended Pregnancy. Washington, 1995

• National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Whatever Happened to Childhood? The Problem of Teen Pregnancy in the United States. Washington, 1997

• AGI, Teen Sex and Pregnancy, 1999

• National Survey of Family Growth and 1995 National Survey of Adolescent Males

• www.w-cpc.org/sexuality/teens.html

• www.womenshealthchannel.com/teenpregnancy/sexeducation

• www.teenpregnancy.org

THESIS

I. Teens give reasons for having sex

1. Peer/social pressure

2. It feels good

3. Pressure from partner

4. Lack of understanding aabout real love

5. Rebellion, curiosity

II. Teen pregnancy

1. Teenage pregnancy is usually a crisis for the pregnant girl and her family.

2. Each year, 10% of all aged 15-19 become pregnant.

3. 78% of teen pregnancies are unintended

4. The majority of boyfriends leave when girlfriend has a baby

III. Health Considerations

1. Although many teen pregnancies result in poor health for both mother and baby, good nutrition and parental care results in better pregnancy outcomes than those of older women.

2. Problems occur when teens try to hide their pregnancies

3. In several much publicized ccases, hidden pregnancies by teens have resulted in infanticide.

IV. Abortion

1. ”Abortion is the greatest human rights violation. It is against the child who can not appear before any commission to plead his or her right to life. . one can not speak about human rights without condemning the violation of the first of those rights : the right to life”. (A. Valladares, 1989)

GLOSSARY

Pregnancy – neštumas

Guilt – kaltė

Denial – atsisakymas

Failure – nesėkmė

Anticipate – numatyti

Demanding – reikalaujantis daug pastangų

Anxiety – nerimas

Outcome ¬ – pasekmė

Welfare – socialinis aprūpinimas

Adolescent – paauglys

Deafness – kurtumas

Obesity – nutukimas

Mental retardation – protinis atsilikimas

Palsy – paralyžius

Insufficient – nepakankamas

Inadequate – neatitinkamas

Unintentionally – nenumatytai

Consent – sutikimas

Efficiency – efektyvumas

Aware – sąmoningas

Childbearing – gimdymas

Prevent – sukliudyti

Influence – įtaka

Articulate – aiškiai reikšti

Maintain – palaikyti

Delay – delsti

Expectation – tikėjimas

Encourage – paskatinti

Contraception – kontracepcija

Issue – svarstoma problema

Value – vertė

Attitude – požiūris

Specific – tikslus

Monitor – kontroliuoti

Summary TEEN PREGNANCY

Teenage pregnancy is usually a crisis for the pregnant girl and her family. Common reactions include anger, guilt, and denial. If the father is young and involved, similar reactions can occur in his family too.

Babies born to teenage mothers are at risk for long-term problems in many major areas of life, including school failure, poverty, and physical or mental iillness. The teenage mothers themselves are also at risk for these problems.

Pregnant teens can have many different emotional reactions:

• some may not want their babies

• some may want them for idealized and unrealistic ways

• others may view the creation of a child as an achievement and not recognize the serious responsibilities

• some may keep a child to please another family member

• some may want a baby to have someone to love, but not recognize the amount of care the baby needs

• depression is also common among pregnant teens

• some become overwhelmed by guilt, anxiety, and fears about the future

ABORTION

• One in five women obtaining abortions are teens.

• 45% of teens who become pregnant unintentionally have abortions. .

• Most of teens who have abortions do so without their parents’ knowledge or consent.

• The reasons most often given by teens for choosing to have an abortion are being concerned about how having a baby would change their lives, feeling that they are not mature enough to have a child and having financial problems.

HOW TO AVOID TEEN PREGNANCY

Sex and contraceptive education may be the most effective way to reduce teen pregnancy. Yet, teenagers are generally uninformed about the availability, efficiency, and cchoices of contraceptives available. A little number of schools districts teach sex education. Most of these – promote abstinence instead of teaching teenagers how to protect themselves if they are going to have sex.

It is clear that much parents and adults can do to reduce the risk of kids becoming pregnant before they’ve grown up. Parents-especially those who are single or working long hours-often turn to other adults, teachers, psychologists, social educators, for help in raising their children and teens. Special support systems, including consultation with a child and adolescent psychiatrist when needed, should be available to help the teenager throughout the pregnancy, the birth, and the decision about whether to keep the infant or give it up for adoption.