Summary:
Young women who become pregnant in their teens face many unique problems that can last the rest of their lives. The children born into this circumstance also have certain negative tendencies that are often overlooked.

Details or Sample:
Teen pregnancy is a societal problem, a family problem, and a personal problem all rolled into one. While the pregnant teenage girl is the one who stands to suffer the most from the circumstance in the short run, many more problems loom over the horizon. Her family, her child, and often many of her family members will pay a high price for the indiscretion that led to the pregnancy. Certainly, the man involved in the process should be held accountable in a variety of ways. Whether he stands up to his responsibility or not, often the costs associated with teenage pregnancy is still off of the chart financially, emotionally, and in many other ways.

In the United States, 4 out of 10 girls will have one or more babies before their 20th birthday. This is the highest rate of any developed nation. Each year more than 60 of every 1,000 teen girls will deliver a baby. This factors out abortions and miscarriages. Our society pays billions. Almost 40 billion dollars per year go out in welfare and Medicaid funds due to teenage pregnancy and births. Three quarters of teen parents will receive welfare payments within 5 years of their first birth.

Children born to teen moms are sicker, poorer, and less educated as a group than those born to parents in their 20´s. The health problems range from infant death, to cerebral palsy, to dyslexia, to hyperactivity disorder, and respiratory problems. These same children tend to have more behavioral problems because they are raised by teens who frequently lack the ability to master parenting skills. Statistically, they perform worse on standardized tests and are more likely to repeat a grade in school. The scariest part of all is that they are the most likely group to become teen parents and repeat the cycle.

Families agonize over teen pregnancy. However, these are some of the same people who gasp when sex education and contraceptive training is mentioned. While I by no means condone premarital or teen sex, there are certainly times when we cannot stick our heads in the sand as if it does not happen. Families often feel embarrassed by the event. This is not usually because of pregnancy, but because they believe that it makes them look like bad parents.

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Written by: Allen Teal
Available File Types:Text
Words: 620