“Over one million teenage girls become pregnant each year. In the next 24 hours, about 3,312 girls will become pregnant. In addition, 43% of all adolescents become pregnant before the age of 20. These are incredible statistics when you consider that there are only 31 million females. The United States has the highest adolescent pregnancy rate in the developed world. As statistics show one in nine women between the ages of 15 through 19 become pregnant each year.
Also, every 26 seconds a teenage girl becomes pregnant and every 56 seconds a child of a teenage mother is born. ” A child needs a nurturing and stable environment in order to prosper and grow. A child born to a single teenage mother is much less likely to succeed and have decreased cognitive skills. Often times a teenage mother may be too self-absorbed with her voyage of personal discovery to be able to meet the needs of her child. Having been thrust into premature adulthood, she cannot possibly confront life and the challenges of parenthood with maturity and responsibility. Therefore it can be assumed that a child born to a single teenage mother is more at risk for emotional, cognitive and other such problems than the child of a mature, adult mother.
Sometimes single teenage mothers have adequate support systems for raising a child. In these cases, their parents often provide a home, financial support and childcare. Some school districts provide special programs for teen parents which include instruction in careers and parenting experience in daycare setting where they learn how to care for their child’s needs; these experiences give the mother social support as well. Unfortunately, these situations are more the exception than the rule.
A single teenage mother has less chance to continue her education after and during pregnancy than the average teenager. By having all these new problems to deal with without a fully developed maturity the mother can also suffer from emotional and mental stagnation. Her peers may reject her as society deems Teenage Pregnancy Essay unacceptable. She may feel humiliated and ashamed after her pregnancy begins to show, so then she refuses to finish school and as a result she lessens her ability to effectively raise her child. When teenage mother are pregnant, they are the least likely of all maternal age groups to get early and regular prenatal care.
There are many teen mothers who receive late or no prenatal care at all. After giving birth, the majority of girls drop out of school in order to care of the baby. If there is no one else to share the endless amount of work, she must assume full responsibility. She may be forced to pursue employment with a minimal of earning potential due to her lack of education.
This scenario tends to breed an unstable and financially insecure parent, and the child may also suffer from neglect by the constantly working mother. The teenage social experience is a fundamental stage of development. How a teenager develops socially dictates how effective she will be as an adult. Through interaction with peers, a teenager learns about herself.
This is an important period of time to construct personal identity. If this period is cut short, she will not be competent to meet the challenges that come with raising a child. Teenagers also tend have poor eating habits, and many smoke, drink alcohol and take drugs, increasing the risk that their babies will be born with health problems. As a result of this neglect the child in turn suffers, missing the chance to grow, and develop normally.
The teenage mother lacks the emotional responsiveness essential to the emotional welfare of the child. The role of the father is also instrumental in the growth and development of a child. Unfortunately the vast majority of teenage pregnancies turn into single parent roles with the father often leaving the mother of the child with nothing. It has been proven in our class that the role of the father is an extremely important one in the development of a child. A child who lacks the authority and leadership of a father tends to have feelings of inadequacy and abandonment.
These feeling may lead to increases .
