Prevention and Discussing Teenage Pregnancy

In this essay I will discuss the multiple views and arguments discussing the controversy on the topic of teenage pregnancy. My life of course can’t relate on the topic but because of past relationships and friendships I am able to pinpoint multiple positive or negative views on the topic. Teen pregnancy is comprehended and well understood as pregnancy to young girls at the age of 19 and below. It is one of the leading incidences recorded in the US. Furthermore, it should be prevented, stopped, and discouraged because of the strain it puts on the parents, parents of the future parents, and our society.

Teenage pregnancy statistics have drastically sky rocketed within the past decade and continues to do so. Many people have their opinions on the subject of teen pregnancy, because teens seem to be getting pregnant so fast these days. People fail to realize that having a baby is supposed to be a sort of privilege. Many young people have distorted the meaning of sex and handle the consequence of having a baby a joke. Getting pregnant and having a baby at such a young age involves many more cons than pros.

This experience can be detrimental for some young girls as the fact that they are unaware of everything makes it difficult for them to effectively deal with the problem. Society becomes more judgemental and most young girls who become pregnant come to express their feelings of shame and fear. The fact that these individuals are hesitant about letting their parents know that they are pregnant contributes to their problems and finding help sometimes becomes an impossible mission and hard. Lack of life experience materializes into a more severe type of stress, endangering both the mother and the child.It is generally accepted that the majority of teen births are a result of accidental pregnancies. Even with the fact that this subject received much attention in the recent years, it is very difficult for society to understand what influences some teenagers in taking an important step in such matters. The environment that an individual lives in is apparently essential when considering the strategy that the respective person is going to employ with the purpose of resolving the 'problem'. Embarrassment is typically one of the first sentiments that a teenager undergoes when she is pregnant.

Many may argue the fact that once the damage is done and the teen is considered pregnant that as a society we should avoid ‘shaming’ the pregnancy but instead support it. Doing this motion will not only create a positive outlook on the situation but influence others. Teenage pregnancy should be shamed upon because it's the only thing they will acknowledge. If people began being more blunt about it and shaming it, I think the rates would go down because no one wants to be looked down upon. Teenagers already hide their individuality to prevent themselves from being judged and victims of bullies. And realistically it's not helping anyone. They put themselves and the baby in potential danger. There career takes a huge break, and in most cases will never continue. They will not be able to lead an independent life for at least 3+ years as they need to be able to provide for themselves and the child financially, mentally and emotionally. Also it puts so much extra pressure on the Government. They can't afford to give anymore money to the NHS or to give it to teenage mothers in child benefits.

The main prevention method that should be used to prevent teenage pregnancy is the use of condoms which can be promoted through the use of sexual education. Studies have found that sexual education is the most effective method to reduce rates of teenage pregnancy, though these methods can be controversial and many parents would rather opt for abstinence only methods. Abstinence alone, however, has not proven to be effective, “Adolescents who received comprehensive sex education were significantly less likely to report teen pregnancy than those who received no formal sex education, whereas there was no significant effect of abstinence-only education”. (Kohler, 2008)”. As it is ultimately a parent’s decision to teach sexual education to their child, a nurse's role is to help a parent make an educated decision for their teenagers sexual health, and have a keen understanding of sexual behaviors. If prevention methods are unsuccessful and a teenager becomes pregnant, a nurse can be vital in assisting the teenager throughout her pregnancy by developing a nursing diagnosis and treatment plan to ensure a healthy pregnancy.

A teenager can face multiple challenges during a pregnancy that can include health concerns, family problems, judgment from peers and psychological issues. A correct nursing diagnosis is crucial in the development of an effective nursing treatment plan. A role performance disturbance (Gordon, 2010) can occur in most teenagers as they are still seen as children however they must take on adult responsibilities of giving birth to and taking care of a child. A discharge outcome for the teenager with role performance disturbances would include being able to adapt to the change in role for the teenager. The best outcome would also prepare the teenager for the arrival of the baby. The nursing intervention could include discussing with the teenager techniques to be able to adapt to the role change as well as discussion on how the teenager is coping with the role change.

Teenagers are faced many times with the question of readiness to have sex from their peers, society and ultimately themselves. These questions can be detrimental to the sexual health of the teenager as a lot of the focus is on when the teenager is ready not on if the teenager should be engaging in sexual activity. “I argue that this “discourse of readiness” poses serious threats to teens' identity development, sexual decision making, and educators efforts to help them through these processes” (Ashcraft, 2006). Rather than a discussion of readiness to have sex, the focus should be on a readiness for learning about teenage sexuality and pregnancy. As teenagers are still developing their brains and decision making skills it is essential to teach teenagers about their growing hormones and sexual activity. Studies have found that programs which teach sexual education increase the rates of condom use which subsequently reduce teenage pregnancy.

“Safer Choices had its greatest effect on measures involving condom use. The program reduced the frequency of intercourse without a condom during the three months prior to the survey...increased use of condoms and other protection against pregnancy at last intercourse” (Coyle, 2001).  

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