First, the teenage body is not done growing. The reproductive system is not fully formed until after adolescence. . Therefore, the proper growth and development of the reproductive organs and other body parts may be inhibited. Second, the mothers brain is not yet fully developed. The parts of the brain that aid in decision making and logic are not fully developed until after age 19, not to mention, that the young woman has not finished her education and has less real-world experience. Therefore, pregnant adolescents do not always make the best decisions for themselves or their babies.
Adolescent pregnancy can have many long term effects on the mother. Adolescent pregnancy makes the young mother grow up faster and take on more responsibility. They miss out of major events associated with growing up and their development must be kicked into high gear. Often adolescent mothers drop out of high school. In 2002, only 20% of adolescent mothers aged 15-17 had graduated from high school, and only 1.5% will receive a college degree by age 30. Also, their family incomes are lower, they are more likely to become poor and receive welfare, and they are less likely to get married.
In most cases babies born to adolescents have an increased risk of physical and mental issues. Adolescents are not always educated about proper nutrition and other precautions that must be taken during pregnancy. Also, young mother have a tendency to skip medical care during pregnancy. In addition, pregnant adolescents face many hardships like: lack of social support, financial woes, and anxiety about the future. All these factors can lead to stress which can effect the development of the fetus. Therefore in general all the reasons combined are more likely to cause low birth rates in babies born to adolescents.
Adolescent pregnancy causes long term effects on the children. Children born to adolescents are more likely to be poor, abused, and neglected. Also, the are less likely to receive proper nutrition, health care, and cognitive and social stimulation. These children are more likely to have a greater risk of intellectual and academic achievement and social behavioral problems. In addition, these children are more likely to be incarcerated, not finish high school, be unemployed, and likely to become teen parents.
My opinion:
I come from an area where teen pregnancy is common. I have seen some teen mother succeed and other teen mother not succeed. I agree that mentally and physically teens are not prepared to have children. However, I think it is possibly for them to do well. I think the chances are the having a positive outcome depends on the support they have during their pregnancy. Those that are not offered support at home or in school are not going to have a successful experience. As a future family and consumer science teacher it is important for me to develop and teach family-life education classes that teen mothers can benefit from. Hopefully my classes will help reduce teen pregnancy, and provide support and information to teen mothers that need it.
What do you think?
Sources:
How Teenage Pregnancy Affects Development | eHow.com. (n.d.). eHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles. Retrieved July 11, 2010, from http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4579971_how-teenage-pregnancy-affects-development.html
Mavis, S. (n.d.). Teenage Pregnancy and Parenting. Homepages at WMU. Retrieved July 11, 2010, from http://homepages.wmich.edu/~s3mavis/teenpregnancy.htm
Santrock, J. W. (2008). Life-Span Development (12 ed.). New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.
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