Pregnancy Essays

This sample essay on Pregnancy Essays provides important aspects of the issue and arguments for and against as well as the needed facts. Read on this essay’s introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

Teenage pregnancy is pregnancy in human females under the age of 20. A pregnancy can take place in a pubertal female before menarche (the first menstrual period), which signals the possibility of fertility, but usually occurs after menarche. In well-nourished girls, menarche usually takes place around the age of 12 or 13.

Pregnant teenagers face many of the same obstetrics issues as women in their 20s and 30s. There are, however, additional medical concerns for mothers aged under 15. [1] For mothers aged 15–19, risks are associated more with socioeconomic factors than with the biological effects of age. 2] However, research has shown that the risk of low birth weight is connected to the biological age itself, as it was observed in teen births even after controlling for other risk factors (such as utilization of antenatal care etc.

). [3][4] In developed countries, teenage pregnancies are often associated with social issues, including lower educational levels, higher rates of poverty, and other poorer life outcomes in children of teenage mothers. Teenage pregnancy in developed countries is usually outside of marriage, and carries a social stigma in many communities and cultures.

The prevalence of teenage pregnancy depends on a number of personal and societal factors, varying between countries because of cultural differences in attitude, levels of sexual activity, marriage among teenagers, general sex education provided and contraceptive options. Many studies and campaigns have attempted to uncover the causes and limit the numbers of teenage pregnancies.

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[5] Worldwide, teenage pregnancy rates range from 143 per 1000 in some sub-Saharan African countries to 2. 9 per 1000 in South Korea. 6][7] In the United States, 82% of pregnancies in those between 15 and 19 are unplanned. [8] Among OECD developed countries, the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand have the highest level of teenage pregnancy, while Japan and South Korea have the lowest in 2001. [9] The latest data from the United States shows that the states with the highest teenage birthrate are Mississippi, New Mexico and Arkansas while the states with the lowest teenage birthrate are New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Vermon II.

Pregnancy Essay

TEENAGE pregnancy continues to be a societal problem not only in Cordillera but in the Philippines. Commission on Population (PopCom) Planning Officer IV May Cerezo said based on their observation, most of the mothers in the region nowadays are unwed teenagers. She said the youngest mother recorded in Ifugao is eight years old while Baguio City also has a nine-year-old mother. In the country, there were 195,662 live births by teenage mothers and 1,113 of these are delivered by mothers under 15 years old in 2009.

In 2010, the number increased to 207,898 where 1,324 are under 15 years old. Teenage pregnancy is one of the major factors that contribute to the rapid growth of population in the country. Since 1995, around 24 million Filipinos were added to the country’s population. The Philippine’s population grows at 1. 9 percent rate annually. Cerezo said the fast growth of population has several adverse effects on economic development, poverty situation, education, food supply, labor force and environmental development. Meanwhile, the country records a 22. percent in poverty incidence in 2012. The Cordillera poverty incidence went beyond the national average. The region has 22. 6 percent poverty incidence in 2012. The province of Apayao and Ifugao had the highest poverty incidence with 59. 8 and 47. 5 percent, respectively. Health and population officials urge parents to teach their children the attitude toward sex, marriage and sexuality in order to minimize teenage pregnancy. On the other hand, PopCom revealed more couples are now aware and are practicing the different methods of family planning.

Cerezo cited an increasing trend in contraceptive use for modern family planning methods with 45. 9 percent compared to 2008’s 39 percent. She said the 45. 9 percent is based on the family health survey (FHS) of 2011. Cerezo added that based on the survey, pills remain to be the most popular method with 19. 3 percent usage in Cordillera, followed by female sterilization at 16. 8 percent, and injectables at 6. 4 percent. City Health Office Family Planning coordinator Gloria Dimalanta said the injectable, which is the depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), is being widely used.

The demand for the injectable is high, leading to shortage of supplies. To address the shortage, health officials are encouraging the couples to use other modern methods. In the country, the FHS shows 48. 9 percent of the couples use any method while 36. 9 percent use modern method, and 12 percent use traditional method. In Cordillera, 54. 3 percent use any method while 45. 9 percent use modern methods. III. 1. 3 in 10 teen American girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20. That’s nearly 750,000 teen pregnancies every year. . Parenthood is the leading reason that teen girls drop out of school. More than half of teen mothers never graduate from high school. 3. Less than 2 percent of teen moms earn a college degree by age 30. 4. About a quarter of teen moms have a second child within 24 months of their first baby. 5. The United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the western industrialized world. 6. From 1990 to 2008, the teen pregnancy rate decreased 42 percent (from 117 to 68 pregnancies per 1,000 teen girls). 7.

In 2008 the teen pregnancy rate among African-American and Hispanic teen girls, age 15 to 19, was over two and a half times higher than the teen pregnancy rate among white teen girls of the same age group. 8. 8 out of 10 teen dads don’t marry the mother of their child. 9. A sexually active teen who doesn’t use contraceptives has a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant within a year. 10. Almost 50 percent of teens have never considered how a pregnancy would affect their lives. 11. Teens had fewer babies in 2010 than in any year since the mid-1940s. IV. Teenage pregnancy on the rise

FROM THE STANDS By Domini M. Torrevillas (The Philippine Star) | Updated July 11, 2013 – 12:00am There is evidence supporting the Reproductive Health law  that  calls for  sexuality education  among young students. I am not for teaching the kids to engage in “safe” sex, but rather, for telling them why they should not engage in early sex, and yes, before marriage. With regulated sexuality education, the young are informed about sex, pregnancy, unplanned and planned, instead of through the internet or pornographic magazines that somehow manage to reach them.

Peep into their rooms  and you’ll see copies of Playboy and  Penthouse and other sexy publications tucked between the bed sheets, and  for-adults-only videos in the internet. Figures made available to us show that globally, 14-16 million adolescent girls between 15 and 19 years old give birth every year and pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of death for girls  at such young ages. Honing  home,  we have copies of the 2011 annual report of the UNFPA-Philippines office  which report that teen pregnancies in the country rose by 70 percent in a span of 10 years from 114,205 in 1999 to 195,662 in 2009.

These statistics were revealed at a press conference the other day by officials of the National Youth Commission, the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund),  Commission on Population, the National Statistics Office and civil society organizations. At the end of the conference the call was made for collective actions to address the issue. Benjamin de Leon, president of the Forum for Family Planning and Development, an NGO working on adolescent health issues, expressed alarm that almost 10 percent of all Filipino women aged 15-19 have already given birth. “This is a reality that we must address, he said.

There is an urgency for all sectors “to work together to help address adolescent reproductive health issues and teen pregnancy because of the health and economic implications to the country,” he said. “A high rate of teen pregnancy also means a high risk for maternal deaths among our young girls. ” V. How to avoid a teenage pregnancy VI. How to avoid Bookmarked VII. Philippine teenage pregnancy up 65% in the last decade Data from the National Statistics Office revealed that from 2000-2010, teenage pregnancy in the Philippines has increased by 65 percent, despite an almost 14-percent decline in teenage marriage in the same period.

The increase was most notable among girls aged 15 to 19, among which live births rose 38 percent from 2006 to 2011. Researchers from the Family Health Survey disclosed that the primary reasons for teenage pregnancy are insufficient access to information about sexual health and reproductive health services specifically targeted at teens. Teenage pregnancy also puts young mothers at risk of health complications because of poor nutrition and their age, according to Food and Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST).

The most significant risk in this age group is undernutrition, as 36 percent of pregnant women below 20 are undernourished, compared with 23 percent for older mothers. This also puts their babies at risk due to low birth weight, short lactation time, and premature birth. To address access to both information and services, Filipinay provided free reproductive health and family planning consultations at select LRT stations nationwide in March. The advocacy is part of DKT Reproductive Health Inc. , the country’s leading provider of reproductive health and family planning products.