The Social Issue of Teenage Pregnancy in High Schools in America

Teenage pregnancy has been a problem in high schools across the country in the United States for many years. According to DoSomeThingorg, “three out of ten girls will get pregnant before they reach the age of twenty” “That‘s about 750,000 teenage pregnancies every year” (11), Many teenage girls are getting pregnant in high school thus resulting in increased dropout rates. Away to solve this problem is to create an educational program in the high schools where teenage mothers would learn about their babies and parenthood.

Assessment of current efforts According to MedlinePlus, “teenagers do not get prenatal care soon enough, which can lead to health problems later on” (Teenage). Even if a teenager does get prenatal care, she is still at a high risk [0 have health related problems develop during the course of her pregnancy. Currently York County has many programs for teenage mothers such as: W1C, pregnancy assistance, adoption services, shelter services, and counseling. While these programs do offer important things such as financial aid, a safe place to stay, adoption service assistance, and even someone to talk to they do very little to inform a teenage mother on what to expect while she is pregnant This is where the program A School of Life becomes necessary because it teaches the mothers about their developing babies and parenthood.

Benefits of change Having a program like this at the high school level has many positive affects not only for the teenage mothers in it, but also for the school. According to Dosomethingorg, “more than 50% of teen mothers never graduate from high school” (11) This program will not only encourage the mothers not to drop out, but will also show them ways that they can finish their high school education after their baby is born.

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This program benefits the mothers in many ways. Normally teenage mothers feel disconnected from all the other students. This program lets the young mothers develop relationships with others that are like them and connect. The mothers can form bonds, share experiences, and learn about their babies and parenthood alongside each other as a support system. Another way it is also very beneficial to the mothers is because it offers information that they may not be able to obtain anywhere else. Counterarguments Some may argue that we do not need this program because we have Parenting Education and Health classest However, Parenting Education and Health classes focus on different things than the program for teenage mothers would. Health class is focused on contraception and sexually transmitted diseases, while Parenting Education is focused on learning about parenting and prenatal development.

Whereas anyone can get into these classes, the program I am proposing is only for teenage mothers, By only having teenage mothers in the program, the mothers can form a support system for one another. The mothers can also learn from each other’s experiences because most of them will be in different terms of their pregnancy. Recommendations My proposal is to make a program that is offered in the high schools for teenage mothers This program will be offered as a club and will teach the mothers about their developing babies and motherhood. It will have three main goals. The first goal is to keep the teenage mothers in school to help ensure the high school dropout rates will be reduced. By the mothers staying in school and graduating, they will be more financially able to take care of their child. According to Isabel Sawhill, a child has a better educational outcome when their parents are financially stable (Sawhill). Given the previous statement, this philosophy of thinking could likely end a vicious cycle of poverty for the family of the young mother clue to unplanned pregnancies. It can also set better examples for future generations to continue to achieve educational goals and to not allow mistakes to keep them from succeeding in realizing their dreams and goals.

The second goal for this program is for the mothers to learn about their children. When a mother knows how her baby and body are changing she is better prepared with what to expect. Finally, the third goal is to learn good parenting skills. When learning to be a good parent they will learn to be effective, consistent, active, and attentive. When the mothers learn to be effective they will learn that their words and actions should influence their children positively. Next, they learn that being consistent means that they need to follow similar practices that match their words and actions Then, they learn about being an active parent and how important it is that they participate in their child’s day to day life, Lastly, they will learn about being an attentive parent which is more than just watching the child; it is knowing what is going on in the child‘s life Finally, the mothers will learn about first-aid and infanthhild CPR. It is extremely important that a mother know infanUchild CPR as this could mean the difference between life or death for the baby Unlike adults, Infants need CPR for many different reasons such as sudden infant death syndrome, severe asthma, and even electrical shock. Feasibility For this program to be feasible a few things must first be done.

The school needs to find out how many teenage mothers would be interested in joining the club They also need to find a teacher or counselor who would be willing to run the club in their classroom The teacher who runs the club should be educated in child development and parenting. Any resources the program needs such as books and other educational materials will be paid for with the money that is fundraised by the club Conclusion This program would be both beneficial to teenage mothers and the high schools This program is also very feasible and would cost the school next to nothing other than the compassion and motivation of a few teachers or counselors that would be willing to donate their time and expertise to the cause, This is a small investment into the teenage mothers‘

lives that could help change the route of their futures by providing support to them The overall goal for a high school is to have as many students graduate as possible, but to also help transition teenagers into being prepared for their adult lives after high school. When a teenage girl gets pregnant her chances of graduating are lowered, By the high school adopting this program, the dropout rate would potentially be lowered because one of the main goals of the program is to keep teenage mothers in school by providing a support system for the mother-to-be through: experienced advice, real-life situations, and of promotion continued education.

Work Cited

1. “11 Facts About Teen Pregnancy” DoSomethingtorg. N.p., ntd. Web 02 Nov 2016 “Teenage Pregnancy: MedlinePlus.” Teenage Pregnancy: MedlinePlusi N,p., n.di Web, 02 Nov. 2016.
2. Sawhill, Isabel V ”Family Planning Is Essential to Strengthening Families and Helping Children.” Single-Parent Families, edited by Margaret Haerens, Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints.
3. Accessed 2 Nov 2016 Originally published as “Purposeful Parenthood,” EducationNext.org, 25 Feb, 2015,