NEWS FEED

Teen pregnancy: A growing trend

Written by Kamera Dorsey, for The Eagle

Teen pregnancy is a growing “trend” in the United States. Nearly one million teen girls are pregnant each year including 18 and 19 year olds. In high school for every 1,000 students 22 get pregnant. About 70 percent of pregnant teens drop out of high school which is much higher than the dropout rate for non-pregnant teens. At least a third of the girls who drop out do so because of pregnancy. Latina teenagers have the highest dropout rate among pregnant teens. Only half of pregnant teen girls who drop out of high school are employed and those who are employed make significantly less than those who finish high school.

There are many reasons why teen girls decide to drop out while they are pregnant. They may have very low income therefore they have to work to provide for themselves and their new baby or their academic performance in school may already be poor so they just decide that dropping is the best idea so that they can get a job and support and take care of their family. Also, they may just have lack of support, trying to stay in school while pregnant can become very hard especially when there is no one behind you to support you and to tell you that you can make it to your graduation day.

The effects of getting teen pregnancy can last just a short time or a lifetime. Here are 4 major effect of getting pregnant while still a teen. First, since you are still a teenager the age of you can affect the health of you and the baby inside of you. Your child could possibly face learning disabilities and malnutrition effects due to being born to such a young parent. For the teens health they could have problems like going into labor before the baby’s fully developed, swelling (hands, feet, and legs), low iron levels, and high blood pressure. Secondly, as I’ve said before it will become harder for you to keep track of schoolwork and finish your high school education. Third, finding a regular source of income will be extremely hard and you may be forced to work jobs that pay minimum wage or less. Lastly, if you are not making enough at your current job to support you and your baby/family you may be forced to go on welfare. Don’t get me wrong here I am in no way saying that having to go on welfare is bad, some people get angry or frustrated that they can’t support their baby/family by their own income.

When a teen becomes pregnant not only are they affected but their parents are, as well. They may feel anger, guilt, or denial some may feel one of these and some may feel all of these. They most likely will be very disappointed in you and worry about the future of you and your baby. Most parents of pregnant teens feel guilt because they only think of what more they could have done to protect you and keep you from getting pregnant. All in all this will be a very difficult time for you and your family but the best thing everyone can do is just communicate with each other especially when emotions are running high.