Factors Affecting Teen Pregnancy

Research conducted in the year 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control concluded that there is a three per cent increase in teen pregnancies from 2005. It is also a known fact that very few of these teen mothers had planned on becoming parents. In the United States alone, close to a million teens get pregnant. These rates are much higher than those found in any other first world country. In relation to Japan and Netherlands, this is eight times high and two times higher than Canada or England.

What are the facts concerning teen pregnancy? The western culture elevates sex and forgets about the consequences and responsibilities that come with it. Sex is plastered in almost all TV commercials, from toothpaste to shoes, clothes, food, you name it. From an early age, children are used to hearing information with sexual connotations and therefore teen sex, which leads to teen pregnancy, is expected.

Other factors that may influence a teen's chance of getting pregnant would be if the teen comes from a background of poverty and has failed to get a good schooling which gives her hope for the future, then she will not have the strong will to focus on bettering herself. It is easier for such a girl to be waylaid by peers with loose morals. The same poverty does not allow her to get the birth controls she will require in order to avoid getting pregnant. For girls who do not perform well in class, getting pregnant in their teens is possible because of a number of reasons. If they do not occupy their minds with excelling in class, they may end up spending time doing things that will lead to sex.

Other risk factors for teen pregnancies would be performing poorly in class. Girls who have poor grades in school sometimes look for comfort for their frustrations and are easy targets for peer pressure. Other reasons would include a teen being raised by a single parent, either mother or father, having being born by a teen mother, or having a sister who is also a teen mother.

In spite of all the above factors, we cannot deny that three quarters of our teenagers are having sex and this is the key to early pregnancies. More efforts should be made in promoting teen abstinence, pregnancy prevention for those already sexually active, and for those already pregnant, education should be given on how to become parents. In all this, boys should not be left behind and extra education should be given to them regarding pregnancy prevention and abstinence.

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