Teenage pregnancies have become a public health issue because of their observed negative effects on perinatal outcomes and long-term morbidity. The association of young maternal age and long-term morbidity is usually confounded, however, by the high prevalence of poverty, low level of education, and single marital status among teenage mothers.
Teen pregnancy is rarely a desirable event for a girl as well as for other potential baby's relatives. But the main trouble is not that the future mother is too young to bring up a baby. The fact is that such a pregnancy is usually caused by some certain problems and this means that the awaited baby is not going to be happy.Though, the age of women is enduring to decrease, as younger women look for to conclude pregnancies. Statistics are instructive that the average age of those receiving abortions is dropping from 19 to 17. Teen abortion facts also expose that though the teen pregnancy rate has declined in the United States over the last ten years, the percentages have really greater than before. Recent information are reporting that over 50% performed annually are on women under the age of twenty-five with the ages of eighteen and nineteen accounting for the highest number performed.
In the United States, 4 out of 10 girls will have one or more babies before their 20th birthday. This is the highest rate of any developed nation. Each year more than 60 of every 1,000 teen girls will deliver a baby. This factors out abortions and miscarriages. Our society pays billions. Almost 40 billion dollars per year go out in welfare and Medicaid funds due to teenage pregnancy and births. Three quarters of teen parents will receive welfare payments within 5 years of their first birth.
Causes of teenage pregnancy
In some societies, early marriage and traditional gender roles are important factors in the rate of teenage pregnancy. For example, in sub-Saharan Africa, early pregnancy is often seen as a blessing because it is proof of the young woman's fertility. In the Indian subcontinent, early marriage and pregnancy is more common in traditional rural communities compared to the rate in cities.
In societies where adolescent marriage is uncommon, an early age at first intercourse and lack of contraceptive use may be factors. Most teenage pregnancies in the developed world appear to be unplanned
Health Risks to the Baby
Premature birth and low birth weight create a wealth of their own problems, including brain damage, physical disabilities and more. The potentially lengthy hospital stay and increased risk of health problems for these babies leads to more stress on the teen mother.The baby growing inside a mother is in a most dependent, and often risky, place. Low birth weight is the most immediate health problem. Babies born to teenagers often are born too small, too soon. The social stigma of being a single parent no longer exists, and the availability of pensions means that parenting is a viable option. Many teenagers believe that looking after a baby will be the happiest time of their lives. This is true for some, but keeping the child may have unforeseen consequences such as :-
* Immature organ systems (brain, lungs, heart). * Difficulty controlling body temperature and blood sugar levels. * Mental retardation.
A farming county of California, Tulare has the second highest teenage pregnancy rate in America. About 18% of white teenagers are living below poverty line with their birth rate being about 50 for every 1,000, which is at the very least, ten times the lowest rate of birth in the nation where teens live over the poverty line.
Now, the people, who have to endure this relentless poverty and teen related pregnancy in the county of Tulare, are the Latino teens. School authorities affirm that it has more than 80% Hispanic students and these teenagers comprise about 70% of adolescent births occurring in the 15-18 year age bracket.
A great number of the adolescent girls are offspring's of migrant farm labor and almost all of them live much under the poverty line. In the Tulare County, nearly 40% of the Latino girls are impoverished and the teenage pregnancy rate is above 100 for every 1000; this rate is more or less identical to teen pregnancy rates observed in most underdeveloped nations.
In fact, we do not need to visit underdeveloped nations to see the strong link between teenage pregnancy and acute poverty, which, according to experts, is primarily the core source of concern for teen pregnancy.
The rural population of California has for a long time put up with deprivation and socio-economic seclusion. The acute scarcity of adolescent reproductive health and therapeutic care service is the main reason for these circumstances; also, uncommon, are schemes such as school based teenage clinics and all-encompassing sex education facilities, which have been confirmed to be quite successful in fighting the ills of teen pregnancy elsewhere.
The high teenage pregnancy rate in this county of Tulare is indeed the direct outcome of this paucity of government funding. Obstacles because of the language and cultural issues also create difficulties, when attempting to empathize and converse with the Latino migrants and the seasonal farm labor in addition to other ethnic communities.
The Census Bureau states that in the county of Tulare, next to the high adolescent pregnancy rate, this region, when compared with the rest of the country, holds the dubious distinction of being ranked fifth, in terms of areas with a considerably high percentage of poverty.
Besides, it is in the third position, for having the greatest percentage of individuals, who do not even have a basic high school diploma. Within the state of California, the county of Tulare has the highest poverty percentage, joblessness, and paucity of education.
An alarming statistic is that nearly 2/3rds of the population below the age of eighteen in this county are below 200% of poverty, making this figure the highest in California; shockingly though, Tulare is the country's major agricultural producer, even then, destitution and its consequences, like teenage pregnancy, in the county of Tulare, are highly uncontrolled.
There is a shocking absence of adequate medical facilities since there is no health insurance, poor socio-economic standing, and not enough resources in most migrant farm labor families. The inhabitants of this county have in effect been termed as Medically Underserved Population. Besides, a number of regions in the county are referred as primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas. Steps are under consideration to make available essential medical facilities, in addition to those concerned with women's health and well-being, to this community.
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