TEENAGE PREGNANCY

A Research

Submitted to Ms. Hazel De Guzman

In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for Communication Arts II

By: JADE C. DAPOL JEDISHA L. MAGALONG SHERA JOYCE B. RAMOS

CHAPTER I ABSTRACT Teenage pregnancy is a serious issue in our society today where people become pregnant because they are not informed. The United States had the greatest amount of pregnancies. Teenage pregnancy affects not only females but males as well; it causes serious health and education problems. Nearly 4 out of 10 girls become pregnant at least once before the age of 20. Most teens get pregnant because they want to know what it feels like to raise a child or because they see others with children and they find them cute and want them to themselves. Others get pregnant because they dont know about the different ways of contraception and ways to stay safe. Many girls struggle with teen pregnancy because of their low confidence and self-worth. They feel that they are ugly and no guy would show them attention unless they give them what they want. In our society today Teenage Pregnancy affects both females and males in several ways.

CHAPTER II INTRODUCTION

Teenage pregnancy is widespread in the Philippines, especially amongst the poor. It is a story that may not be too pleasant, but one that is repeated all too often. Teen pregnancy is an obvious rising issue in our society. During the 21 st century, the statistics about this issue continues to rise even though there are a lot of disadvantages that young mothers and fathers can obviously get in the said issue. It refers to pregnancy in a female under the age of 20.A pregnancy can take place at any time before or after puberty, with the first menstrual period normally taking place around the ages of 12 or 13, the stage when female becomes potentially fertile. Teenage pregnancy depends on a number of societal and personal factors. Teenage pregnancy rates vary in different regions because of the variety in levels of sexual activity, general sex education provided and access to affordable contraceptive options as well as the economic condition of the families from whom said age group belongs to. (Balacwid 2012) According to Fox (2008) teenage pregnancy is one of the most important and alarming issues in today's world. A teenage pregnancy, also referred to as teen pregnancy, comes to be when a girl attains motherhood before she becomes a major or adult, as laid down by the law of the land. Some 16.5 million Filipinos belong to the 15-24 year old age group. We are forced with a glaring truth that at a very young age, a lot of young people today

have children of their own. 30 % of all births belong to this age group; and by the age of 20, 25% of the youth are already mothers. This shocking truth about teenage pregnancy in the Philippines should wake the government and parents themselves to take action (Flores, 2008). According to the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study by the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and the

Demographic Research and Development Foundation, twenty six percent of our Filipino youth nationwide from ages 15 to 25 admitted to having a premarital sex experience. Whats worse is that thirty eight percent of our youth are already in a live-in arrangement. Another is the 1998 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) reveals that 3.6 million of our teenagers got pregnant. In ninety two percent of these teens, the pregnancy was unplanned, and the majority, seventy eight percent, did not even use contraceptives the first time they had sex. (Singson, 2008) Non-governmental organisations are pushing for the enactment of a Reproductive Health bill. That piece of legislation would uphold the use of artificial contraceptives and institutionalise sex education in schools. This addresses unplanned teenage pregnancy from a human-rights-based perspective. Many programs focus only on the negative aspects of young people's sexual and reproductive health; putting rights at the centre of teenage sexual health avoids treating adolescents as a homogeneous collection of discrete problems. Taking a rights-based approach to adolescent sexual and

reproductive health encompasses the inter-relationships and complexity of factors influencing choices and decisions. In this, we explore the meaning of a rights-based approach and examine its implementation in the provision of sexuality, education and health services.

CHAPTER III Research Questions Why do teenagers really get pregnant? According to Prymface, Abortion rates in some age groups have risen in the past few years, namely in the 30-34 age group. Although teenage pregnancy in Britain has declined over the past decade, it remains the highest in Western Europe. The inquiry has so far received little media attention, yet it is a real opportunity to ensure that new voices are heard. It seems to have replaced the proposed abortion counselling consultation, which has angered pro-life campaigners, but there is still a danger that those with strong opinions about how others should live their lives are given priority. An assumption has been made that unwanted and teenage are interchangeable when it comes to being pregnant, which brings into question whose values are being promoted and whether the term 'unwanted' is more about being undesirable to the Government or society rather than the women themselves. Are The Teen Pregnancy Rates Going Up Or Down? According to the Guttmacher Institute the teen pregnancy rate went down in all 50 states and the District of Columbia between 1988 and 2002. The CDC explains that the 2002 rate is an historic low for the Nation. However, teen pregnancy rates did not decline at an equal rate among all racial groups. Between 1990 and 2002, the teen pregnancy rate declined 40% among Black young women, 34% among white young women, and 19% among Latina

young women. The teen birth rate, though different, was also in decline throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, but between 2005 and 2006 the rate increased for the first time in years. More recent data for teen pregnancy is not available so we dont yet know whether we will see these numbers spike as well. For more information see the questions Is the teen birth rate going up or down? below. (add link to question if each question is anchored) How Many Teenagers Give Birth Each Year? According to the latest data from the CDC, 435,427 teenage women ages 1519 gave birth in 2006. This include 138,920 1517 year olds and 196,507 1819 year old. In addition, 6,405 girls ages 1014 also gave birth in 2006. From this, the CDC calculated a teen birth rate of 41.9 births per 1,000 young women ages 1519 in 2006. The teen birth rate is measured by counting the number of reported births every year to teenage females. Because virtually all births take place in hospitals and are reported in the United States, this is a very accurate number.

Presentation

Conclusion From what teenagers have read about being a teen parent it isnt as great as it sounds. No one wants to become a parent when they are a teenager. Teenagers are not able to get a decent education, and some teens dont know what they want to do with their lives. Teens dont want to stay home and take care of a child. There are many things teen mothers can do to help couples who have waited a long time to have a child, but could not conceive. A teen mother that isnt ready and a woman who has waited awhile to have a child would be more prepared. Yes, a baby is really cute and all, but teenagers really need to think about what they are getting themselves into. There are many of things that teenagers have to give up one is by having a child at a young age, when they are a child themselves. Teens wouldnt want to give up anything to take care of child. Teens should think about what they are doing before they accidently become teenage mother.

Bibliography Balacwid, Jake, More teens becoming Moms, Philippine Star, September 15, 2012, page 15.