Teen pregnancies on the rise with 111

reported this year

EXCLUSIVE
By NG CHENG YEE
chengyee@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Teenage pregnancies are becoming a disturbing trend in the country
based on the swelling number of girls seeking help from the Welfare Department about their
predicament.

As of April, the department has already seen 111 such cases. This number is a dramatic
increase compared to the 131 cases throughout last year. In 2008, there were 107 teenage
girls who got pregnant.

They were placed at Taman Seri Puteri, a rehabilitation centre and shelter that provides
training for youngsters, especially teenage girls who face social problems.

The statistics provided by the Welfare Department are just the tip of the iceberg, according
to MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Michael Chong.

“Many cases have gone unreported,” he said, alluding to how Malaysian families viewed the
problem with great shame.
Unlike the hit movie Juno in 2007 about teenage pregnancy, there is no Hollywood ending
for girls who got pregnant here.

“They become lost and some even ran away from home. Others threw away their newborn
babies,” Chong said.

He said he had handled four such cases last year and another three so far this year.

“Some of the teenagers opted for illegal abortions when they found out that they were
pregnant. This is why it is very difficult for us to collect such data.”

“Many of them did not think of the consequences of their action,” he added.

He said many of these teenagers slept with their boyfriends out of the misguided notion that
they were in love.

On how he would usually handle such cases, Chong said he would not go to the police if
the young couples were willing to get married.

“It is very sad to see a young man going to jail because of this. We don’t want him to risk
losing his future.”

“However, I would go to the police if there is a case of statutory rape,” he said.

In the United States, statistics showed that pregnancies among girls between the ages of 15
and 19 have gone up 3% from 2005 to 2006.

Three days ago, the Chinese press in Penang was abuzz with a report about a nine-year-
old girl giving birth to a baby boy. She is believed to have slept with a 14-year-old teenager
who lived next door to her.

The authorities, however, have not confirmed the news report.

Yesterday, Harian Metro reported that two 15-year-old girls who gave birth last week in
Kuala Lumpur have appealed to the police not to take action against their boyfriends.

One of them, who gave birth last Saturday, told the daily that she got to know her 30-
something boyfriend in August last year. They started having sex two months later.
She said she dropped out of school after getting pregnant and that their families have
agreed that they should get married.

The other teenage girl gave birth last Tuesday. She admitted that she and her boyfriend,
who attended the same school, started having sex in May last year.

She claimed her family knew about her pregnancy and consented to her marrying her
boyfriend.Both girls claimed their boyfriends were willing to take responsibility for the
babies.Ampang Jaya district police chief Asst Comm Abd Jalil Hassan confirmed the reports
lodged by the doctors.Since they were teenagers, he said the cases would be investigated
under Section 376 of the Penal Code for rape.

A teen pregnancy could be loosely defined as a girl attaining motherhood before she reaches the
legal age of adulthood. While teen pregnancy is looked down upon by most developed countries,
certain ethnic groups in the world actually welcome and celebrate the phenomenon, as it is a
clear sign of fertility in the young female. Her pregnancy confirms that she is perfectly capable
of bearing children.

A teen pregnancy can actually be quite hazardous to both the mother and her infant. The
teenaged girl is too young and her reproductive system, too vulnerable at this stage of her life.
Under such circumstances, her falling pregnant and giving birth to a child can take a permanent
toll on her whole system.

There are several factors causing a teen pregnancy. They are as follows:

Experimenting with sex

Lack of adequate knowledge of sex and the consequences of unsafe sex can many times be the
root cause of teen pregnancies. The onset of puberty causes a huge rush of hormones in the body,
giving rise to hitherto unknown sexual desires and the formation of a new identity of one's own
sexuality. This, combined with a natural sense of rebellion and the desire to 'express freedom'
results in the teen indulging in acts of sex without really considering how heinous this may prove
to be in the future.

Peer pressure

Many teens living in developed countries indulge in very early sexual behavior due to undue
pressure from their peers to behave in that particular way. Starting promiscuous behavior very
early into adolescence increases the chances of teen pregnancies to a large extent. Being part of a
teen group that indulged in this kind of behavior would result in each member indulging in sex
because they felt they had to 'conform' to this group.

Failure of contraceptives
 Nothing is foolproof with Mother Nature. No matter how careful you are and how many
contraceptives you use, these might fail, leading to a pregnancy. The added problem during
teenage is the lack of knowledge of using these contraceptives properly. For instance, emergency
birth control pills or the 'morning after' pill is available freely over the counter at any
pharmaceutical. But what many teenagers do not realize is that these can never work as regular
birth control pills. Likewise, improper use of the condom leads to it tearing during the act, thus
leading to a possible pregnancy.

Familial environment

The general environment in a family, studies indicate, can be the cause of teen pregnancies. It
was seen that women who went through abuse and an unnatural home environment at a very
young age, went ahead to become teenage mothers. Those coming from normal, loving families,
on the other hand, were well-adjusted and carried on normally with life.

Teen pregnancy can prove to be very traumatic for the teenager, both in physical and emotional
terms. In fact, this event may actually end up affecting her whole family as well. Though all
countries of the world are trying to take the maximum amount of measures to curb teen
pregnancy, this issue continues to raise its ugly head and make its presence felt from time to
time.

Melissa Fox is a health professional very

interested in Teenage Pregnancy.
She enjoys writing inspirational articles for
Real Living.
To learn more about Teen Pregnancy please
visit
http://www.earlysymptomsofpregnancy.or
g

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

  Effects of Teen Pregnancy

 
The effects of pregnancy on a teen are many in number. The effects
include making decisions that they aren't ready to make like, whether
or not to keep the baby, abort the baby, or give the baby up for
adoption. Then there are the effects of each of those decisions. Also
the body is changing at a rapid speed, most of the time the partner is
not there to help make these kinds of decisions.

A lot of pregnant teens don't know where to turn when they find out
they are pregnant. They don't want to tell their parents and end up
trying to hide the pregnancy as long as they can. The effect of this is
bad prenatal care. The teen doesn't realize the importance of good
nutrition to promote good health for them and their child. They also
don't realize the major effects of drug and alcohol use and getting an
accurate amount of sleep at night. Many activities that a teen may
perform could be too strenuous for her when she is pregnant also.

Many emotional effects occur during this time also. Depression

could make her feel like she is no good and a worthless person. She
may also feel resentment to her partner for doing this to her. A lot of
young women who are pregnant have a lot of fear that they can't be
the mothers they want to be. Frustration that they will not be able to
do the things that the rest of their peers are doing will also affect
them.

Finishing school and participating in activities after the child is born

becomes a big chore. The mother may be able to get help and do
some of the activities that she likes to do but guilt and feeling like
they don't fit in with the other young ladies their age makes those
activities unattractive. They may feel like they don't fit in. All of this
is natural for a teen pregnancy.

Teen pregnancy is very common and there are many groups and
organizations that are designed to help teens that are pregnant. Don't feel
like you are alone if you are in this position, help is there