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Teenage Pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy also known as adolescent pregnancy is pregnancy in a female under the age
of 20. Adolescent pregnancies are global problem that occurs in high, middle, and low income
countries. Around the world, adolescent pregnancies are most likely to occur marginalized
communities, commonly driven by poverty and lack of education and employment opportunities.
Adolescent pregnancy can also have a negative social and economic effect on girls their families
and communities unmarried pregnant adolescent may face rejection by their parents and peers and
threats of violence within marriage or a partnership. With regard to education, school leaving can be
choice when a girl perceives pregnancy to be a better option in her circumstances than continuing
education or can be a direct cause of pregnancy or early marriage.

The Philippines is a family oriented country where most children live with their parents as long as they
want to even after reaching their legal age and having their own family. But our society nowadays
has been drastically changing. We are being influenced by western and other mixture of foreign
cultures and now face an increasing number of early marriage and teenage pregnancy. The
Philippines teenage pregnancy often occurs between the ages of 15-19 years old, often in this age
the girls are still studying. With early pregnancy the girls usually have to abandon their education to
give birth or raise their child. Girls who become pregnant are expelled from school especially in a
Catholic School, because it goes against the moral teachings of the school thus delaying the
chance of earning a degree that will help them in providing for their child. Education becomes a
lesser priority and is often delayed until they are able to leave the children at home are financially
stable. But there are girls who are studying as well as taking care of their child and they are who we
call Student Mothers. The burdens for these girls have double as to they have to take care of school
as well as their child at home. The life of a Student Mother is no easy feat they have to juggle their
time between attending their classes, making their requirements, taking care of their child and taking
care of the house. They become the primary caregiver of their child and are expected to rear their
child well. Many of these student mothers also engage in working part-time to help in the financial
burdens of both studying and caring for the child. But, this becomes another disadvantage as it takes
up time and effort on the part of the Student Mother. Teenage pregnancy is an ever-present issue in
developing countries such as the Philippines. The impact of teenage pregnancy affects the physical,
emotional, social, and spiritual well being of the adolescents. Teen pregnancies carry extra health
risks to both the mother and the baby. Nurses play a crucial role in supporting young people as
trusted practitioners in a range of settings. This study aimed to explore the lived experiences of the
teenage pregnant women. Six adolescent female aged 12-19 years old who were pregnant with
their first child agreed to participate.

Teenage pregnancy is a major concern in today's society. There are many causes that would lead
into early parents or teenage pregnancy.

Use of drugs and alcohol, there are young people are twice as likely to have unprotected sex under
alcohol and drugs. It encourages also unintended sexual activity for teenager. Drugs and alcohol
leads a bad intention to teenagers such as rape and more. The use of drugs and alcohol encourage
teenagers into sexual activity. Often when adolescents are intoxicated they forget to use protection.
This often results in the girl becoming pregnant and also exposed to the risk of HIV infection.
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Lack of education and knowledge, teenagers need to have a comprehensive understanding of
contraceptive techniques and consequences. Due to have a lack of knowledge, education or
deeply understanding teenagers continuously addicted on sexual activity. The uneducated are the
most victims. They just enter into relationship without any caution. Student and teenager must be
known of sex. When and how to have a legal sex, the consequences of indiscriminate sex and casual
sex and the effects of teenage pregnancy. Teenage mothers need to be counseled and encourage
to restore their hopes and opportunities in them.

Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of teen pregnancy. More than 60% of young, unmarried
mothers live in households that qualify as being in poverty. 1 in 4 young mothers will go on a welfare
benefit program within three years of their child being born. Being a teen mother also means having
less access to educational programs, which ultimately affects their ability to provide later on in life.
Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school. They are much more likely to not complete
college. This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes time to find a good paying job. Poverty has
a negative effect on the children born into these situations as well. When a child is born to a mother
who is younger than 18, then that child has a higher risk of scoring “significantly worse” on school
readiness exams that include math and reading. This struggle creates an intergenerational
complication which encourages poverty because there is an overall lack of resources available to
teen households. Why Does Poverty Cause Teen Pregnancies, Interestingly enough, the cause of
many teen pregnancies seems to be because young women are choosing to become mothers at
an early age. It’s more than just having teens being trapped in a cycle of poverty or having some
households treating a teen pregnancy as a cultural norm. It’s because there is a conscious, logical
assessment of the teen’s future potential in society and that evaluation leads women in particular to
decide to become a parent. If teen girls feel like their chances of being economically successful are
low, even if they do their best to do everything in the “right way,” then their choice, more often than
not, is to embrace the idea of becoming a teen parent. This reason behind this is basic satisfaction.
The feelings of being a parent, especially at first, can be incredibly gratifying. Teens choose this
gratification despite the information which shows that financial, educational, and employment
opportunities are few and far between for teens that are young, unmarried, and caring for a child.

Therefore, in order to avoid this causes and avoid this major problem about teenage pregnancy. We
must gather them all and educated them to avoid early pregnancies. We should cooperate with our
government to support them and give them a free education for those who can’t afford education.
We must cooperate also in DSWD to give counseling on the teenager who have a problem that may
avoid pregnancies.