Pregnancy Lounge

Category: Teen Pregnancy

  • Teen Adoption

    Teen Adoption

    teen-pregnancyFor many teens facing an unplanned pregnancy, adoption is a positive option. Adoption can give you the freedom to pursue your goals and know that you have made a caring decision for your child. Choosing life for your baby and giving a wonderful gift to another family is a very courageous and wonderful thing. There are many couples that can’t have their own children and are waiting to adopt a child. Counselors and support groups are available through most adoption agencies to help with the emotions surrounding adoption. If you decide on adoption, you can choose to have it open or closed. An open adoption is when you get to choose the parents who will be raising your baby and a closed adoption is when everything is kept private

    Abortion

    Many pregnant teens decide to have an abortion because they believe it will be a quick resolution to a difficult situation. Often teens who give in to the idea of abortion are pressured into it by their partners. In a survey taken of women who have had abortions, 63% of them felt “forced” by other people into the abortion, and 74% of the women surveyed said they would not have the abortion again. Make up your own mind based on factual information. You have time. Don’t make any quick decisions based on fear, panic or pressure.

    more on teen pregnancy

    —Teen Pregnancy
    —Teen Statistics

  • Teen Pregnancy and Birth

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    One part of prenatal care is attending classes where expectant mothers can learn about having a healthy pregnancy and delivery, breast-feeding and the basics of caring for a new baby. These classes are offered at most hospitals, medical centers, schools, and colleges in your area. Many places offer classes that are designed especially for expectant teen moms.

    Just about everything you eat, drink, inhale or ingest during pregnancy will be passed on to your baby. So you want to make sure you’re only putting healthy foods in your body. And, you want to protect your baby by staying away from dangerous stuff, like cigarettes, alcohol and drugs- which can cause birth defects and even cause you to lose your baby.

    You may be asking yourself, “What about school?” About 40,000 students drop out each year because of pregnancy, but not every teen does and you don’t need to either. Girls who complete high school are more likely to have good jobs and enjoy more success in their lives. If possible, finish high school now rather than trying to return later.

    Ask your school counselor or an adult you trust for information about programs and classes in your community for pregnant teens. If your baby is due during the school year, arrangements can be made for home schooling and tutoring. Some states in the US have programs where teachers can come to your home to teach. Some high schools even have child-care centers on campus, for after your baby is born. Many teens have a family member or friend care for their baby while they’re in school. If none of these options work for you, night school or testing to receive your GED (General Educational Development) may be more feasible.

    more on teen pregnancy:

    —Teen Statistics
    —Teen Options

  • Statistics on Teen Pregnancy

    Statistics on Teen Pregnancy

    Teen-Pregnancy-RatesTeen birth rates, teen pregnancy rates and teen abortion rates are down, while fewer teens report that they are sexually active. These lows in the teen birth rates are seen in every age group and among teens of every racial and ethnic group but these declines hold more strongly in some parts of the country than in others. Despite this progress, about 17% of current 15-year-old girls will give birth before their 20th birthday, and 1 in 5 teen births are repeat teen births.

    In 2003, the birth rate for teens between the ages of 15 and 19 was about 41 births for every 1,000 teens, representing a 33% decline from about 62 for every 1,000 teens in 1991. Birth rates also continue to show wide geographic variations. New Hampshire remains the state with the lowest teen birth rate in the US with 20 per 1,000 teens between the ages of 15 and 19. Mississippi remains the state with the highest teen birth rate with 65 births for every 1,000 teens between the ages of 15 and 19.

    The proportions of teen pregnancies that end in abortion have dropped dramatically also. In the mid- 1980s, about 40% of all teen pregnancies ended in abortion, while 29% of teen pregnancies in 2000, ended in abortion. However, there are significant state variations, with abortion rates in 2000 at 11% in Kentucky, while New Jersey’s was the highest at 53%.

    Births to very young mothers are associated with increased health risks to the mother. These mothers had the lowest levels of timely prenatal care, about 47%, in the first trimester, in contrast to the overall rate of about 83%. About 16% of them received late or no prenatal, compared to an overall rate of 3.8%. They were also at a higher risk for pregnancy-associated hypertension, 5.3%, being over 40% higher than that experienced by all mothers, which was 3.7%.

    more on teen pregnancy:

    —Teen Pregnancy
    —Teen Options