Teenage Pregnancy, Who's Fault (Teenage Pregancy)

Member Name: cacalala1971

Product:	Teenage Pregancy
Date:	07/12/02 (1111 review reads)
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I am amazed to know that Britain has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the whole of Western Europe. A recent study by the Guttmacher Insitute on teenage pregnancies found that out of 1000 births 47 of those were to teenagers aged 15-19 (this doesnt even cover those teenagers who are now having babies and the ages of 12 and onwards.

What also shocked me was the abortion rate for england (again teenage mums) out of 100 pregnancies 40 are terminated by mothers aged 15-19.

Where are we going wrong in educating our children about the dangers of becoming pregnant.

Im sure you will all be aware of the recent case of Amy Crowhurst the 12 year old who has become pregnant by a 13 year old boy. A recent television documentary interviewed her about the prospect of becoming a mother at such a young age, and the sad thing that struck me was that I have a daughter not much younger than Amy and couldnt possibly comprehend how I would feel if it were my daughter. Upon watching the documentary it struck me that Amy seemed no more ready for motherhood than any twelve year old would be, and I do not feel that she has even realised the enormous task that lay ahead of her when her baby is born.

The whole country seems to be up in arms about the plight of teenage mothers (if you believe what the tabloids say, hmmmm), and are calling on the Government to make sex education compulsory and as part of the national curriculum. However, according to recent findings it is children from less well off backgrounds that become pregnant in their teenage years, so what is the answer. If any of us knew that we'd be onto a winner.

Each individual case is different, some teenagers who become pregnant are from loving and nurturing families, others from families who are indifferent or outwardly neglectful towards their children. In this case it seems there is not one solution to the problem we are facing.

Many schools have piloted a schem
e whereby the girls are encouraged to wear "empathy bellies" which mimics the later stages of pregnancy and are asked to wear them for 24 hours to find out how it feels to be pregnant (bet they dont give them the heartburn, varicoise veins or vomiting to go with it,,,, ah well nothings perfect). They also have dolls which mimic a real baby and the girls are encouraged to look after these dolls for a 24 hour period, ie the doll will cry when hungry, needs changing, no regardless of day or night.

Although this scheme seems good in theory no research has been sanctioned to find out if this has significantly dropped the teenage pregnancy rate in the areas where this pilot has been carried out. We will have to wait and see I guess.

There is also schemes run by teenage mothers, whereby they visit different schools and give the girls and boys talks on what its like being a teenage parent, and they don't paint a rosy picture.

The best thing we can do as parents is to instill into our children that its ok to say no and try not to be pressured by peers. We can only do this if we give our children love, respect thus boosting their self esteem as I think a lot of girls are pressured into having sex because their friends think its ok. If they then decide to go on and have sex then you can only hope that you have given them enough information to cover themselves against pregnancy and STI's.

I think as a whole because society is so accepting of teenage mothers now it is becoming a social norm, not a scandal as it would have been thirty years ago.

I really don't think the majority of teenage mothers realise how hard it is to care for another person 24/7, feed it, clothe it, make sure it is safe and well, nurture it, and ultlimately love it unconditionally. Babies arent toys, they grow up into teenagers themselves, and I think a lot (no way am I saying all, because some teenage mothers do an excellent job) of
them dont think of the consequences of bringing a baby into the world.

I don't know what the answer is, I wish I did, but the figures are there for everyone to see and they dont make good reading.

Good luck to all the teenage mothers out there, im sure that the majority do a very good job with your children. Its just sad that most of these mothers are still children themselves.

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