Teen Pregnancy in the UK - Case Study Example

? Teen Pregnancy in the UK Introduction Teenage pregnancy is among the growing problems in the United Kingdomand this has been found to be because of the fact that the current generation of youth has become more sexually active. In recent years, there has developed a concern within the United Kingdom concerning teenage pregnancies in the United Kingdom, which are considered the highest rate in Europe (Russell 1994, p.480). The latter is the case despite the fact that in Britain, free contraception is readily available for the teenagers to use. These contraceptives have been found to be used only after the individuals have become sexually active, and this has created a situation where unwanted pregnancies are barely prevented in this state. It has further been found that of all the pregnancies that take place in the United Kingdom, nearly half of them are unplanned and of these, almost a quarter are terminated, while thirty eight percent end up being unwanted children (DiCenso, Guyatt, Willan & Griffith 2002, p.1426). The abortion rate in the United Kingdom is among the highest in the developed world, only being surpassed by Canada and the United States; a fact which can be said to be serious indeed. Despite the fact that Britain takes for granted its progress in maternal health, because of its substantial improvement over the years, it still has the challenge of teenage pregnancies to consider. Teenage pregnancy in the United Kingdom can be considered an area that is a very serious public health problem that has to be effectively tackled if prevention is to be achieved. The detrimental social and health results that tend to accompany unplanned teenage pregnancy have over the years come to be realised in the United Kingdom. Despite the fact that birth rates amongst teenagers have dropped considerably in many areas of Europe, the opposite has been taking place in Britain, whose rates are considered the highest in Europe. It has been estimated that per annum, about 90 000 teenagers in England alone get pregnant, with most of these being under the age of sixteen (Mawer, 1999 p.1714). Teenage pregnancies in the United Kingdom are always blamed on diverse factors, which include low level of sex education, poverty, as well as risky teenage sexual behaviour. It has therefore become necessary to make a study of the causes and effects of teenage pregnancies in the United Kingdom since it is an ideal environment where such a study can be conducted in the developed world. Literature Review The growing problem of teenage pregnancies, most of them unwanted, in the United Kingdom, has come to raise a lot of concern to such an extent where plenty of literature is being written about. Most of the new literature about this phenomenon not only focuses on the development of statistics, but they also focus on the causes, effects, as well as the possible solutions that can be developed to curb this problem. In previous years, the literature written concerning teen pregnancies often ignored the psychosocial problems that these cases often cause for those teenage mothers involved. Among the psychosocial problems that often plague teenage mothers are the following; the interruption of their education, the limitation of their job opportunities, the separation that develops between the teenage mother and her child’s father, and finally, the increased risk of repeat pregnancies (Silles 2011, p.766). It has been recognised that the causes of teenage pregnancies are quite diverse and complex in a number of ways which include pressure from older partners, a lack of sex education, a delay of the use of contraceptives, as well as the failure of contraceptives after they have been used (Chevalier & Viitanen 2003, p.325). In Britain, it has been found that there is extensive geographical disparity, with the highest rate of teenage pregnancies being among girls in Barnsley, Doncaster, and southeast London. This case can be distinguished from that in eastern Surrey, which has for the most part, low rates of teenage pregnancies. Those areas, in Britain, which have high disadvantaged populations, inner city areas, and other urban areas have been found to be more likely to have high rates of teenage pregnancies (Silles 2011, p.761). Studies have come to show that the highest level of teenage births occurs to the most socioeconomically disadvantaged women, and this has created a situation where children are born into poverty (Scally 1999, p.2178). Government statistics have shown that teenage birth rates among the working classes were three times higher than among nonworking classes. The reasons for unwanted teenage pregnancy have been found to be extremely complex, with both socioeconomic factors and a failure to take advantage of effective contraceptive services for high-risk girls playing a large part. It is believed that at least half of teenage pregnancies in Britain are not premeditated and that half of these tend to end in termination. Studies that have been conducted concerning the use of contraceptives in the United Kingdom have shown that teenagers are generally poor users, and this is among the most common reasons for the development of teenage pregnancies in the country. The fact that they often delay in the use of contraceptives or that they choose not to access contraceptive services until after they have been active for more than a year, has been found to be most disturbing. It can be said that the biggest motivator for teenagers in the United Kingdom to use contraceptives tends to be because of a pregnancy scare, since in essence, most of the teenagers are not often ready for parenthood (Russell 1994, p.459). Many teenagers often admit to the fact that they experience many technical difficulties with the contraceptive methods that they have chosen and this has created a situation where some adopt an attitude, which can only be said to be defeatist. As a result, they end up abandoning the regular use of contraceptives, hence increasing the risk of their becoming pregnant. There are some who have argued that the period between childhood and adulthood is one where there are plenty of biological changes that are often accompanied by an increasing interest in sex. The fact that these changes take place, with Britain not being an exception, has been blamed for the increased risk in teenage pregnancies in the country (Mellanby, Pearson & Tripp 1997, p.459). The fact that these pregnancies take place among teens, it has been argued, is a clear indication of the absolute failure of the British sex education system since it has failed to enhance awareness concerning the use of contraception among the youth (McLeod, 2001 p.199). The strength of this argument is based on the belief that if sex education in the country were more effective in addressing the main issues concerning the development of teenage pregnancies, then the latter would not occur, hence ensuring that the difficulties facing a teenager, her family, and community do not take place. The fact that teenage pregnancy is often accompanied by stigma has been highlighted in studies conducted in some communities in the United Kingdom. This is because unintended childbearing has incredible financial and social costs and because of this, many societies have attempted to implement measures, which are meant to prevent early pregnancies; the results of these attempted implementations are yet to be realised because of the lack of conclusive outcomes (Mawer, 1999 p.1713). The likelihood of teenagers resorting to abortions as a solution for unwanted pregnancies has grown in the United Kingdom and this is because of the fact that these teenagers feel that they are not ready for parenthood (Chevalier & Viitanen 2003, p.323). This has created a situation where teenagers are increasingly ignoring contraception in the belief that even if they get pregnant, they can always have an abortion. This statement has been challenged by some researchers who believe that the low levels of sex educations, as well as the poverty prevalent among the majority of teenagers who get pregnant, is the main cause of the problem. It is claimed that the sex education provided by the British government is adequate enough to ensure that teenagers have enough knowledge to take preventive measures towards pregnancies. The strength of this argument is because contraceptives in Britain are virtually free and because of this, there can be no excuse concerning the development of teenage pregnancies (Darroch, Singh & Frost 2001, p.244). The fact that teenagers only take advantage of the free contraceptives after having a pregnancy scare cannot be blamed on their ignorance concerning contraception. On the contrary, these teenagers have the ability to easily access contraceptives, thus the blame cannot be placed wholly on the government’s sex education system. The rate of abortions in this country is steadily increasing as more teenagers have unwanted pregnancies and it is estimated that within a few year, most of the teenage pregnancies in Britain will end up in abortions (Amu & Appiah, 2006, p.314). In Britain, it has been found that those teenagers who are younger are less likely to want to keep their pregnancies when compared to the older teenagers. This can be attributed to the fact that many older teenagers tend to feel that they are ready to become parents, even though they are likely to face some economic hardship as a result. Information on contraceptive use is accessible in the United Kingdom, although the statistics concerning its use to some extent limited. Some studies that have been conducted have obtained information on multiple method use both at first intercourse and at last intercourse (DiCenso, Guyatt, Willan & Griffith 2002, p.1426). For many teenagers, it has been found that they find it difficult to make the use of contraceptives mainly because of the fact that they do not feel the urgency of using them. As a result, when pregnancies occur, they are often accompanied by a sense of regret among them, and this, it has been found, might lead to depression. Hypothesis For this research, the following questions will need to be addressed in order to come up with satisfactory answers to the research topic: Q1- What are the factors that have encouraged the increase in the incidents of teenage pregnancies in the UK? Q2- How has teenage pregnancies led to the worsening of the socioeconomic status of those affected? Q3- What are some of the limitations to the steps that have taken in preventing teenage pregnancies? Rationale The increasing prevalence of teen pregnancies in the United Kingdom can be said to be a public health problem that needs to be urgently addressed. There is the need for the development of a comprehensive system, which will be able to not only address sex education, but also matters concerning making contraceptives more available to teenagers. Thus, it will be possible for this problem to be dealt with so that the prevalence of such instances is reduced to minimal levels. References Amu, O. & Appiah, K. 2006, "Teenage pregnancy in the United Kingdom: Are we doing enough?", European Journal of Contraception & Reproductive Health Care, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 314-8. Chevalier, A. & Viitanen, T.K. 2003, "The long-run labour market consequences of teenage motherhood in Britain", Journal of Population Economics, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 323-343. Darroch, J.E., Singh, S. & Frost, J.J. 2001, "Differences in teenage pregnancy rates among five developed countries: The roles of sexual activity and contraceptive use", Family planning perspectives, vol. 33, no. 6, pp. 244-50, 281. DiCenso, A., Guyatt, G., Willan, A. & Griffith, L. 2002, "Interventions to reduce unintended pregnancies among adolescents: Systemic review of randomised controlled trials", British medical journal, vol. 324, no. 7351, pp. 1426. McLeod, A. 2001, "Changing patterns of teenage pregnancy: Population based study of small areas", British medical journal, vol. 323, no. 7306, pp. 199-203. Mawer, C. 1999, "Preventing teenage pregnancies, supporting teenage mothers", British medical journal, vol. 318, no. 7200, pp. 1713-4. Mellanby, A.R., Pearson, V.A.H. & Tripp, J.H. 1997, "Preventing teenage pregnancy", Archives of Disease in Childhood, vol. 77, no. 5, pp. 459-62. Russell, S.T. 1994, "Life course antecedents of premarital conception in Great Britain", Journal of Marriage and the Family, vol. 56, no. 2, pp. 480. Scally, G. 1999, "Tackling teenage pregnancy in the UK", The Lancet, vol. 353, no. 9171, pp. 2178. Silles, M.A. 2011, "The effect of schooling on teenage childbearing: evidence using changes in compulsory education laws", Journal of Population Economics, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 761-777. Read More