Education and Prevention on Teenage Pregnancy in the Central Valley - Dissertation Example

? Teenage Pregnancy in the Central Valley Number As emotive as the issue of teenage sexuality and reproductive health may be, sweeping it under the carpet is both impossible, and a recipe for national disaster in the US. A larger part of the American teenager is sexually active and thereby being in the potential danger of contracting sexually transmitted diseases [STDs] and unwanted teenage pregnancies. The bone of contention is in the differing persuasions on the feasibility of measures that have been put in place to arrest the challenge of teenage pregnancy. While traditional and conservative thinkers espouse conventional methods such as education and counseling, as a solution to teenage sexuality and pregnancy, liberal thinkers champion for the availing of contraceptives, alongside the provision of sex education. Against this backdrop of differing opinions, the needed to establish the most sustainable and tenable solution to the conundrum that is teenage sexuality, pregnancy and STDs remains paramount. While the problem of teenage pregnancy is a global phenomenon, Central Valley CA provides an interesting and suitable specimen for this study, by the courtesy of hosting conservatives, Catholics and Hispanics whose economic mainstay is agriculture. The presence of conservatives and Catholics provides a chance to determine the extent to which ideological persuasions affect the rate of teenage pregnancy, while the presence of Hispanics provide a useful case for analyzing the way in which teenage pregnancy accosts minority groups. In as much as the presence of diverse subcultures in Central Valley CA means divergence of opinions [and hence a delay in policy formulation], this diversity underscores the need for a collective and multipronged approach which includes all stakeholders in the society and different methods of birth control, as the most tenable and sustainable solution to the recurrent problem which is teenage pregnancy. Introduction The reality of teenagers being sexually active is a matter that is an indisputable fact. Because of this, concerns over teenage pregnancy, the contraction of STDs, unwanted [premarital] pregnancies have generated concerted efforts to improve and strengthen teenagers' access to contraceptives. Contrariwise, there are those who gainsay the benevolence of this idea, arguing that the provision of contraceptives to teenagers is likely to generate more problems, when it is done outside the knowledge of parents. The latter group is emphatic on the use of education as the solution to the problem of sex-related threats such as teenage pregnancy, STDs and abortions. The crux of the matter shall there be discussed in the discussion that ensues forthwith. Methods The discussion that is sustained herein is supported by secondary data that is derived from previous works that scholars, researchers and policy makers have conducted. The data is largely qualitative in nature, though quantitative data has been also used. In turn, these scholars, researchers and policy makers have cited previous surveys that had been conducted over the same topic, to lend their work credence. The experience that these authors had acquired also helps fortify their works and further compounds the veracity of the standpoint that is built on such works. These data have been used to fortify the standpoint that has been taken. The articles used were selected based on the authority of their authors, in the matter concerning reproductive health, teenage pregnancy and sexuality. This authority is based on the roles that an individual has played in policy formulation and execution, and the works the same have discharged in the field of academics, in the same issue of reproductive health, teenage pregnancy and sexuality. These literary materials that have been used as references and points of authority have been obtained from public health and social sciences sections of a local library. These materials do not have their scope of analysis limited to Central Valley, CA. Instead, some of these literary pieces discuss situations pertinent to spheres outside the US, as can be seen in the case of the article by Stone, Nicole & Ingham's journal article which concentrates its scope of study to the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, some information that is presented in the argument is stated as having been known. For this reason, such information is not cited. Key words that have been used include teenage pregnancy [refers to pregnancy contracted by teenagers], STDs [sexually transmitted diseases] sex education [the instruction on matters regarding sexual reproduction, sexual anatomy, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations and developments, abstinence and birth control, an reproductive rights and responsibilities, as is specified within the educational curriculum], contraceptives [a drug, a device or a chemical agent which inhabits conception] and care givers [those who provide and administer contraceptives on teenagers]. Discussion For the start, Blanc, Tsui, Croft and Trevitt (2009) are poignant that the need to make a sober and unanimous standpoint on teenage sexual behavior and health is paramount, given that teenagers form the largest group of young people. By extension, Blanc, Tsui, Croft and Trevitt are maintaining that the group's mien towards the use of contraceptives is bound to affect America's demography, positively or negatively. The future of America's skilled and unskilled labor force and by extension, America's socioeconomic stability, continuity and future development are premised upon the future generation, yet teenagers are a bulk of the same generation. Thus, not only do Blanc, Tsui, Croft and Trevitt call for the disbursement of contraceptives and reproductive health and sex education to teenagers, but also for the need for policy makers to concert measures to match the soaring demand for contraceptives for the teenagers. Blanc, Tsui, Croft and Trevitt nevertheless consent to the idea that the program to entrench positive values against pregnancy, STDs, the dangers of criminal abortion and socioeconomic setbacks can best work if teachers, parents and care providers work together. That American teenagers are largely sexually active is a foregone conclusion, going by statistical findings. According to Advocates for Youth Rights, Respect & Responsibility [AYRRR] (2005), there are about 800,000 teenagers who get ensnared by teenage pregnancy annually. AYRRR (2007) maintains that these 800,000 teenagers cannot be said to have conceived willingly, since 85% of the same population classified the pregnancies as unintended. Other researchers and scholars such as Baldwin and Edelman (2012) compound the magnitude of the problem by pointing out that within 2 years of immediately previous birth or abortion, about 35% of recently pregnant adolescents. In a similar fashion the support for the issuance of contraceptives to teenagers and boosting access to the same, is underscored by Baldwin and Edelman's (2012) findings. Baldwin and Edelman (2012) show that rapid repeat pregnancy [RPP] readily co-occurs with increased maternal and neonatal morbidity and socioeconomic strain among teenagers and their parents. By this, Baldwin and Edelman show that the provision of contraceptives to teenagers is a matter that is so serious, touching on the very longevity of teenagers [leaving alone socioeconomic distress on parents and teenagers]. Thus, Baldwin and Edelman are insinuating that increasing accessibility to contraceptives is too sacrosanct to be relegated to moral convictions. This is especially underscored by Baldwin and Edelman's findings which maintained that 50% of teenage pregnancies ended in abortions. The gravity behind this argument is that increasing accessibility of contraceptives for teenagers is a matter that is likely to curtail unwanted [premarital] pregnancies, the lure of criminal abortion and its risks, and death which may emanate from pregnancy-related complications. Conversely, Cavazos-Rehg, Krauss and Bierut (2012) are categorical about the inextricable role that sex education plays in moderating teenage sexuality, contraction of teenage pregnancies and STDs among teenagers. Cavazos-Rehg, Krauss and Bierut maintain that educational curriculum, demography, political and religious factors underpin teenage behavior towards contraceptives. By considering reports handed by the CDC, Cavazos-Rehg, Krauss and Bierut observed that among 24 states in the US, from 1997 to 1005, girls aged between 15 and 17 showed that increased presence of sex education in school curriculum co-occurred readily with lower teenage pregnancies and birth rates. Likewise, Cavazos-Rehg, Krauss and Bierut show that individual state policies towards sex education, availing of contraceptives and legislation on teen sex also helped bring variations in the rates, extents and degree of teenage pregnancy. Manlove, Franzetta and Franzetta (2003) argue that adolescents have a high unintended pregnancy rate because of the inconsistent use and nonuse of contraceptives. This standpoint is underscored by the use of logistic regression analyses data that was gathered from 1,027 participants that were part of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health studies, in an attempt to determine the effects of partner predispositions towards consistent use, or over-use or under-use of contraceptives among teenagers' first sexual experience. As opposed to other liberal thinkers, Manlove, Franzetta and Franzetta acknowledge the importance traditional approaches such as encouraging abstinence, discussing the use of contraceptives with other partners in partners in long-term relationships. Glei (2009) uses data provided by the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth to long term users [between 15 and 19 years] of uninterrupted subscription of contraceptives recorded very minimal cases of unwanted pregnancies. Thus, Glei champions for legislation that would support long-term use of contraceptives, as the valid inhibitor of teenage sex. Kirby (2002) maintains that more than 100 backgrounds formed an elaborate picture of behaviors that correlated with teenage sexual behavior, and other relatable factors such as families, schools, peers, partners, community and the manner in which an individual relates with these factors. Because of this, Kirby is categorical that there is a need to add nonsexual and multiple sexual backgrounds in different structures that are useful, so as to abate the threat of teenage pregnancy. On one hand, Rocca, Hubbard, and Minns (2010) maintain that despite teenagers eschewing pregnancies, teenage pregnancy is still a reality. This, Rocca, Hubbard, and Minns use to underscore the futility of relying on abstinence alone, as the bulwark against teenage pregnancy. On the converse, Rocca, Hubbard, and Minns propose the need to adopt different methods to stem the wave of teenage pregnancy. On the other hand, Santelli, Orr and Diaz (2009) postulate that improved access of contraceptives among teenagers [as is evidenced in the periods between 1990 and 2000] assuages sexual behavioral risks and teenage pregnancies, and adduce evidence for the same. The same trend is consistent with findings in 2006, 2007 and 2008 on teenage birth rates. Santelli, Orr and Diaz heavily borrow from statistical findings by the National Youth Risk Behavioral Survey to underscore their standpoint. Because of this, Santelli, Orr and Diaz are poignant on the use of contraceptives and the issuance of proper information and instructions on the same contraceptives. Stone and Ingham (2002) are polemical that in spite of the expanding body of knowledge on teenage pregnancy, there is still a considerable failure to consider the wider social context in which sexual behavior occurs. Because of this, Stone and Ingham are categorical that in order to realize sustainable victory over the ravages of teenage pregnancy, the need to integrate individual background and contextual factors as factors that characterize modern methods of contraception at first sexual encounter cannot be sidestepped and also needs further research. Contrary to what liberals tout as the panacea to the problem of teenage pregnancy, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (2004) maintains that heightening access to contraceptives for adolescents is neither a solution to the threat of teenage pregnancy, nor a factor that will extirpate the spread of STDs among adolescents. Through its own research, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops points out that 89% of sexually active in their reproductive age use contraceptives. Out of this 89%, there is a considerable number [50%] which does not know how to properly use the said contraceptives. The other 11% largely comprises young women who loathe the use of contraceptives, while others are totally abstaining. Because of this, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops maintains that there is need for the government to consider the use of counseling, education and promotion of values such as self respect, the sanctity of human life, as inextricable parts of the larger framework. Reflection From the foregoing, it is clear that the hardship around teenage pregnancy persists only because of the controversy that surrounds the issuance of contraceptives. Because of this, it is important that a tripartite approach to the [increased] issuance of contraceptives, so that the effort comprises instructors, care givers and parents, together with their children. There is also the need to work together with the Church and other lobby groups to promote other approaches such as promotion of sex education and abstinence, so as to ensure an inclusive approach to solving the menace that is teenage pregnancy not only in Central Valley CA, but in the entire US. Educational services must also be dispensed in the administration of contraceptives to encourage proper use and a wider room for discretionary use among teenagers. Again, it is through these educational services that teenagers gain clarity on the implications of beginning to use certain obstetrician and gynecological [OB-GYN] services. This above proposal may portend, ensuring that the outlets issuing the contraceptives are qualified to disburse the contraceptives in their various forms. Conversely, it will also be necessary to strengthen and furnish already existing medical centers such as Alta Family Clinic with equipment, retraining opportunities, adequate supply of contraceptives and trained personnel. This multipronged approach is expedient since it translates into the exertion of collective efforts, will, skills and energy. Conclusion The foregoing clearly shows that in order to considerably vanquish the threat of teenage pregnancy, it is needful that policy shapers, health care givers and other stakeholders consider a large framework. The framework should include: the availing of contraceptives; the provision of guidance and counseling services; educating teenagers on sexuality, the implications of being sexually active and using and not-using contraceptives; the inclusion of a tripartite structure in the quest to allay teenage pregnancy [with the tripartite structure comprising care givers, teenagers and their parents and instructors]. Thus, the method that an individual teenager may choose should have best been arrived at through this tripartite agreement. It is preposterous and an outrageous conspiracy, to advance the idea that teenagers in their not-yet mature minds can make decisions on the use of contraceptives outside the engagement of parents who are the very financiers and caretakers of these teenagers. The seriousness of a matter such as a healthcare giver unitarily prescribing a contraceptive which leads to catastrophic results on the teenager underscores the danger of failing to engage parents and by extension, the tripartite structure. References Advocates for Youth Rights, Respect & Responsibility. (2005). Emergency Contraception: A Safe & Effective Contraceptive Option for Teens. The Facts, 4 (2), 1-10. Advocates for Youth Rights, Respect & Responsibility. (2007). Adolescent Protective Behaviors: Abstinence and Contraceptive Use. The Facts, 3 (3), 1-12. Baldwin, M. K. & Edelman, A. B. (2012). The Effects of Long-Acting Reversible Contraception on Rapid Repeat Pregnancy in Adolescents: A Review. Journal of Adolescent Health: Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, 52 (4), 47-53. Blanc, A., Tsui, A. Croft, T. N. and Trevitt, J. (2009). Patterns and Trends in Adolescents’ Contraceptives Use and Discontinuation in Developing Countries and Comparisons with Adult Women. International Perspectives on Sexual Reproduction Health, 35 (2), 62-9. Cavazos-Rehg, P., Krauss, M., & Bierut, L. (2012).Associations between sexuality education in schools and adolescent birthrates. Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 166(2), 134-140. Glei, D. A. (2009). Measuring Contraceptive Use Patterns among Teenage and Adult Women. Family Planning Perspectives: Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health Worldwide through Research, Policy Analysis and Public Education, 31 (2), 73-80. Kirby, D. (2002). Antecedents of Adolescent Initiation of Sex, Contraceptive Use, and Pregnancy. American Journal of Health Behavior, 26 (6), 473-485. Manlove, S., Franzetta, R. & Franzetta, K. (2003). Patterns of Contraceptive Use within Teenagers’ First Sexual Relationships. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 35 (6), 246-255. Rocca, C., Hubbard, A., & Minnis, A. (2010). Predictive ability and stability of adolescents’ pregnancy intentions in a predominantly Latino community. Studies in Family Planning, 41(3), 179-192. Santelli, J. S., Orr, M. & Diaz, D. (2009). Changing Behavioral Risk for Pregnancy among High School Students in the United States, 1991-2007. Journal of Adolescent Health, 5 (5), 1- 12. Stone, Nicole & Ingham, Roger. (2002). Factors Affecting British Teenagers’ Contraceptives Use At First Intercourse: The Importance of Partner Communication. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 34 (4), 191-7. US Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2004). Fact Sheet: Greater Access to Contraceptives Does Not Reduce Abortion. Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, 3 (4), 1-5. Read More