The Issue of Teenage Pregnancy - Essay Example

Teenage Pregnancy Reported cases of teenage pregnancies have been very common in the past few decades. According to the report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is estimated that in the year 2013, 273,105 babies were born by teenagers aged between 15 years to 19 years. Majority of the teenage girls affected are those who have just joined college or still in the high school. Their situations are characterized by fear and insecurity for most of them does not know how to handle such situations. Teenage life is characterized by multiple changes in the hormones, sexuality and behavior. During this period, majority of the teens go through allot of curiosity and this in return lead them to experiment. This mostly leads to wrong decisions and choices that have far many adverse implications to the naive and innocent teenager. The extent to which teenage pregnancy affects the life of an individual had never come to my attention until a few years ago. I was born in China and I spent most of my childhood as well as part of teenage life there. While growing up, I had a close friend known as Lily. Lilys family and my family had been friends for long and this brought us even closer. Our friendship was sincere and genuine. We shared about our concerns and fears; we went to the same school and always looked out for each other. When I left China for USA, she was really sad but this did not stop our friendship. We still kept in touch and spend most of the evening chatting on Skype and over the social media. Generally, we were still together despite the distance. Three years ago, Lily had just turned 17 and we had a long conversation. This was subsequent to other talks regarding her relationship with her parents. Most of the times, Lily would complain about the way her parents were treating her. According to Lily, she felt that her parents were putting her under allot of pressure in regards to her new way of life. She complained that her parents did not have time to listen to her and even give her the attention she deserves as a child. As a matter of fact, Lily felt like her parents did not love her anymore. Lily told me of a boy named Tony who was her classmate in high school. Tony was very nice to Lily as he gave her time and compassion she missed from her parents. Tony would always listen to the concerns that Lily tried to raise. With time, Tony turned out to be the stress releaser for Lily. Whenever she was under pressure, she would find it easy to talk to Tony other than her own parents. This eventually created a gap between Lily and her parents. On the other hand, Tony and Lily became closer. Naturally, Tony and Lily fell in love and started a relationship together. At first, the two seemed so happy and everything seemed ok. Over the next few months, Lily and Tony started involving themselves in sexual activities. This was an act that remained a secret between them alone and they were not ready to disclose it to any other person. Unfortunately, Lily got pregnant and this was a wakeup call for her. The pregnancy was a surprise to both Lily and Tony as they had not given a thought the possibility of pregnancy. With a two month pregnancy, Lily and also Tony were so confused and did not know what to do next. At first, Lily thought of approaching her parents for advice regarding the issue. However, the thought of how they would treat her and the punishment to befall her discouraged her from doing that. As usual, she decided to go back to Tony. As a naive girl, she forgot that Tony was equally inexperienced as she was. Together, the two opted to have the pregnancy terminated through an abortion. The procedure was fortunately successfully and Lily was able to get rid of the baby. She later went back to school and continued studying as a normal high school girl. This might seem like a solution to their problem but as Lily illustrated the whole occurrence to me, my heart was filled with bitterness and at the same time pity for she was my friend. One thing I was sure is that the decision to do abortion was wrong and inappropriate. There are many other options that Lily would have opted to take other than carry out the abortion. By falling into the trap of abortion, much was at stake than Lily was trying to solve. By undergoing an abortion, Lily put her life in allot of risks. One is that there are chances of the procedure going wrong leading to medical failure in her body. An instance if she experiences too much bleeding that will see her loose allot of blood and consequently leading to her death. She may also have a permanent damage to her womb and this may terminate any chances of her getting pregnant in the near future. However, according to (Ollendick and Schroeder 13) majority of the teens would prefer facing the impacts of an abortion other than facing the consequences of pregnancy. The last point here explains the state of the society in regards to victimization of young teenage girls who find themselves in unplanned pregnancies. Majority would prefer to undergo an abortion other than the humiliation they may face in the society. Majority of friends, family members usually treat the teenage victims with hostility. Lily would easily have a solution from her parents but fear made her keeps off completely. There are other options that Lily and Tony would consider apart from their parents. Lily and Tony were in the same school and therefore it would be easy for them to consult with one of the teachers or the guidance and counseling department of the school. One other issue of concern is the role of parents, guardians and teachers in the life of teenagers. It is evident that Lilys parents did not give her the attention she deserved. They were never attentive to whatever she was saying ad her fears were not their concern. For that reason, she went to the closest person she could get. According to (Shellenberger 232) parent have a role to carry out in regard to teenage sexual life. Whatever the parents tell a teenager, remains documented in their minds. The teachers back at school also have a vital role to play in monitoring behaviors of the teenagers. The teacher should have noticed that Lily and Tony were getting closer than before and therefore make an inquiry about their new found kind of friendship. This would help the teachers advice them correctly and even alert their parents. However, this was not the case and Lily and Tony had to go through a difficult moment. In conclusion, unplanned pregnancies and particularly teenage pregnancies have adverse impacts on the lives of the young girls as well as the young boys who may become teenage fathers. Their education is first and foremost disrupted, the health of the young girl is in danger as her body may not have fully developed and matured. There is also the danger of psychological and mental stress which strongly leads to the rise of other physical and mental problems. Parents, teacher, and guardians should give their teenagers more attention and also give them sex education in order to prepare them. Teenagers on the other hand need to improve their communication systems with parents in order to create a good environment for sharing. Works cited Top of Form Ollendick, Thomas H, and Carolyn S. Schroeder. Encyclopedia of Clinical Child and Pediatric Psychology. , 2013. Internet resource. Bottom of Form Prevention, Centers. About Teen Pregnancy | Teen Pregnancy | Reproductive Health | CDC. Cdc.gov. N.P., 2015. Web. 28 June 2015. Top of Form Shellenberger, Susie. The One Year Devos for Teens. Carol Stream, Ill: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 2013. Internet resource. Bottom of Form Read More