Teenage Sex and Pregnancy - Essay Example

"Teenage Sex and Pregnancy" is a great example of a paper on pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy is one of the most serious problems in the contemporary world. This is because the number of teenagers engaging in premarital sex is alarming. Unfortunately, there are countries that celebrate teenage pregnancy as a sign of fertility. In the US, approximately 410,000 teenage pregnancies girls between the age of fifteen and nineteen gave birth. This is a 37 percent increase since 1991 (Males, 2010). In fact, the rate of teenage pregnancies in the US Is higher than in most developed countries. The increase in teenage pregnancies can be attributed to a number of reasons including peer pressure, self-esteem issues, and general rebellion.

            There are numerous barriers to healthy behaviors facing teenagers. To start with, economic factors hinder healthy behavior. For instance, teenagers fail to practice healthy behaviors because they lack the funds to support healthy behavior such as maintaining a healthy diet and exercise. Secondly, teenagers fail to practice healthy behavior as they lack the necessary information on what is referred to as healthy behavior (Males, 2010). In other words, teenagers are misinformed about the concept of healthy behavior and this places them at risk. Thirdly, teenagers are not keen when it comes to practicing healthy behavior.

            Teenage pregnancies in the US cost taxpayers approximately $11 billion in 2008 according to research done by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy (Congressional Research Service, 2013). Most of the costs are linked with the negative results of teenage pregnancies including increased health care costs, incarceration and foster care. However, these are the net costs associated with teenage pregnancies. These costs can be broken down as follows: $2.3 billion in spending on incarceration, $2.3 billion in public sector health care expenses, $2.8 billion in child welfare benefits, and 3. 2 billion was approximated to be the tax revenue lost due to the lower salaries earned by teenage mothers in their lifetime (Congressional Research Service, 2013). The report notes that the rate of teenage pregnancies has not declined in the recent past, in fact, the annual cost would have been $19 million (Congressional Research Service, 2013).

            Furthermore, critics argue that teenage pregnancies limit the chances to complete their education and get prestigious jobs (Hoffman and Maynard, 2008). Most of them are forced to rely on welfare to support their children. Lack of education increases the risk of poverty and decreases the chances of gaining financial independence. This increases the chances that the mother and her family will be poor.   

            The strengths of the community could be used to address the problem to address teenage pregnancy. The community should launch initiatives to address the problem. These initiatives should educate teenagers and society about the statistics and trends in current times (Males, 2010). The community should educate teenagers on how they can avoid teenage pregnancies. Finally, come up with programs that support teenage mothers to enable them to complete their studies and attain financial independence.

            In a nutshell, teenage pregnancies are a major problem affecting the American population in the modern world. The above discussion clearly shows the costs linked with the problem in society and it will take the combined effort of the community to deal with the problem.

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