Teenage pregnancy in ireland - Thesis Example

The teenage pregnancy is a contentious issue in Ireland, and the problem is especially pronounced in County Louth which is one of smallest counties in Ireland with the highest rate of teenage pregnancies (Crisis Pregnancy Agency, 2007). Many society members view most cases of teenage pregnancy as a burden and a barrier to the achievement of the necessary education status and employment standards. However, there is also a growing acceptance of non-standard family models. This research will aim to explore the attitudes of the society toward teenage pregnancy.

The literature review will comprehensively discuss the problem of teenage pregnancy, teenage birth rates in Ireland, risk factors and health risks of teenage pregnancies to provide the theoretical aspects of the research on teenage pregnancy as well as the society attitudes toward young mothers. According to Keller (2002), the rate of teenage pregnancies in both County Louth and Dublin is the same i.e. 6.8pc. However, the statistics from the 2002 research could be currently different due to the fact that the difference in the sizes of the two cities leads to a difference in the social norms.

Being larger than County Lough, the teenage birth rates could be higher in Dublin because the sexual activities will be more rampant, the catholic culture will have less impact, and the multicultural impact is high. The 2010 statistics from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicates that teenage pregnancy in Ireland has been reduced in significant levels and it led to birth of 2, 043 babies for the mothers under the age of 20 (CSO, 2010). This was a decline from the 2006 statistics, when 2352 cases represented 0.

4% of the total births among women that year (Crisis Pregnancy Agency, 2007). Majority of the teenage births are noted among girl between eighteen to nineteen years old. For example,