Paper Example. Solutions to Teen Pregnancy in the Community

A teenager is a person who has not reached the age of majority. Teenage pregnancies are terms used to refer to pregnant girls who have not reached legal adulthood. Teenage pregnancies occur mostly in marginalized communities where education is a challenge. Many girls in these communities are victims of early marriages because of getting pregnant at a young age. Teen pregnancies are increasing in these communities because girls get denied the chance to make the right decision about their reproductive organs. Besides, teen pregnancies are also augmenting in the majority of our communities due to a deficiency of proper healthcare and education. Sadly, these early pregnancies increase the rate of poverty in our societies. It is because most of these girls are jobless and underage. The following are the causes, effects, and solutions to teen pregnancy in our Community.

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Developing countries are majorly affected by teen pregnancies. For example, in African countries, most communities cannot access education (Akella, Devi &Melissa 46). In these communities, most of the girls drop out of school, which exposes them to becoming pregnant at an early age. Most of the parents in these communities are not learned; therefore, they cannot detect any change of behaviors from their daughters. When these girls become pregnant, they are limited from getting employment opportunities and continuing with their studies. Dropping out of school at a younger age exposes girls to sexual behaviors. Girls with minimal education are likely to become mothers compared to those with higher educational levels.

Many young girls lack knowledge about sexual reproduction organs. Lack of knowledge causes them to indulge in sexual activities at an early age which causes teen pregnancy. Sexual education is taught in many schools, but most of the girls drop out of school; therefore, they fail to acquire knowledge that is useful to them. Most of the communities lack proper health facilities that serve the people (Akella et al. 47). These facilities are responsible for offering knowledge about sexual education and giving out precautions for avoiding early pregnancy. If the young girls do not acquire knowledge about early pregnancies, they end up becoming pregnant. In most communities, there are consequences of teen pregnancy, for example forced marriages.

Poverty causes teen pregnancy in most of communities. Teens coming from disadvantaged societies become mothers at a young age because of the cultural norms (Akella et al. 47). According to the researcher's teens in marginalized communities have a higher possibility of becoming pregnant compared to teens from wealthy backgrounds. Another cause of teen pregnancy is sexual violence. For example, many teenage pregnancies are a result of rape cases and threats. Communities have failed from protecting girls from the predators who take advantage of them; therefore, society is to blame for the rise of early pregnancies.

One of the effects of teen pregnancy is maternal and child mortality. Teenage pregnancy continues to outstand as a significant contributor to the child and maternal mortality (Brindis &Claire 5). Most of the young girls develop pregnancy complications during childbirth, which causes their death. Teenage girls face these complications because their bodies are still immature for reproduction. The children born by young mothers are at a higher risk of dying or becoming abnormal. Young teens face these challenges because most of them had neither planned for pregnancy or children at an early age. Teenage pregnancy poses a significant risk for those girls doing unsafe abortion. Adolescent pregnancy causes negative social and economic impacts on society and the family. For example, an unmarried teenage girl may face stigmatization from the Community, rejection by friends, and parent.

Child marriage is another effect of early pregnancy. Teens who become pregnant at a young age experience violence within their marriages(Brindis &Claire 7). This is because most of them are married before maturity. Child marriage is an awful practice that most of the pregnant teens have to undergo in order to avoid the parent's wrath. Teen marriage exposes children to sexual, emotional, and psychological violence. Another effect is illiteracy. Teenagers who become pregnant at a young age cannot continue with their education because they have a responsibility; this increases the rates of illiterate people in the Community. During the pregnancy, the girl may decide to drop out of school to look for employment.

These are the solutions for preventing teens from pregnancies. Introduction of comprehensive sex education in schools that provide that explains about abstinence and the use of contraceptives (Solomon, Carmen &Rebecca 8). Most of the schools do not offer necessary information about sex education, and this has caused an increase in the number of teen pregnancies in societies. Abstinence is not a solution to many teens because most of them involve themselves in sexual relations. For example, children should be taught how to use contraceptives, condoms, and birth control methods, this information will help teenagers from indulging in unprotected sex. This method is effective in preventing pregnancies and STIs.The communities should ensure that girls acquire this knowledge to avoid becoming victims of early pregnancies

The only effective way of preventing teenage pregnancy is through sexual abstinence. Sexual abstinence protects the girl from the risk of getting pregnant and acquiring STDs (Solomon et al. 9). The Community and school should enact programs that teach children the benefits of abstaining from sex. These programs will improve the child-parent relationship, and the parents will be in a position to learn their children's characters. For example, schools should launch campaigns about sexual abstinence because it will convey a message to the teenagers that will help them make the right decision. Another solution is involving the health facilities to provide contraceptives and condoms to teenagers to prevent them from early pregnancies. The Community should also implement strategies that will prevent early pregnancies.

To sum up, communities records the highest number of teenage pregnancies. The societies are mostly affected due to lack of knowledge about sexual education, inadequate facilities such as hospitals, and an increase in the number of school dropouts. These factors have caused a rise in unwanted pregnancies in these areas. The effects of teen pregnancies are; early marriages, increase in mortality rate between the child and mother. The solution to these problems is improving sexual education in school, abstaining from sex, and proper medical facilities.

Work Cited

Akella, Devi, and Melissa Jordan. "Impact of social and cultural factors on teenage pregnancy." Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice 8.1 (2014): 3.

Brindis, Claire D. "Advancing the field of teenage pregnancy prevention through community-wide pregnancy prevention initiatives." Journal of Adolescent Health 60.3 (2017): S1-S2.

Solomon-Fears, Carmen, and Rebecca Ronquillo. Teenage pregnancy prevention: Statistics and programs. Congressional Research Service, 2015.