Smalley 1
Breanna Smalley
Mrs. Willingham
English IV
19 January 2011
Teenage Pregnancy
“The majority of teens who have sex regret their first sexual experience, but for many
teens regret is not the only consequence. Among the consequences are teen pregnancy and
sexually transmitted diseases” (“Parents Are Important”). Teenage mothers face many more
challenges compared to a mother whose pregnancy was planned than one who is ready to be a
mother. Once a teenager becomes pregnant they are faced with the decision of being a teenage
mother, to give the baby up for adoption, or to terminate the pregnancy. Although being a parent
might seem easy, parenting is faced with many difficult decisions and worries that come along
with parenthood. The controversy surrounding teenage pregnancy can affect many people
involved with the situation by the complications of giving birth and what may happen after birth;
the decision to keep the baby, give it up for adoption, or to terminate the pregnancy by having an
abortion; and prevention of teenage pregnancy.
What is the definition of teenage pregnancy? It is a pregnancy in girls at the age of 19 or
younger (“Adolescent Pregnancy” Healthcare). Teenage pregnancy may also be defined as
“adolescent pregnancy” (“Adolescent Pregnancy”).
There are many complications with being a pregnant teenager. Experts say teenagers who
do become pregnant have “higher rates of illness and death for both the mother and infant”
(“Adolescent Pregnancy”). Along with the high risks of illness and death, the experts also
believe that “teenage mothers have a significantly higher risk of living in poverty and receiving
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assistance than their counterparts who do not have children” (“Teenage Pregnancy” Current
Issues). Along with facing higher risks than others, the children of the teenager mothers have a
“higher risk of being born prematurely and having a low birth weight, are more likely to have
problems in school and, perhaps most significantly, upon reaching adolescence, have a much
higher chance of becoming pregnant themselves” (“Teenage Pregnancy” Current Issues).
Despite the negativity of being a pregnant teenager, there are positives that overcome the
situation, which Amy Benfer, (a once sixteen year old mother herself), expresses in the following
summary:
At 16, Amy Benfer decided to keep her four-day-old daughter,
rather than give her up for adoption (as had been her plan), despite
acknowledging that it likely would be healthier for her daughter to
be raised by a married couple. With the help of her family, Benfer
finished high school and college, and went on to live and work in
Connecticut, San Francisco, and New York, without ever forgoing
any of her dreams willfulness and self-image than any rational
assessment of what was best for her and her daughter. Despite all
of that, she has no regrets. Amy Benfer is a freelance writer. She
lives in Brooklyn with her teenage daughter.
Therefore, Benfer showed that hard work and dedication, along with her family’s help and
support, helped her fulfill her dreams by starting off being a teenage mother (Benfer). Following
the pros and cons of being a pregnant teenager, teenagers also have to “take the time to carefully
consider all options and thoroughly examine the potential lifetime consequences of each
decision” (“Choices For A Pregnant”).
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There are many factors the young girl has to consider for being a parent to a child at such
a young age, like the relationship between the potential father, both his and her families, if she is
emotionally and physically able to deal with a child, along with the responsibility of being
financially stable to take care of a child (“Choices For A Pregnant”). Experts say there are many
considerations to take in, but “perhaps the most important one is determining if the teenage
mother will be able to adequately provide for the baby, not only physically but financially and
emotionally as well” (“Choices For A Pregnant”). Before jumping in to being a mother, “she
should also research the statistics about teenage mothers and consider all of the things that she
will need to sacrifice in order to raise the baby… and will be able to put aside her own needs to
meet the needs of her baby” (“Choices For A Pregnant”). For teenagers who decided not to be
the parent of the unborn child, they could consider adoption (“Choices For A Pregnant”).
For those involved in pregnancy that choose to give the baby up for adoption, they also
have to also consider if they want a closed adoption or an open adoption (“Choices For A
Pregnant”). In a closed adoption there is little to no information shared between the mother and
the baby, but in an open adoption (with the adoptive parents’ consent), the biological parent(s)
are allowed to share certain information with the baby as he/she gets older, and possibly be given
visitation opportunities (“Choices For A Pregnant”). Another thing to consider before giving the
baby up for adoption is to “research the adoption laws of her state to learn as much as she can
about what it means to give up her legal rights, including what would happen if she changes her
mind, and how the process for that works in her state” (“Choices For A Pregnant”). Lastly, there
is one other decision the mother has to make: to carry the child full term or to have an abortion
(“Choices For A Pregnant”).
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Statistics show from the National Abortion Foundation (NAF) that “approximately 35
percent of pregnant teenage mothers will decide to have an abortion…” (qtd. in “Choices For A
Pregnant”). Before finalizing the decision of having an abortion, the mother might consider the
following thoughts from the NAF:
She needs to be sure she is making the decision herself and not
being persuaded or forced into the decision by another person.
Going through with an abortion because of another person’s
wishes may have serious emotional repercussions for the mother
down the road, so it is important that she makes this decision free
from outside influence. (qtd. in “Choices For A Pregnant”)
Therefore, teen mothers need to be very certain of the decision made, as well as being
comfortable with the decision, because the decision will be stuck with the mother for the rest of
her life (“Choices For A Pregnant”).
One of the main preventions of pregnancy is the use of contraceptives. Some believe that
“all federal money should go to the groups promoting ‘safe sex’ through the use of condoms”
(“Teens Should Not”). Because many parents believe that abstinence is key; some teenagers
make it a priority for themselves to go out in the world and experience what is so great about
experiencing sex at a young age. Once teenagers engage in sexual activity, it almost becomes an
addiction for some. As the addiction worsens many teenagers tend to forget about one of the
most important things before fully engaging in sexual activity, a contraceptive. Experts say,
“condoms and oral contraceptives are the two most common methods, but small and increasing
percentages of teens use long-lasting contraceptives such as Depo-Provera or Norplant. Like
some adults, however, many sexually active teenagers do not use contraceptives consistently and
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properly, thereby exposing themselves to risks of pregnancy” (“Risk Behaviors: Teen
Pregnancy”). Even if the teenagers do remember to use a contraceptive “… teens become
pregnant because they have sex without effectively using contraception” (Risk Behaviors: Teen
Pregnancy). Therefore, experts report that “engaging in early sexual activity elevates the risk of
teenage girls becoming pregnant and single mothers” (“Parents Are Important”).
Statistics show that many teenagers “regret their first experience and wish they had
waited longer. Sadly, for many teens, the consequences go far beyond regrets” (“Parents Are
Important”). Many speculators think parents who engage in teenagers’ personal sex lives may be
able to prevent teen pregnancy since “parents, as teens themselves reveal, are the ones who have
the most influence on their children’s decisions about sex” (“Parents Are Important”). Christine
C. Kim, a policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation’s Policy Studies Department, released the
following information about how parents are important in teens’ sexual relations:
There are many different factors to this influence, including a
stable family structure and parents’ own values in regard to
adolescent sex, with the most important being the strength of the
relationship between the parent and the child. In light of this
knowledge, parents should try to avoid sending mixed messages to
their teens and work to strengthen their relationship with them.
(qtd. in “Parents Are Important”)
Kim shows that parental influence is significant with how teenagers engage themselves in sexual
relations; while Kim pointed out a couple different factors of sexual influence, many “safe sex”
advocates believe that “parental factors that appear to offer strong protection again the onset of
early sexual activity include an intact family structure; parents’ disapproval of adolescent sex;
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teen’s sense of belonging to and satisfaction with their families; parental monitoring; and, to a
lesser extent, parent-child communication about teen sex and its consequences” (“Parents Are
Important”). With the use of contraceptives and parental guidance of preventing teenage
pregnancy there is one more preventative way, the Personal Responsibility and Work
Reconciliation Act: “the act was intended to promote sexual abstinence and healthy teen
behavior” (“Teenage Pregnancy” Current Issues).
In 1998, when George W. Bush was running for president, “he promised to make
abstinence education an important goal of his administration” (“Teenage Pregnancy” Current
Issues). When President Bush was elected, “he fulfilled that promise. Funding increased from
$73 million when he took office to $204 million when he left in 2008” (“Teenage Pregnancy”
Current Issues). But with concern whether or not the abstinence programs were effective
speculators found that “no information about the use of contraceptives is included in abstinence
education” (“Teenage Pregnancy” Current Issues). Therefore, with further research a “John
Hopkins researcher Janet Rosenbaum compared teens who had pledged to remain abstinent until
marriage with teens who had not done so… The teens who pledged abstinence were much more
likely to have unprotected sex than their counterparts” ( qtd. in “Teenage Pregnancy” Current
Issues).
As soon as teenagers find out they are pregnant, I believe teenagers should tell their
parents and the potential father as soon as possible. I know that it might be hard to share that type
of information, but the sooner it is shared the more preparation time it gives, allowing the soonto-be mother and father time to figure out what they want to do. During the nine months of the
pregnancy, everyone involved should very helpful and considerate of the situation. Family and
friends who are closest to the mother should always be there for her and give her motivation to
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be happy about the situation. In Kim’s argument over parental influences, she believes parents
should not send mixed signals and just be straight forward (“Parents Are Important”).
If I were to put myself in Benfer’s situation, I would try my hardest to continue to live
my life and fulfill my dreams just as she did. I think Benfer is a very good role model to teenage
mothers as well as future teenage mothers, because she became pregnant as a teenager and still
graduated high school, moved out on her own, went to college and got her college degree in
writing. Benfer didn’t look at her life as it being “over” after the birth, she looked at it as a
challenge to motivate herself and challenge herself not just for own needs, but also for her
baby’s.
In conclusion, the issue involving teenage pregnancy is not always a bad thing. It is going
to be hard living up to the expectation of being the “perfect” parent, but there are many moments
in that time of parenting that can be cherished. The decision to either take care of the baby, give
the baby up for adoption, or aborting the baby is a very difficult. That’s why it is very important
to take time and research what decision is best. If the teen chooses to be a parent of the child, she
will also have to face the complications from the time building up to the birth continuing through
the rest of the child’s life -- that is why prevention is so crucial in any type of sexual activity.
There are many ways to prevent teenage pregnancy, like getting involved in abstinent groups,
talking to parents, and using contraceptives effectively. Teens should not be afraid to talk to
elders about sexual relations. In fact, they should talk to someone that is trustworthy, and will
give their honest opinion over the situation, because no one wants to “regret their first sexual
experience” (“Parents Are Important”).
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Work Cited
"Adolescent Pregnancy." Healthcare Center. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.
"Adolescent Pregnancy - All Information." University of Maryland Medical Center | Home.
Web. 30 Jan. 2011.
Benfer, Amy. "My Life as a Teenage Mom." Salon (10 May 2003). Rpt. in Teens and Sex.
Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Contemporary Issues Companion. Gale Opposing
Viewpoints In Context. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.
"Choices For A Pregnant Teenage Mother | LIVESTRONG.COM." LIVESTRONG.COM - Lose
Weight & Get Fit with Diet, Nutrition & Fitness Tools. Web. 02 Feb. 2011.
"Parents Are Important in Influencing Teens' Sexual Behavior." Teen Sex. Olivia Ferguson.
Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.
10 Jan. 2011.
"Risk Behaviors: Teen Pregnancy." Encyclopedia of Education. The Gale Group, Inc, 2002.
Answers.com 24 Jan. 2011.
"Teenage Pregnancy." Current Issues: Macmillian Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010.
Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Jan. 2011.
"Teens Should Not Have Access to Birth Control." Birth Control. Ed. Beth Rosenthal. Detroit:
Greenhaven Press, 2009. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context.
Web. 10 Jan. 2011.