What is Teenage Pregnancy?

Teenage Pregnancy is a situation which involves female adolescents. A teenage female can be pregnant as early as age twelve or thirteen, although it is usually fourteen and older. The fact that teenagers become pregnant is related to many factors. These are related to the specific situation of the teenager, and the group that she interacts with. The rates of teenage pregnancy vary from country to country and are related to differences of sexual activities, the general sex education being provided and contraceptives being available. Teen pregnancy will sometimes involve low birth weight. Social matters also play a role: Often, the teenager grew up in poverty. She also often has a lower level of general education. Pregnancy in teenagers in the developed world usually occurs outside of marriage. The lowest levels of teenage pregnancy are in Japan and South Korea.

Why is teenage pregnancy so common?

There are many different reasons why teenage pregnancy is increasingly common; the main reasons include:

• Peer pressure: many young people feel that they are under pressure to have sexual relationships, even if they are not mentally and physically ready. People are having sexual intercourse much earlier than in previous generations and teenagers who do not have sexual relationships may be bullied or teased by their friends. Teenagers are also starting to enter relationships at an earlier age than in previous generations; it is common now for 15 and 16 year olds to have boyfriends and girlfriends, for example and sex becomes a part of these relationships much earlier as a result. Some teenagers may find themselves in the difficult situation of sleeping with somebody who refuses to use contraception; if this is the case, try to stand firm and say no.
• Societal and cultural changes: everyone is familiar with the old adage ‘romance is dead’ and this is what older people frequently say about young people these days. In previous generations, couples spent a long time going out on dates (commonly known as ‘courting’) and getting to know each other before the relationship became physical; nowadays, couples tend to get together and move onto a physical relationship much quicker and sex is usually part and parcel of the relationship fairly early on.
• Poor education: many teenagers admit that they believe common myths such as you can’t get pregnant the first time you have sex, you can’t get pregnant in certain sexual positions and you can’t get pregnant if you have sex during your period, for example, so when they get pregnant it comes as a big shock. Many teenagers are also unaware of the widespread availability of contraception and many may be scared to go to their doctor or talk to their parents about contraception.
• ‘It won’t happen to me’: recent documentaries have revealed that a large proportion of teenage girls assume that they won’t get pregnant when they have unprotected sex. It is important that sexual education classes and conversations with parents or relatives teach teenagers that it is possible for them to get pregnant if they choose to have unprotected sex.
• Underage drinking: a large proportion of girls who fall pregnant blame alcohol; many girls say they would normally have protected sex but failed to do so on an occasion because they were drunk at the time and got carried away in the moment. Drinking affects your ability to make sound judgements and it is illegal under the age of 18; teenagers should be aware of the potential consequences of their actions and learn from their mistakes in order to avoid difficult situations further down the line.
• Attitudes to contraception: it is important for teenagers to realise the importance of using contraception; with rates of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies on the rise, something is clearly going wrong. Contraception is now widely available and in many cases, condoms are available free of charge; yet a large proportion of people are still failing to use contraceptives. In some cases, young people may feel that it’s not ‘cool’ to use a condom; recent campaigns using high profile celebrities will hopefully help to turn this attitude around and encourage young people to have protected sex. Some girls also view the morning after pill as a means of contraception; this is an irresponsible attitude, which should not be encouraged. The emergency contraceptive pill should not be relied on as a regular contraceptive; there are plenty of other types of contraception which can be used instead.

source: www.medic8.com/.../pregnancy-birth/...pregnant/teenage/pregnancy-so-common.htm...

 

Teenage pregnancy among today’s Filipino youth

                     

The National Youth Commission, supported by the Department of Health and the World Health Organization, convened the 2014 National Summit on Teen Pregnancy last April 24. This summit, which saw the active participation of adolescent youth, delivered a clear message: Adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), or the lack thereof, is fast becoming the defining issue of this generation of young Filipinos. Without a robust response from all stakeholders, the Philippines is on track toward a full-blown, national teenage pregnancy crisis.

Staggering facts support this call for concern. Recent (2014) data from the Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA) reveal that every hour, 24 babies are delivered by teenage mothers. According to the 2014 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality (YAFS) study, around 14 percent of Filipino girls aged 15 to 19 are either pregnant for the first time or are already mothers—more than twice the rate recorded in 2002. Among six major economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Philippines has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies and is the only country where the rate is increasing, per the United Nations Population Fund.

According to Josefina Natividad, YAFS coordinator and director of the University of the Philippines Population Institute, young Filipinos have limited access to sex education and ASRH services, especially if they are underage and unmarried. Seventy-eight percent are not using any form of contraception or protection against sexually transmitted diseases and infections when they are having sex for the first time. While government programs aim to delay the beginning of childbearing and hasten fertility decline, teenage pregnancies continue to increase. Perhaps it is really time for a new and more collaborative strategy?

Data show that pregnant teenagers in the Philippines are mostly 17 to 19 years old. They live with their mothers, parents, or relatives. The father of the child is, in most cases, a teenage boy.

Reasons for becoming pregnant among teenagers include: unplanned sexual encounters (“getting caught up in the moment”) and peer pressure; lack of information on safe sex; breakdown of family life and lack of good female role models in the family; and absence of accessible, adolescent-friendly clinics.

Teenagers from poor backgrounds are disproportionately represented among pregnant teenagers. However, experts have argued that teenage pregnancy should be understood as a symptom of dire economic conditions rather than a cause of it. Teenage pregnancy perpetuates the cycle of poverty and inequality because most pregnant teenagers have no source of income and face greater financial difficulties later in life. This is because they drop out of school and are less likely to pursue further education or skills training.

Teenage mothers face critical health risks, including: inadequate nutrition during pregnancy due to poor eating habits; dangers associated with the reproductive organs not ready for birth; and maternal death due to higher risk of eclampsia, among others.

Alarmingly, while maternal deaths are decreasing in the Philippines, teenage maternal deaths are increasing. Ten percent of pregnant teenagers died in the last year, according to the PSA. Data from the WHO also show a high and increasing incidence of fetal death in Filipino mothers under 20.

At the end of the teenage pregnancy summit, the participants strongly endorsed a comprehensive sexual education curriculum; forging a “Batang Ina” social movement; and establishing adolescent-friendly spaces. The enactment of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act was also recognized as an important step to make ASRH services more accessible to those in need.

As an international child rights organization, Plan International believes that the rights and needs of adolescent girls and boys, including their right to access ASRH services, must be ensured. In our work in the Philippines, ASRH continues to be a priority in line with our global “Because I am a Girl” campaign and national Batang Lusog program.

We are implementing ASRH interventions in Southern Leyte and Eastern Samar, where cases of teenage pregnancy are increasing. Youth-Friendly Spaces are being established to provide peer education and counseling on ASRH and rights. This is complemented by our response to eliminate gender-based violence in communities by establishing Women-Friendly Spaces. These measures help prevent teenage pregnancy by disseminating the right information about the risks and impacts of teenage pregnancy on the teen mom and the infant. An exploratory study by Plan International on the rising incidence of teenage pregnancy in “Yolanda”-affected areas is also being designed.

In the face of numerous challenges that Filipino adolescents face every day—discrimination, gender-based violence, harmful gender stereotypes—they must be equipped with the life skills and assets to help them make the best decisions for themselves and their community. When adolescents choose to have sex, they have a right to access not just information but also inclusive ASRH services.

At the end of the day, when an adolescent, especially a girl, knows her rights, is empowered to choose, and is heard, she can improve not only her life but also the life of her immediate and future families. So, maybe it’s time to have this discussion with your (grand) daughter or niece now?

Carin Van der Hor is the director of Plan International Philippines and is the mother of two teenage girls.

source: opinion.inquirer.net/74517/teenage-pregnancy-among-todays-filipino-youth

 

 In the Philippines, according to the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study by the University of the Philippines Population Institute (Uppi) and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation, 26 percent of our Filipino youth nationwide from ages 15 to 25 admitted to having a premarital sex experience. What’s worse is that 38 percent of our youth are already in a live-in arrangement.

TEENAGE PREGNANCY

   Teenage pregnancy is the condition of being pregnant of adolescence aged 10 to 19. Those who are affected are the girl herself up to the national society. The victims of teenage pregnancy are the girl herself, her child, her parents and relatives and the national society as a whole. It will also probably make her economically vulnerable.

   The national scope of the problem is alarming; the United Nation Population Fund Agency (UNPFC) representative Ugochi Daniels’ claims that this could derail the country’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that the UN member states have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. These MDG include eradicating extreme poverty and attaining universal primary education. In fact, among the six ASEAN major economies, the Philippines ranked the highest rate in teenage pregnancy.

WHY IS IT A PROBLEM IN OUR SOCIETY?

 

Teen pregnancy is a communal problem, a family problem, and a personal problem all rolled into one. It frequently goes hand in hand with premarital sex. Problems come when the news needs to breach each parent’s party. A spring of thought flash before one’s eyes, and registers only two; whether, to back the hell up – abort the child or carry on with the pregnancy but sign up for adoption - or get the hell in – have the child with all its perks and consequences alike.

 

After which, these impressions simply serve no purpose but to put them off, and deduce to mere nuisance to them when the truth of their situation slowly sinks in. How do they provide for the child if their parents cut them short financially? Will they be able to go to grad school? What will become of their future? What will become of their child’s future? By this time, they would have to contend with the pressures of parenthood. Whitehall truly bother them in the long run is the reality of whether or not they can fulfill their obligation as parents, and the security of their child’s future. Teenage pregnancy is becoming a societal problem that branches out to other problems.

 

HISTORY AND STATISTICS OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN THE PHILIPPINES.

 

One of the reasons why teenagers are already aware with this topic is because of media. They get a higher knowledge to sex from the magazines, TV shows, internet, movies and other media. In television, they now also create and make shows about teen pregnancy like “Teen Moms” and “16 and Pregnant”.

 These shows make us realize that the rate of this problem is getting higher and it is getting usual. There are a lot of reported cases regarding teenage pregnancy since the past few years until now. 

 According to the UN Population Fund (UNFAIR), teenage pregnancy has a huge rate in the Philippines, especially among the poor. 2/3 of Filipinos, who give birth before age 20, belongs to the low class society.

 Data from the National Statistics Office showed that 8 percent among 1.7 million babies born in 2004 were born to mothers 15-19 years old. Young mother gave birth to 818,000 babies in 2000 alone. This means, almost one of every 10 babies is born to teenage mothers. The risk is, almost 10 percent of the born babies from young mothers are malnourished. As years passed by, the statistics are getting higher.

 According to the study done by the Population Institute of the University of the Philippines, more than 46 percent of teenage pregnant woman resort to induced abortion which is against the law and the Church; 2 of every 5 teenage pregnancies are unwanted ones. If the government won’t start acting on this, this problem will be worse as years goes by.

WHAT SOCIAL FACTORS INSTIGATE TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN OUR COUNTRY?   

In the developed world, the causes of teenage pregnancy is different in the sense that it is mostly outside marriage and carries lots of social stigma. Thus, adolescent sexual behavior is one of the causes of teenage pregnancy. In our world today, having sex before 20 yrs is the “in” thing, it is even normal all over the world and this is brought about high levels of adolescent pregnancy which creates sexual relationship among teenagers without the provision of comprehensive information about sex.

• Lack of sexual education causes teens to get abortions as they ultimately realize their inability to bear the responsibilities of being a parent at such a young age.

• The lack of attention and affection from family resulting in depression forces them to seek love and support from other people, especially members of the opposite sex.

• Over protection gives rise to frustration and a feeling of not being loved and cared for. Thus, balance is the key to avoid this problem. Lack of affectionate supervision of parents or guardians results into the adolescents or teenage girl’s becoming pregnant.

CONSEQUENCES OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN SOCIETY

a) The issue of teenage pregnancy has several consequences. It is continually increasing the population growth rate in the society. Many babies are being born through it, which cannot be catered for by the available resources.

b) The issue encourages dropping out from schools. Many pregnant female children end up dropping out from school to avoid shame thus undermining government's efforts towards ensuring Education for All and the Millennium Development goal of Education in the nearest future.

c) Due to poverty, many of those involved in teenage pregnancy die off prematurely because of lack of proper medical attention.

   According to the CDC, children born to teenage mothers have an effect on society as well. These babies are more likely to rely on public health care throughout their lives and because they also have more chronic medical conditions, this places a higher burden on the health system. 

ARE THERE LAWS ADDRESSING THIS PROBLEM? DOES IT OR DOES IT NOT HELP?

  There are no specific laws that address the growing problem of teenage pregnancy in our country; not only in our country but worldwide. This cannot be prevented since it is the decision of the couple. One cannot simply tell a couple to not “do the deed” or have sex since they themselves are capable of voicing opinions out.  The following laws are implemented to address the social issue of teenage pregnancy in the Philippines; not directly but is connected to that topic as well: the RH Bill which includes sex education and the use of contraceptives--- and that’s about it. This tells us several things: firstly, there are not enough laws that address teenage pregnancy since it is really difficult to monitor it. Secondly, this social issue cannot be prevented with the help of laws since people cannot be controlled in their decisions. And thirdly, this is a social issue that continues everywhere and not even government officials or politicians know how to control it.

RECOMMENDATIONS

    Sex education can reach teenagers through many different ways, one of which is through schools. The government can make it compulsory for school students to undergo at least a certain number of hours of sex education. Instead of focusing on the dangers and consequences of teenage pregnancy, schools can also educate teenagers on the advantages of not having a baby when they are unprepared so that students may be able to weigh out the pros and the cons. This can be enforced by getting students to attend service learning trips and having them be exposed to the real world of teenage pregnancy.

    Another way that teenagers can be educated about sex is through their parents but in order for this to work, there must be a strong relationship between the child and the parent. Also with a strong relationship, parents can have more influence in their child’s sex decisions and may be able to direct their decisions in the right way. So in other words, having a good parent-child relationship can help to decrease the affected population.

source: http://youthproblemsinthephilippines.weebly.com/teenage-pregnancy.html

How to prevent teenage pregnancy

www.livestrong.com › Parenting

Communication

Preventing teenage pregnancy may also come down to overcoming parent-child communication barriers. The National Campaign reports that teens say their parents influence their decisions about sex, love and relationships the most; even more than the media or their peers. Starting a conversation about sex early and often may prove beneficial. This conversation should ideally begin well before a child's teen years. In fact, the National Campaign encourages parents to talk early and become"ask able" parents (let kids know that they can ask you anything). Remember, this is ideally an 18-year conversation, not just one talk.

Abstinence

Abstinence from sex (oral, anal or vaginal) is the only behavior that is 100 percent effective at preventing teenage pregnancy. In fact, the National Campaign stresses that abstinence from sex is the best choice for teens as it avoids early pregnancy, parenthood and sexually transmitted infections (St Is). Planned Parenthood reminds teens that remaining abstinent is a behavior choice and it can be difficult for some people.

Contraceptives

Besides abstinence, using contraception during sexual intercourse can also prevent teenage pregnancy. Whether using barrier or hormonal methods, contraception can help to avoid pregnancy. Stay Teen.org reports that one-third of teenage girls did not use any form of contraception the last time they had sex and 52 percent of sexually active teens reported a primary reason for not using contraceptives is because their partners did not want to. Educating teens about contraceptive methods may help to change attitudes and behaviors toward safer sex practices.

 What are the advantages and disadvantages of teen pregnancy?

The disadvantages of teen pregnancy are statistically clear. More than 50 percent of teen mothers never finish high school. Of those who do graduate from high school, only 2 percent earn a college degree by age 30. Both teen mothers and their babies are more likely to experience poor health after birth. Teen mothers are also more likely to live in poverty. There is more than enough evidence to prove that, if possible, teens should wait to become parents until they are older.
For some teenagers, there are advantages to having a child. These teenagers use parenting as a way to build stable adult lives and to find jobs that allow them to support and care for their babies. These teens are likely to have family and friend support to help them on their journey, as well as the resources to seek out education and career opportunities while parenting an infant. 

source: www.reference.com › Health › Women's Health › Pregnancy

Philippine teen pregnancy rates defy trend

Country tops list of Asian countries, with one in 10 women in 15-19 age group already a mother, according to UN study. 

By Sohail Rahman

Manila - Teenage pregnancy rates across the world have declined in the past two decades except in the Philippines, according to a new survey.

The report by the UN says the Philippines topped the regional list of Asian countries that continued to have the greatest number of teenage pregnancies.

It also says that one in 10 young Filipino women - between 15 and 19 years of age - is already a mother

A few factors adding to the continued increase in birth rates include having multiple sexual partners as well as low condom use.

Social attitudes towards family planning in the Philippines are heavily influenced by the Catholic Church.

Vanessa Aguilos, a 24-year-old Filipino mother of three, told Al Jazeera she did not know that having unsafe sex would lead to her pregnancy.

"It did not cross my mind that this could happen. My mother just asked me one day why I was not having my period any more ... After a pregnancy test, it turned out I was [pregnant]," she said.

Aguilos comes from a low-income family and did not have access to family-planning advice. Nor were contraceptives given to her.

In 2012, the Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled that it was constitutional to implement the Reproductive Health Law, meaning that low-income earners had a right to family planning services and free contraception.

The government says it will address the matter again after the May election.