My young friend Chelcie is a Junior in high school. She wrote this paper for a high school class last year when she was only 16 years old. She has a passion for life and a passion to help young women. What an amazing young woman.
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| Chelcie White |
My young friend Chelcie is a Junior in high school. She wrote this paper for a high school class last year when she was only 16 years old. She has a passion for life and a passion to help young women. What an amazing young woman.
Teenage Pregnancy: Whoops!
by Chelcie White
My Questions:
Do I quit school? Do I get an abortion? Do I put my baby up for adoption? Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a one year old baby as your own at only 16? You have to deal with the crying in the night, all the dirty diapers, and having to find a babysitter just so you could go to the movies with your friends. Well, this is reality for some teenage girls. They have to ask themselves these questions. Teenage pregnancy has slowly been on the rise over the past few years. All it takes is one time and your whole world could be changed forever. I chose this topic because I have a friend who is pregnant. I also chose teenage pregnancy because it has a lot to do with abortion, which is very important to me. Some questions I have about my topic are how does it affect boys vs. girls? What are the emotional effects of teenage pregnancies? How many abortions and adoptions are there each year? I want to learn the answer to these questions and many more. I want to know the parent’s view and how the pregnancy affects the young body. I want to gain understanding of this topic so I can share it with others. I want the outcome to be dramatic, especially with the statistics I am hoping to find. I think this will affect me in a good way. I hope it will open my eyes and the eyes of those around me to see that this is a real issue that girls our age are dealing with.
My Search Process:
My research process started with my essential questions. I asked myself a few questions that I wanted to find answers to. I started by going online to find some information on my topic. Our class then went to the school library and I found a few books. I found many interesting websites as well. Some websites had information about the morning after pill, boys, and abortions. It took some time to finally find a website on teen fathers, but I finally did and it was very helpful. On the other-hand, the book I checked out from the library wasn’t so helpful. I thought it was facts on how guys in general respond to pregnancy and how they took the news. It was more like 5 personal stories of teen fathers. It wasn’t what I was expecting or looking for. I also found many statistics on teenage pregnancy, abortion, and teen dads. Then, I interviewed my grandparents because they had my dad when they were both 17 years old. The interview went well and I learned a lot about my topic and about their story. My search became interesting for me when I started researching and reading information about abortion. The websites helped me accomplish a lot. They answered my questions and gave me information to use for my note cards. After researching teenage pregnancy, it makes me wonder if girls know there is always the possibility that they could get pregnant. Pregnancy can change a young girl’s life in a positive or even in a negative way.
What I Have Learned:
At the beginning of my search process, I had a ton of questions I wanted to get answered. One that stuck out to me was why? Why do girls have sex? Don’t they realize they can get a sexually transmitted disease or end up pregnant? In my research I found that they get carried away. Teenagers aren’t always thinking about the future and outcome when they’re having sex (Manohar). I’m sure they are just living in the moment and have never set personal boundaries for sex based on their values. There is not enough sex education so some teenagers don’t have the knowledge of what could possibly happen (Manohar). The media has a huge affect on teens as well. It shows us what is “in” or popular regarding clothing and music. Media also shows us what movies are good and what movies are bad. But it also affects the way teens look and view sex (Manohar). There are many celebrities out there who have sex and get pregnant before they are married and some before they are even 20 years old. Peer pressure and the desire to have sex aren’t the only reasons why girls have sex and get pregnant. Sexual abuse, as well as date rape are other possible reasons to why girls get pregnant (Manohar). I believe a lot of girls have sex as a result of peer pressure. I think boyfriends pressure them and also their desire for popularity pressures them to have sex. Girls want to feel loved so some will give in and not even realize or think about what could happen. For both the girl and the boy, that one moment could change their lives forever. Was it even worth it?
Getting pregnant so young comes with a lot of risks. Not only mentally and emotionally, but also physically and medically. I wanted to know the effect on the body of getting pregnant so young. The teenage body is still young and growing. It’s not fully matured and not ready to bare kids (Manohar). When a teenage girl gets pregnant, she needs to not only provide the right nutrition for herself, but she also needs enough for her baby. She needs to know that there is a real human inside of her not just tissue and that it needs the same healthy nutrition as she does. One thing that is not uncommon with teen pregnancies is premature births, which can lead to low birth weight. Brain damage and physical disabilities are some effects of preemie babies. Along with getting pregnant so young, other complicating factors include: smoking, doing drugs and drinking alcohol. These behaviors can lead to other problems regarding the pregnancy and the baby. When a girl finds out she’s pregnant, I think she needs to see a doctor right away. She should eat healthy and do everything she can to have a smooth and healthy pregnancy. Doctors will help them with their pre-natal vitamins. I know there are clinics out there that will help the girls with everything they need. One local pregnancy center is called the Crisis Pregnancy Center and they help girls with everything they need. I eventually want to work at one to help pregnant women.
In addition to eating right and taking care of oneself through the pregnancy, I also think the teen mother should think ahead. Does she keep the baby? Can she afford to take care of it? Does she give it up for adoption? How can she give her very own child to someone else? One thing I do not think she should do is get an abortion. Ningthoujam Sandhyarani stated “Abortion refers to the procedure for termination of a pregnancy. It is achieved by removing the embryo and/or fetus along with the placenta from the uterus of the gravida or pregnant woman.” In other words, “Abortion can be defined as pregnancy termination accidently as in miscarriage or by choice” said Dr. Maisie M. There are various types of abortions: spontaneous abortion, induced abortion, and late term abortion are the main ones I will explain. First, spontaneous abortion is basically a miscarriage. It occurs on its own; without any medical intervention (Sandhyarani). “On average, about 20-25% of pregnancies result in miscarriages” (Sandhyarani). To me that is a huge number! About a quarter of pregnancies end in miscarriages. This leads to me wonder what causes them? Are there any symptoms? Next, there are induced abortions. “An induced abortion is carried out by the administration of pills or surgical procedures” (Sandhyarani). An abortion can happen as early as the day after conception if a girl takes the “Morning after pill”. “Two pills taken in sequence, blocks a pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of intercourse and is most effective within the first 24 hours (Morning After Pills). I firmly believe that life begins at the moment of conception and understand that this pill actually terminates a life if a pregnancy has occurred. Finally, there is late term abortion. A late term abortion is when a girl gets an abortion when she is 24 weeks along in her pregnancy. “This happens in a two step surgical process in which the fetus’ heart is stopped and then the fetus is removed by surgical dilation and evacuation” (Sandhyarani). To me, abortion is a way to get out of a bad situation-the unplanned pregnancy. Some girls are scared to tell their parents they are pregnant so they go “erase” the problem before their parents even know. They are then usually left with a life time of guilt, depression, and possibly post abortion trauma. I don’t think girls fully understand what is going on inside of them. They need to know that there is a real live baby inside of them and if they decide to get an abortion, they are ultimately killing their child. Abortion not only kills the baby, but can also lead to an infection, reoccurring miscarriages, or even death of the mother (Dr. Maisie M). The alternative to abortion is adoption. There are plenty of families out there who are looking to adopt. It is physically impossible for some women to conceive a baby on their own therefore they turn to adoption. I think girls should think twice about having an abortion because ultimately, that baby could not only change their life forever, but it could possibly save their life as well by helping them to strive for a better life for themselves and their child.
Throughout my research, I found a lot of information on the teenage mother, so I wanted to find a little bit on the teen father. I found that parenthood and pregnancy do affect the teen father. They need help, advice, and encouragement to take responsibility (Mueller). My grandparents, Mark and Sandy, had my dad when they were only 17 years old, so I chose to interview them. When I asked Mark what he first thought was when he found out Sandy was pregnant, he replied, “I wondered if I should quit school and get a job. My mom and grandma were upset so they sent me to Arkansas to work on a ranch and to hopefully forget about Sandy and the baby. I left only because my mom forced me to go - not because I wanted to. I never wanted to leave” (White). Mark eventually came back and married Sandy and they are still married to this day. That isn’t always the case for every teen pregnancy. I consider myself blessed that my grandparents did not have a “choice” to abort in 1969-70 because their child was ultimately destined to be my daddy!
Marriage isn’t always the end result of teen pregnancies. According to the Lifetime Family Center, only 20% of teen fathers marry the baby’s mother (Mueller). I thought it was interesting to find that teen fathers usually have a low self esteem and they are less likely to earn a high school diploma (Mueller). To me, I feel that sometimes when a guy finds out his girlfriend is pregnant; he leaves her because he is scared and doesn’t know what to do. A baby might not exactly fit into his plans for life. I did, however, learn that there are some guys out there that will stay with the girl and work through it and deal with the challenges head on. I think girls, as well as guys need to be informed about the results of sex and being a parent. My grandparents both agreed that they were unaware and unprepared for the giving up of future dreams, educational plans, former priorities and the challenges of teen parenting. Mark stated, “As a teenager, you don’t get it. You don’t know about life because you haven’t lived it yet. You’re just in the moment, so you don’t realize or understand what could happen.” Teenagers shouldn’t be raising a kid when they are still kids themselves.
Ultimately, the statistics blew me away. The Sub-Saharan in Africa has the most teen pregnancies but the U.S. has a very high abortion rate (Manohar). In the U.S. in the year 1996, there were 1.37 million abortions which is approximately 3,700 abortions a day (Abortion Facts). To me, that breaks my heart because those babies weren’t even given the chance to live. It’s stated in the 14th amendment of our U.S. Constitution that “…nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property…” The babies aborted are getting their own right to live taken away from them before they even have the chance to use it. They could have found the cure for cancer or broken the home run record. Where would we be if Martin Luther King Jr. or Mahatma Ghandi had been aborted? Although black teens have the highest teen pregnancy rate, white women obtain 60% of all abortions (Abortion Facts). Another interesting fact to me, as a Christian, is that 18% of all abortions performed in the U.S. are on women who identify themselves as Christians (Abortion Facts). These next few facts were shocking to me. “In the year 2000, the total number of teen pregnancies in the United States was 821,810 (84 pregnancies per 1000 people) (Statistics on Teen Pregnancy). 3/4 of a million teens between 15 and 19 years old become pregnant each year. Teen mothers account for 11% of all births in the United States. Pregnant teens are less likely to attend college or even finish high school. About 1/3 of teens who are pregnant, choose abortion. There are many more statistics and facts out there, but these are a few that stood out to me. I would love to see these numbers go down and I will do all I can to see that happen in my lifetime. I believe that some girls don’t quite know what to do when they become pregnant so they turn to abortion. If they saw these numbers and heard the facts, I wonder if they would think twice about getting an abortion or having sex. One thing I read that really stood out to me indicated that, “For most of the last 2 decades, the pregnancy rate rose because more teenagers were sexually active, not because more sexually active teens were becoming pregnant.” Why become a negative and heartbreaking statistic, when you can stand up and defeat the odds in a positive way?
What This Means to Me:
While researching my topic I grew in many ways. I learned how to make note cards that will help me with my paper. I learned how to choose great information to include in my paper as well. “Bibme” was an excellent tool that helped me with my works cited page. I will definitely be using that website in the future. I also thought taking this paper one section at a time was very helpful and it made writing this paper fun and not such a burden. The most interesting topic to me was the abortion issue. There are so many interesting facts and statistics on abortion and teen pregnancy. Knowing the teen father’s point of view and knowing that the pregnancy affects them too was also very interesting to me. I would love to expand my research on teenage pregnancy and abortion in the future. This research paper affected me in many ways. First, I thought that most teen dads will just leave the pregnant mother and the situation because they don’t care, but I learned that some dads do care and want to help the mother and their child. This also affected me in a huge way with regard to my future career. I was planning on being a photographer. I thought I knew what I was going to do in college and after college, but this paper made me change my mind. My heart has grown bigger for pregnant teen girls and I now want to go into a career that involves helping pregnant women. I would even love to incorporate my passion for photography into my job as well. I will not judge a girl when I see she is pregnant because I don’t know the full story. My heart will be filled with nothing but love and compassion for those girls and hopefully can communicate that there is hope and a better solution than abortion. God is the creator of life and can turn a bad situation into something positive and life changing. Overall, this research paper was a fulfilling experience.
Chelcie is writing another paper this term and I am looking forward to reading her thoughts and seeing what she has learned! Awesome job Chelcie! I know your work is touching lives as we speak and you will be used to reach out and touch many lives in the future!
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