Jul 15 2008
Teen Pregnancy
This last week I came across an ad featuring the latest headlines from OK! Magazine. Normally, I would glance at the headlines, roll my eyes and wish for a world where we are not obsessed with celebrities. They are, after all, only people who have done exceptionally well in their business. Nothing really to be enamoured with, but I will be the first to admit that I have occasionally succumbed to the tabloids.
Of course, I am probably in the minority of people who feel this way, although I know other liked minded individuals are out there, and when it comes to teens, in particular, there are a greater number of teens watching what their favorite stars are doing so they can emulate them in some manner or another.
So why am I going on about celebrities? It all goes back to the OK! Magazine that featured Jamie Lynn Spears and her new baby girl. Sure that seems pretty innocent. A young girl happily posing with her baby. We have seen hundreds of celebrity moms in the same pose on the cover of that very same magazine. The main problems are:
- The caption with the photograph, “Being a mom is the best feeling in the world!” – Ok! Weekly, July 2008
- She is only 17 years old.
Yes, I agree with the caption. Being a mom is a wonderful experience and although I will never hold it against anyone for having a child as a teen, my mother was 16 when she gave me up for adoption, I have a problem with the fact that magazines are turning this into something hip and easy that all girls should try.
“Like, oh my gawd, did you try that new cherry lip balm? Completely amazing. Oh, I haven’t tried the lip balm but being pregnant, and like a mom, is the best high in the world, even better than lip balm. Oh, my gawd, really? Yeah, completely.”
I know, my teen lingo is probably completely dated and I’m sure that this conversation does not occur verbatim but there are many conversations out there that should be occurring that aren’t. These are the conversations at home where parents discuss sexual education and teaching their children about birth control.
On top of those helpful tips, it is very important to stress that being pregnant is not a new “in” thing to do. In a school in New England, it is believed that a group of girls made a pact to become pregnant. A large number of girls becoming pregnant in a small town is is not as uncommon an occurrence as you may think, although the pact may be. When I myself was 15, I moved away from the small town that I was living in. Just before I left, one of my friends found out that she was pregnant and she wasn’t sure what she was going to do. A year and a half later I went back for a visit and found out my friend had kept the baby and 8 other friends were either pregnant or had just had a baby. In a town of just over 6000 residents, that is a high number of pregnancies for just one year.
On top of the regular pressures, when teens are flooded with images of a perky, happily pregnant 16 year old who has the perfect baby shower, also published in the magazine, an exciting delivery and an amazing end result with a huge payday for photos, many girls begin to see the possibility of starting a family early without the ramifications behind the act.
In the US alone, just under one million teen pregnancies will occur this year. Of these pregnancies, roughly 95% are unplanned and one third are aborted. (Teen Pregnancy Rates in the USA by Victor C. Strasburger, MD. 2008, http://www.coolnurse.com/teen_pregnancy_rates.htm) This equates to a lot of risk, heartache and cost for society in the whole. Not to mention the health risks that are involved with teen pregnancy. These can be:
- low birth rate for the baby.
- complications during delivery
- fetal death or the baby could be stillborn.
- anemia
- high-blood pressure
It is these facts that parents should discuss with children. Although the long term consequences of the action, the monetary, and the “real” life problems that will occur should also be discussed, the here and now problems are the ones that will affect a teen’s decision more. The inability to finish classes, the risks to her body and the risks to the baby may deter her from trying to get pregnant or from not practicing safe sex.
Lastly, it is important to let your child know that you are there for her. That you love her and will support her if something does happen. If your teen does become pregnant, there is no point to rage and scream about it –although not doing so is probably much easier said than done — and instead, you should work together to figure out all the options and what is the best one for you, your teen daughter and the baby she is carrying.
For more information on speaking to teens about sex, visit this post and for more information on teen pregnancy, I would strongly recommend http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/teen_pregnancy.html and http://www.coolnurse.com/teen_pregnancy_rates.htm
Sirena Van Schaik
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