Causes og Teenager's Pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy has become a growing concern nowadays and hence it has become imperative to look into the various causes of teenage pregnancy in order to deal with this issue carefully. Teenage pregnancies are widely discouraged because the of health risks they raise for the young mothers and their babies.

This problem is more prevalent in developed countries, particularly USA. As the name itself indicates, teenage pregnancy refers to pregnancy in young girls, mostly aged 13 to 17 years. Pregnancy at such a tender age is primarily due to lack of sex education.
Lack of awareness about the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy is more often than not, a result of lack of proper communication between teenagers and their parents. Therefore, it is the duty of the parents to impart adequate sex education and education regarding reproductive health to their adolescent sons and daughters so that their children become aware of the various aspects related teenage sex and pregnancy.
Schools and society also need to emphasize the risk factors associated with unprotected sex as well as the outcomes of unplanned teenage pregnancy, not to mention the significance of moral and ethical values.
Reasons of Teenage Pregnancy
Lack of sex education is the most important but not the only cause of teenage pregnancy. Following are some other teenage pregnancy causes that can not be ignored.
• Psychological factors: The immature and irresponsible behavior arising due to complex teenage psychology is another important cause of teenage pregnancies. Teenagers often go through a number of emotions because of their own transition from childhood and peer pressure.
In addition, weak family relationships fail to provide the emotional support that teenagers require. This 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.
• Adolescent sexual behavior: As adolescence marks the onset of sexual maturity, it is but obvious that both the sexes show interest in and explore the much hyped topics of sex, thank to the irresponsible and careless approach of mass media.
This makes them vulnerable to teenage sex and pregnancy without adequate sex education. 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.
• Lack of discipline and control: Factors like alcohol and substance abuse accompanied by unrestricted interaction with the opposite sex can ignite the sparks of lust and passion in youngsters very easily ultimately leading to teenage pregnancy.
Nonetheless, at times, parents put too many restrictions of their children, especially girls to protect them from dangers. This overprotection gives rise to frustration and a feeling of not being loved and cared for. Thus, balance is the key to avoid this problem.
• Socio-economic factors: Childhood environment, lower educational and income levels have also been associated with high rates of teenage pregnancy because of negligence towards birth control methods.
• Sexual abuse of teenage girls is also one of the most disgraceful causes of teenage pregnancy. Sexual relationships between teenage girls and older men are more likely to end up in teenage pregnancy as compared to sexual relationships between teenage boys and girls.