|Teenage Piegnancyj

The Effects of Eaily Piegnancy in

Noith Ameiican Society

Mohammad 2aman
Student #
rof
SCC 103
11]6]2011





1

Table of Contents


lnLroducLlon age 2
8ody ages 3 7
sychologlcal lacLors ages 3 4
SocleLy lnLenLlons age 3
Medla CversexuallsaLlon age 4
hyslcal lacLors ages 3 6
CbeslLy Pormonelaced roducLs age 3
8lologlcal CeneLlc age 6
Soclal lacLors age 7
Concluslon age 8
Work ClLed age 9















2

Teenage Piegnancy
1eenage or Larly regnancy ls formally deflned as a pregnancy ln a young woman who
has noL reached her 20Lh blrLhday when Lhe pregnancy ends regardless of wheLher Lhe woman
ls marrled or ls legally an adulL (age 14 Lo 21 dependlng on Lhe counLry) 1eenage regnancy
once a Laboo ls now a growlng Lrend Many socleLles Loday don'L vlew early pregnancles as such
a serlous lssue as Lhey would a decade or Lwo ago 1hls once humlllaLlng deLerrenL creaLed by
socleLy has losL mosL of lLs lnfluence on Leens Loday due Lo facLors such as over sexuallsaLlon
medla and physlologlcal facLors 1hls lssue ls noL only creaLed Lhrough Lhe mlsLakes of medla
buL lL ls also Lhe facL LhaL chlldren are golng Lhrough puberLy earller buL are Laklng longer Lo
psychologlcally maLure lnLo adulLhood A recenL sLudy conducLed by Lhe 1yra 8anks show
revealed Lhe followlng
O Cn average glrls are loslng Lhelr vlrglnlLy aL 13 years of age
O 14 percenL of Leens who are havlng sex say Lhey're dolng lL aL school
O 32 percenL of survey respondenLs say Lhey do noL use proLecLlon when havlng sex
O Cne ln Lhree says she fears havlng a sexually LransmlLLed dlsease
O 24 percenL of Leens wlLh S1us say Lhey sLlll have unproLecLed sex
O Cne ln flve glrls says she wanLs Lo be a Leen mom
1hough Lhls sLudy ls shocklng lL does noL represenL Lhe same clrcumsLances among all
Leenage pregnancles ln norLh Amerlca many oLher facLors such as poverLy rape sexual
educaLlon conLracepLlon peer pressure drugs and eLc could deLermlne Lhe number of Leen
pregnancles ln a cerLaln socleLy We wlll explore Lhese Loplcs ln greaLer deLall ln Lhls essay
3

sycho|og|ca| Iactors Soc|ety and Intent|ons
1een pregnancles can be placed lnLo Lwo sub caLegorles lnLenLlonal and unlnLenLlonal
where ln lnLenLlonal pregnancles (20 percenL) Lhe maln drlvlng facLor ls Lhe Leenager wlshlng
for a baby ln Lhe near fuLure and plans Lo have a chlld wlLh her boyfrlend may lL be hls wlsh or
noL 1hls way of Lhlnklng ls a growlng Lrend ln some areas of Lhe world as sLaLed ln lnLroducLlon
unlnLenLlonal pregnancles (80 percenL) Lhe ma[orlLy of Leenage pregnancles are ofLen
assoclaLed Lo lack of conLracepLlon or lack of sexual educaLlon buL anoLher Lwo large facLors noL
commonly LhoughL of are rape and peer pressure 1he facL of Lhe maLLer ls LhaL mosL Leen
pregnancles are unlnLenLlonal AddlLlonally mosL of Lhem occur Lo unwed Leen moLhers 1hls
means LhaL even Lhough mosL Leens do noL wanL Lo become pregnanL Lhey are sLlll becomlng
so as a resulL of sexual acLlvlLy Whlle acLual force Lo have sex ls rare many Leenage glrls
(especlally Lhose under Lhe age of 13) feel pressured Lo have sex" (1eenPelpcom 2011) ln
mosL cases Lhe boyfrlend of Lhese Leenage glrls forces Lhem lnLo havlng lnLercourse and slnce
many of Lhese glrls are very young Lhey as well as Lhelr parLner are unaware of Lhe
consequences of Lhelr acLlons A slgnlflcanL correlaLlon exlsLs beLween chlldhood sexual
abuse and Leen pregnancy An esLlmaLed 60 percenL of Leen glrls' flrsL pregnancles are
preceded by experlences of molesLaLlon rape or aLLempLed rape ln one sLudy beLween 30
and 44 percenL of Leen moLhers were vlcLlms of rape or aLLempLed rape up Lo 20 percenL of
glrls become pregnanL as Lhe dlrecL resulL of rape " (Cara 2008) 1herefore rape and peer
pressure play a large parL ln whaL Lhe acLual cause of Leenage pregnancy ls ln socleLy Loday

4

sycho|og|ca| Iactors Med|a and Cver Sexua||sat|on
Medla plays an lmporLanL parL ln our llves lL ls ever presenL and ls consLanLly
confronLlng us aL every Lurn and as Lhe norms change Lo allow over sexuallsaLlon lnLo our
socleLy so wlll Lhls affecL chlldren and Lhe raLe of early pregnancles Medla and over
sexuallsaLlon noL only affecL Lhe way chlldren and Leenagers Lhlnk buL lL also changes lnfluences
and Laboos of socleLy As brlefly Lalked abouL ln Lhe lnLroducLlon Lhe way our socleLy vlews
Leenage pregnancles ls slowly changlng lL grows more lenlenL as oppose Lo Lhe way Leenage
pregnancles were vlewed as 10 or even 20 years ago ln Lhe pasL Lhe humlllaLlng deLerrenL
creaLed by Lhe general conservaLlve socleLy for Leenage pregnancles managed Lo lower overall
Leen pregnancy raLes Powever medla ls changlng vlews values and bellefs
1he M1v show 16 ooJ lteqooot and lLs splnoff 1eeo Mom have feLlshlzed Leenage
moLherhood and blzarrely made lL glamorous 16 ooJ lteqooot a reallLy serles LhaL began lasL
year purporLed Lo show Lhe hardshlps endured by Leen moLhers buL somehow evolved lnLo a
soap opera ln whlch Lhe cenLral flgures wlLh badass boyfrlends and bewlldered parenLs
became lnLrlgulng flgures even flgures Lo be emulaLed" (uoyle 2010) 1here are Lhree
dlsLurblng Lrends evolvlng here llrsL lL would appear LhaL Leenagers engaglng ln sex are noL
consldered Lhe llllclL behavlour here lL's Lhe use of blrLh conLrol LhaL's somehow helnous
Second Lhe focus ls relenLlessly on Lhe moms 1he Leenage faLher ls sldellned SomeLlmes he
dlsappears enLlrely and ls lnvarlably descrlbed ln Lhe Leen vernacular as a sllmeball" And
Lhlrd Lhe ldea ls nurLured LhaL socleLy rewards unwed Leen moLherhood wlLh fame and
aLLenLlon 8elng a Leen mom helps you wln Lhe blg popularlLy conLesL" (uoyle 2010)
3

hys|ca| Iactors Cbes|ty and normone|aced roducts
As odd as lL may seem obeslLy along wlLh hormonelaced producLs can play a large role
ln everyday behavlors of people even when lL comes Lo becomlng pregnanL nelLher obeslLy
nor hormonelaced producLs are dlrecLly llnked Lo Leenage pregnancy however lL ls llnked Lo
precoclous puberLy recoclous puberLy ls a Lerm LhaL slmply means early puberLy or when Lhe
body changes LhaL happen durlng puberLy occur earller Lhan normal 1hls means chlldren are
physlcally able Lo do cerLaln Lhlngs much earller wlLhouL belng psychologlcally ready for Lhem
recoclous puberLy ls qulLe concernlng as lL wlll force chlldren lnLo bodles of pubescenL
Leenagers or adulLs where Lhey wlll encounLer Lhlngs Lhey are noL psychologlcally ready for
8oLh facLors of precoclous puberLy obeslLy and hormonelaced producLs enLer Lhe body
Lhrough some medlum and resulL ln lncreased levels of puberLy lnduclng hormones
As chlldren LhaL eaL a loL buL do noL exerclse ofLen enough (currenL obeslLy Lrend ln
norLh Amerlca) have hlgh levels of Lhe proLeln lepLln 1hls chemlcal Lhrough a compllcaLed
chaln lnvolvlng Lhe hypoLhalamus and plLulLary gland can sLlmulaLe Lhe release of Lhe Lhree
maln hormones ln puberLy hypoLhalamlc gonadoLroplnreleaslng hormone luLelnlzlng
hormone and folllclesLlmulaLlng hormone" (Wan[ek 2007) 1hese 3 hormones are whaL
sLlmulaLe precoclous puberLy ln glrls and slmllar hormones sLlmulaLe precoclous puberLy ln
boys Pormonelaced producLs follow slmllar sLeps as ln precoclous puberLy Lhrough obeslLy
above wlLh an excepLlon Lhey dlrecLly lmpacL Lhe chlld's hormone levels by produclng
lncreased levels of Lhe 2 maln hormones esLrogen or LesLosLerone whlch Lhen sLlmulaLe
puberLy
6

hys|ca| Iactors 8|o|og|ca| and Genet|c
recoclous uberLy ls noL only caused by exLernal facLors such as obeslLy or hormone
laced producLs buL lL can also be creaLed Lhrough naLural lnLernal facLors such as blologlcal and
geneLlc anomalles lL ls posslble ln some cases LhaL a healLhy chlld may naLurally undergo
precoclous puberLy 1hese cases are uncommon however docLors have found a gene llnked Lo
precoclous puberLy LhaL may explaln why Lhese healLhy klds mlghL sLlll experlence precoclous
puberLy 1he muLanL gene was only found ln one 8yearold glrl who had gone Lhrough early
puberLy and none of Lhe normal women 1he researchers belleve Lhe muLanL gene led Lo an
early surge of Lhe sex hormone esLrogen whlch subsequenLly seL Lhe chaln of evenLs assoclaLed
wlLh puberLy lnLo moLlon" (Chllds 2008) ln some cases precoclous puberLy may be a slgn LhaL
llnks Lhe chlld's early puberLy Lo a braln Lumour more speclflcally a Lumour ln Lhe
hypoLhalamus whlch conLrols Lhe glands LhaL release puberLy lnduclng hormones
SLudles have also revealed LhaL precoclous puberLy ls far more common among glrls of
color 1he sLudy revealed a surprlslngly large bump ln Lhe number of glrls golng Lhrough
puberLy beLween Lhe ages of 7 and 8 lor example Lhe researchers found LhaL 10 percenL of 7
yearold whlLe glrls had some breasL developmenL as compared Lo 3 percenL ln a sLudy
publlshed ln 1997 Slmllarly 23 percenL of Lhe 7yearold black glrls had sLarLed puberLy as
compared Lo 13 percenL ln Lhe 1997 sLudy" (Carroll 2010) Several sLudles show 8lack and
Plspanlc glrls Lo have a far greaLer raLe of precoclous puberLy Lhan compared Lo Caucaslan glrls
8egardless of Lhe race all glrls are headlng Lowards a greaLer posslblllLy of experlenclng
precoclous puberLy
7

Soc|a| Iactors
ln developed counLrles Leenage pregnancles are assoclaLed or sLereoLyped wlLh many
soclal lssues lncludlng lower educaLlonal levels hlgher raLes of poverLy and oLher poorer llfe
ouLcomes ln chlldren of Leenage moLhers 1eenage pregnancy ls usually ouLslde of marrlage
and carrles a soclal sLlgma ln many communlLles and culLures however Lhls soclal sLlgma has a
weaker effecL ln Loday's socleLy as dlscussed ln Lhe lnLroducLlon lL ls also much harder for Lhese
Leen moLhers Lo obLaln [obs or educaLlon and ofLen rely on Lhelr parenLs or on soclal beneflLs
LhaL place a cosL on socleLy / average Lax payer ln 2004 Leenage pregnancles cosL Lhe uS
governmenL over $98 bllllon dollars Accordlng Lo Lhe reporL Lhe cosLs lncluded $19 bllllon
for healLh care $23 bllllon for chlld welfare $21 bllllon for lncarceraLlon and $29 bllllon ln
lower Lax revenue " (MarLln 2006)
SLudles also reveal LhaL dlfferenL races are more suscepLlble Lo geL more pregnanL Lhan
oLhers ln Lhls one sLudy 1he research revealed LhaL whlle 19 percenL of whlLe glrls wlll
become pregnanL durlng Lhelr Leen years 33 percenL of LaLlna and 31 percenL of Afrlcan
Amerlcan glrls wlll do so Sexual vlolence ls especlally pervaslve ln Lhe llves of glrls of color "
(Cara 2008) 1he reasons as Lo why Lhls may happen can slmply be Lraced back Lo Lhelr famllles
lf Lhe famllles of Lhese glrls are lmmlgranLs poor llvlng ln Lhe gheLLos" Lhen Lhey have a far
greaLer rlsk of geLLlng pregnanL as Lhey are ln an unsafe and uneducaLed envlronmenL Ma[orlLy
of Lhe famllles LhaL llve a good sLandard of llvlng are Caucaslans LhaL are educaLed enough noL
Lo abuse Lhelr chlldren whlch ls why Lhe raLe of whlLe glrls geLLlng pregnanL ls far lower

8

Conc|us|on
1eenage regnancles are deLrlmenLal for socleLy and even more so for Lhe many boys
and glrls LhaL make lL happen 1here are many facLors LhaL are assoclaLed Lo Leenage
pregnancles LhaL can be broken down lnLo 2 sub caLegorles lnLenLlonal and unlnLenLlonal
Ma[orlLy of Lhe pregnancles are unlnLenLlonal and are ofLen caused by lack of conLracepLlve
peer pressure rape or lack of sexual educaLlon noneLheless Lhe number of lnLenLlonal
Leenage moLhers ls rlslng and ls caused by many facLors such as medla over sexuallsaLlon and
physlologlcal facLors
Medla and Cver sexuallsaLlon are amongsL Lhe sLrongesL facLors drlvlng lnLenLlonal
Leenage pregnancles 1hrough reallLy 1v shows such as 1eeo Mom and oLher forms of medla
Leen pregnancy ls glamorlzed and ls someLhlng LhaL makes glrls wanL Lo emulaLe Medla also
causes deLerrenLs creaLed by socleLy on lLs conservaLlve vlews of Leen pregnancy seL ln Lhe pasL
Lo weaken Lhus allowlng young Leens Lhlnk LhaL lL ls ok" CbeslLy and hormonelaced food also
forces chlldren Lo go Lhrough puberLy conslderably earller Lhus creaLlng a growlng gap beLween
early maLuraLlon of Lhe body and laLe psychologlcal developmenL lnLo adulLhood Powever
naLurally occurrlng geneLlc anomalles such as Lhe muLanL gene recenLly dlscovered and braln
Lumors also llnk Lo precoclous puberLy ln chlldren buL are qulLe uncommon 1eenage
pregnancles place an exLenslve cosL on socleLy as well as Lhe average Lax payer ln 2004
Leenage pregnancles cosL Lhe uS governmenL over $98 bllllon dollars" Ma[orlLy of whlch ls Lhe
money losL ln Lax revenue LasLly Leen pregnancy raLes dlffer accordlng Lo race 1hese
dlfferences are malnly creaLed from llvlng sLandards envlronmenL educaLlon and peers
9

oik Citeu
1 Coffey L 1 (2008 nov 14) tvey uoptotecteJ sex commoo omooq teeos 8eLrleved from
hLLp//Lodaymsnbcmsncom/ld/27706917/ns/LodayparenLlng/L/surveyunproLecLedsex
commonamongLeens/
2 uoyle ! (2010 SepL 14) Joot to be oo ometlcoo teeo stot? qet koockeJ p 8eLrleved from
hLLp//wwwLheglobeandmallcom/news/arLs/Lelevlslon/[ohndoyle/wanLLobeanamerlcan
LeensLargeLknockedup/arLlcle1706010/
3 1eenPelpcom (2011) 1be teosoos teeos qet pteqooot 8eLrleved from
hLLp//wwwLeenhelpcom/Leenpregnancy/LeenpregnancyreasonshLml
4 Cara (2008 Aug 16) 1be llok betweeo teeo pteqooocy ooJ sexol vloleoce 8eLrleved from
hLLp//LhecurvaLurecom/2008/08/16/LhellnkbeLweenLeenpregnancyandsexualvlolence/
3 Wan[ek C (2007 SepL 4) 1be tttb bebloJ eotly pbetty 8eLrleved from
hLLp//wwwllvesclencecom/1824LruLhearlypuberLyhLml
6 Chllds u (2008 leb 14) towloq p too fost ltecoclos pbettys qeoe llok 8eLrleved from
hLLp//abcnewsgocom/PealLh/8eproducLlvePealLh/sLory?ld4286722page1
7 Carroll L (2010 Aug 9) towloq p too sooo? pbetty sttlkes 7yeotolJ qltls 8eLrleved from
hLLp//wwwmsnbcmsncom/ld/38600414/ns/healLhchlldrens_healLh/L/growlngLoosoon
puberLysLrlkesyearoldglrls/
8 MarLln 8 (2006 nov 1) 1een 8lrLhs CosL uS CovernmenL $918 ln 2004 uesplLe urop ln 1een
8lrLh regnancy 8aLes 8eporL Says MeJlcol News 1oJoy 8eLrleved from
hLLp//wwwmedlcalnewsLodaycom/releases/33373php
9 Sun l (2011) 8aby Mamas 1lme 178(3) 3860
10 Waddell L Crr M Sackoff ! SanLelll ! (2010) regnancy rlsk among black whlLe and
Plspanlc Leen glrls ln new ?ork ClLy publlc schools otool Of utboo neoltb 8lletlo Of 1be New
otk AcoJemy Of MeJlcloe 87(3) 426439
11 vlLal slgns Leen pregnancyunlLed SLaLes 19912009 (2011) MMJ MotblJlty AoJ Mottollty
Jeekly epott 60(13) 414420
12 hlpps M Salak ! nunes A 8osengard C (2011) Career asplraLlons and pregnancy
lnLenLlons ln pregnanL Leens otool Of leJlottlc AoJ AJolesceot yoecoloqy 24(2) e11e13
13 Cardoso l Arau[o M (2011) recoclous puberLy ln an elghLyearold glrl Ametlcoo lomlly
lbyslcloo 8J(4) 433436
14 Mbassl Awa P Abena Cbama M ondy A lenkowskl C nkoo Amvene S Mbede !
(2011) CenLral precoclous puberLy due Lo hypoLhalamlc hamarLoma ln Cameroon MJecloe
1toplcole eve u cotps ue oot coloolol 71(3) 309311