The high school I attend has less than 500 students who are enrolled. Last school year alone, three girls became a teen mom; two were seniors and one was a junior. Teen pregnancies have become so popular the past few years. MTV even decided to come up with a reality show called 16 and Pregnant which also led into Teen Mom.
Why teen pregnancy has rose dramatically? According to Teen Help, the United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate of the Western industrialized world. Birth rate was much higher in teenagers prior to 1980, since it was accepted for a woman to get married at a young age and have children before the age of 20. But in today’s world it is frowned upon. Most of today's teen moms are not married. About 820,000 teens become pregnant each year. In Japan, the teen pregnancy rate is eight times lower than the United States.
Alisha, my cousin, became pregnant in her teenage years. She was the captain of her cheerleading squad. When asked why she thinks teen pregnancy has transcended she responded with, “I think it’s just so common now. Girls think, ‘Well if she can do it so can I.’ I think now there are more households where two parents are working, so they are not spending as much time with their kids, and they are unsupervised. I also think a lot of parents are embarrassed to talk to their kids about sex and pregnancy prevention.” Alisha and Steve, her baby’s father, recently became married. “You don’t need a man in your life to be a good mother. Do what’s best for your child,” is Alisha’s word of advice for girls whose baby’s father left them.
Hannah, my neighbor, had her first child about a year ago. She was a senior in high school and went through more struggles than an average teen mom. Hannah comes from an extremely religious Catholic family, her brother went to school to become a priest, and there are six other family members living in her house. Living in a small town, it is obvious that a lot of people would talk poorly about Hannah AND her family! She stated that once her stomach became a lot bigger, her dad was too afraid to bring her to church. "God only gives you what he knows you can handle,” is one of the quotes that keeps Hannah motivated to be the best for her daughter.
In this video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzgXBpDZxqU, it shows how a teenage girl 'faked' her pregnancy for months just to see how people would treat her. It is clear that people are visious towards teen moms. It isn't always the 'slut' who becomes pregnant. It can captain of the cheerleading team, or even the girl who grew up around Christ her whole life. One little mistake someone made shouldn't ruin the rest of their life. Teen moms are forced into growing up faster than everyone around them, so I think they deserve a round of applause.
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