Teenage Pregnancy Essay Sample

• Topics: Health
• Pages: 2
• Words: 507
• Date added: May 29, 2020

Teenage pregnancy has been on the rise since the early 2000’s. There does not seem to be one clear reason why this is happening, but the American society has been made aware of the seriousness of the issue. Many young women aged 14-18 are now having pregnancy parties and making pregnancy pacts amongst each other. These pregnancy parties are celebrations of a young teenage girls having a baby. The pregnancy pacts are promises made between teenaged girls to have children together or around the same age. During recent times this teenage pregnancy has gone from a simple fad to an epidemic that holds a lot of consequences for society.

Contributions to Teenage Pregnancy: Pressure of Peers

We have all heard of peer pressure and know all too well how effective it can be to get people to do things. Humans are social creatures that have a natural desire to fit in or be apart of a group. This is especially true during the high school years of life. During this time a teenager is going through many changes that affect them at every level. They have social pressures as well as physical changes that effective their status and how they are treated at school. Peer pressure can influence a young woman’s mind into doing things that she may not be ready to do. During this time of development a teenager’s mind is still growing and expanding meaning they are not emotionally or mentally mature enough to make certain decisions. According to one sexual statistical study, more than 30% of teenagers felt some pressure to have sex or face public ridicule by peers.

Glamorized Perceptions of Pregnancy based on the Media

A new phenomenon in television has been introduced via MTV that has shocked the nation. There have been new hit reality television shows like Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant that show the trials and tribulations of a teenaged mother. These shows were originally broadcasted as a way of diverting young women’s desire to be pregnant. However, it seems to have backfired and many of these teenaged mothers have gone on to become stars in their own right. Many young teenaged girls look up to these stars and want to become them. These televisions shows may have unintentionally encouraged these young teenage girls to get pregnant in the hopes of becoming famous.

There are a wide variety of reasons why the teenage pregnancy rate is going through the roof. Some scientist believe that there is a lack of information circulating, while others believe that false information is to blame. Rape and incest is another major contributing figure to teenage pregnancy as many young women have been molested by men over the age of 25 years old. Also there has been a correlation between alcohol and substance abuse with teenaged pregnancy. In any case teenage pregnancy is becoming a serious issue that America is being forced to deal with. If proper precautions are not taken this could result in an epidemic that is uncontrollable.