Running Head: TEENAGE PENGNANCY

Teenage Pregnancy
Diana D. Mateo
Feliciano Arrieta
April 10, 2016

TEENAGE PREGNANCY
Abstract
Teen pregnancy is a very serious problem in El Paso and it affects the pregnant
teen, the government and the community of El Paso. Pregnant teens are affected in their
economic and personal lives. Pregnant teenagers are affected in their economy because

they prefer to invest their money for their baby. Teen pregnancy can also be dangerous for
the pregnant teen because they are more likely to suffer from serious health risks. There
are many factors that contribute to teen pregnancy, but poverty, lack of education and
lack of communication are the most common. There are many contraceptives in El Paso
that many men and women can use to prevent a pregnancy and an STD. Teenage
pregnancy is bad for the community of El Paso but if this community works together and
communicates with other citizens they can find a solution to combat this problem and
lower the pregnancy rates in El Paso.
Keywords: effects on society, government and the pregnant teen and common
factors

TEENAGE PREGNANCY
Teenage Pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy is a very serious problem in todays society. This problem
affects the pregnant teenager, the government and the community of El Paso in their
economic and personal lives. There is evidence in a recent study that shows the cost of

pregnancies. They cost the government billions of dollars, which is bad for many citizens
of El Paso. The government spends billions of dollars to help pregnant teens with medical
expenses and raises taxes at the same time which affects many Americans in their
economy. That means that everyone in El Paso is being charged to help pregnant teens.
There are many factors that contribute to this problem. Lack of communication, lack of
education and poverty are the most common factors that contribute to teen pregnancies.
The good news about this problem is that now a days there are many contraceptives that
can prevent a pregnancy. This report will analyze how El Paso is affected by pregnant
teenagers, factors that lead to pregnancies, and how pregnant teens are affected.
Teenage pregnancies can be bad and dangerous for most citizens of El Paso. They
can be dangerous and bad for the pregnant teen, the government and the community of El
Paso. According to the Teen Pregnancy Is A Serious Problem, teenage pregnancies are
very dangerous. Pregnant teens are more likely to suffer from serious health risks while
pregnant. They are more likely to experience anemia, sexually transmitted diseases or
high maternal death rates. The most dangerous thing that can happen to a pregnant teen is
to contract an STD while pregnant because their child has the risk to get an STD as well.
Pregnant teens are bad for the community of El Paso and the government because they
cost society billions of dollars every year. There are many teen mothers in El Paso and
they cost the government about $40 billion. Each year the government spends much

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money to help teenagers with their economic expenses and each year the government
raises taxes as well. Technically, the society is paying teens to get pregnant. Each time a
teen gets pregnant the government takes money away from citizens of El Paso and gives
it to these teen to help them support their babies.
Pregnant teenagers struggle in their personal lives and in their education because
they do not have time to focus on school or themselves anymore. Pregnant teens are less
likely to finish college or get a degree because they prefer to take care of the baby they
are expecting. According to (Farber, 2014) most pregnant teens start to have little interest
or emotional energy to invest in school. Pregnant teens prefer to invest in things for the
baby because their priorities change at the moment they conceive. Their friendships are
damaged as well because their own friends exclude them from things. Another
disadvantage can be that the father does not want to help the pregnant teen or refuses to
acknowledge his paternity. According to (Farber, 2014) there are more disadvantages for
women when they become mothers at a young age. The only advantage, according to her
was that pregnant teens receive help from the government.
According to Akella & Jordan (2015) there are many factors that contribute to
teen pregnancy. Lack of communication, poverty, and lack of education are some factors.
Lack of communication is the most common factor among teenagers. According to Dr.
Kristin A. Moore, Auriana Ojeda and health educator Barbara W. Sugland there are many
parents in El Paso who cannot talk to their children about certain topics. Sex is a topic
that most parents do not feel comfortable talking about, but it is important for them to
talk to their children about this. It is important for parents to communicate with their
children and talk about sex so they can inform their children about the many

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contraceptives that there are now and that they can use to avoid a pregnancy.
Communication is very important, especially when someone has a teenage kid. When
parents do not communicate with their children they are more likely to make more
mistakes because they do not realize the consequences of their acts. Communication
between parents and children is very essential to combat teenage pregnancies. Poverty is
another factor that contributes to teenage pregnancy. According to (Ojeda, 2003) there are
many young women in El Paso that get pregnant to find someone who can support them
financially but this becomes a problem when fathers do not want to acknowledge their
paternity. There are also other cases where teenagers decide to get pregnant so they can
receive help from the government. What most of these teenagers do not know is that the
government helps them just for a short period of time, but at the end when the baby is a
little older the only one that has to deal with the baby is the mother.
Lack of education is another factor that can lead to an unwanted adolescent
pregnancy. There are still many women in the society of El Paso who have never received
sexual education in their school or with their family. Most of the time schools offer
sexual education programs, but there are still many parents in the society of El Paso who
think that by letting their children hear about sex or other topics related to it their children
are more likely to want to have sexual relationships at a young age, which according to
Akella & Jordan (2015) is not true. It is important for parents and schools to educate their
children when they reach maturity. If parents and schools do this the pregnancy rates
would not be as high as they are in this decade. There are many young women in El Paso
that get pregnant because they are unfamiliar with all the contraceptives that there are in

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the city of El Paso. There were also other young women who got pregnant because they
did not know about the consequences of having unprotected sex.
The Teen Pregnancy Is A Serious Problem provides important information on how
pregnancies can be avoided. There are also many campaigns, organizations and programs
in El Paso that are provided in The Teen Pregnancy Is A Serious Problem. The Texas
Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy is one of the many campaigns in El Paso that is
held annually. This campaign as many others in El Paso are in charge of addressing the
issue of teen pregnancy. The main objective of these campaigns and organizations are to
raise awareness about effective prevention programs. There are many organizations in El
Paso that can provide teenagers important information on how to prevent a pregnancy.
Most teenagers and people from El Paso think that these campaigns are to convince
teenagers to not have sex, but the main objectives of these organizations and campaigns
are to prevent teenagers and raise their awareness. By this teenagers can be more
conscious and aware about their actions and understand that becoming a father or mother
is not an easy task and that it demands a lot of things from a person. It is important for
parents to get their children involved in these organizations. There are many teenagers
who do not think it is necessary to attend to these types of organizations but truth is that it
is important because it can help teenagers be more aware. If teenagers go to this type of
programs there would not be a lot of pregnant teenagers in the city of El Paso.
Teenage pregnancy is a problem that it is always going to exist. According to
(Armstrong, 2015) there is not a real solution for this problem but there are many things
that the society of El Paso can do to prevent this problem. Citizens of El Paso need to talk
to teens about the many contraceptives that there exist to prevent a pregnancy or an STD.

TEENAGE PREGNANCY
It is very important for teenagers to know about the various contraceptives that there are
in order for them to take care of themselves and their health. Permanent sterilization is
one of the most effective methods that there are to avoid an unwanted pregnancy but
Armstrong does not recommend teenagers to do this. The best method for teenagers
according to (Armstrong, 2015) is the use of condoms. Condoms are not as effective as
the permanent sterilization but it is safer for teenagers to use. The use of condoms can
prevent a pregnancy but the other advantage of the condom is that it can prevent young
men and women to get an STD. This is the reason why Armstrong considers it to be the
best contraceptive method. Before using a contraceptive the person must consider the
safety, efficacy, availability and acceptability so people can prevent anything bad to
happen, like an unwanted pregnancy.
There are many young teenagers that do not really understand that having a baby
is a big decision that requires much thinking. Many of them do not think of the
consequences that pregnancies can have. Having a baby requires special care and
especially a mother who is physically, emotionally and psychologically ready. Pregnant
teenagers can live a normal life, but they are more likely to struggle in life because they
are not psychologically ready to take care of someone else besides them. Pregnant teens
are a risk for the society of El Paso and the government. It is important for people to
know that pregnancies affects El Paso, the pregnant teen and the government and be
familiar with the factors that lead to this problem in order to find a solution to prevent

this problem. If the citizens of El Paso work together as a community they can find many
ways to prevent teenage girls to get pregnant.
References

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Akella, D., & Jordan, M. (2015). Impact of Social and Cultural Factors on Teen Pregnancy.
Journal Of Health Disparities Research & Practice, 8(1), 41-61.
Armstrong, A. Y. (2015). Contraception: Unmet Needs, Existing Options, and New
Technologies. Hauppauge, NY, USA: Nova Science Publishers, Inc..
Retrieved from http://www.ebrary.com.
Farber, N. (2014). The Not-So-Good News about Teenage Pregnancy. Society, 51(3),
282-287.
(n.d.). Teen Pregnancy is a Serious Problem - Teen Pregnancy & Abortion. Retrieved March 19,
2016, from https://sites.google.com/site/teenpregnancyabortion/home/teen-pregancy-is-aserious-problem
Ojeda, A. (2003). Teenage pregnancy: Opposing viewpoints. Farmington Hills, MI:
Greenhaven Press.