http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wj4sHXRVjec

Teen PregnancyBy Melissa Malcolm

What is Teen Pregnancy?Female 13 to 19 years of ageCharacteristics:

Dependant on ParentsContinues to live at homeNote: Usually these women are unwed

Social Programs for Pregnant TeenagersThere are many programs worldwide and in Waterloo Region

that serve to pregnant teenagersThese programs help individuals find stable housing, jobs, and

lead normal livesPrograms:

Mary’s House- Helps teens find a stable job, home and lifeBirthright- International association that helps women

distressed by unplanned pregnanciesSocial Workers- Helps teens in several ways, such as through

support, assistance and information about different options.

Society’s Past View toward Teen Pregnancies

In the past, pregnant teenagers would be kept away from society once they started showing and in catholic schools would be forced to change schools

In addition, parents would disown their children or force them to have an abortion

Some teenagers were not allowed outside of the home when they started showing

How Society Adjusted

As more teen pregnancies occur, society has evolved to help these young women

Presently, many high schools have adjusted and added on- site free daycare to their students (Resurrection High School is a perfect example in the Waterloo Region)

Society is also more understanding and parents will often help their children through their time of need

Factors that cause Teen Pregnancy

Struggling economyTeen’s educational outlookTeen’s employment outlookLack of sexual educationPeer PressureLack of family and friend support baseReligion (I.e. may be against premarital sex)Friend and family sexual activity

Example of factors in a community causing teen pregnancyIn a Hamilton community on the poverty line, one out of

seven pregnancies are from teenage femalesContrasting this phenomenon, a wealthy community in

Burlington has very few teenage pregnanciesUpbringing and peer pressure has a lot to do with this

acceptance of teen pregnanciesThe teens in the Hamilton Community feel that they have

no future, so it doesn’t matter if they get pregnant“It's not unusual to see a teenager toting a baby through

Morgan's north Hamilton neighbourhood. In fact, in the blocks surrounding her home near Wentworth, north of the railway tracks, there's almost a one-in-five chance any infant you see has a teenage mom.”

Planned Teen PregnanciesTeen pregnancies are not all unplanned Some teens want to get pregnantOne reason to get pregnant is because

many teen celebrities, such as Jamie Lynn Spears, became teen moms

In one article, a teenager’s boyfriend pokes holes in his condoms because he thought that getting her pregnant would make her stay with him

This raises the question: Why do teens want to get pregnant? Are teen pregnancy shows, such as 16 and Pregnant, glamorize teenage pregnancies?

Pregnancy ShowsSome teens want to become

pregnant so they can get on these reality shows

Shows were originally meant to educate teens on the hardships of a teen pregnancy

The stars of theses shows are being followed by media and turned into stars. Media coverage has made teen pregnancies acceptable and even desirable

North America has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the westernized world

It is estimated that one million teenage girls will become pregnant this year

Pregnancy Show’s ContinuedShows are not a true

representation of teen pregnancy issues as the stars of the shows are usually living with their parents, and never have to seek financial assistance because they are paid for each episode

Amber, one of the Teen Mom’s featured on the show testified in court that she made $140, 000 per season

This would be another reason to get pregnant to get on the show: not only do you get fame, desired or not, you also get fortune.

http://starcasm.net/archives/158568

New Brunswick Teen Pregnancy Rates

Note: The data may look low compared to the past, but this chart showed that 15, 000 teenagers aged 15- 17 and 42, 000 teenagers aged 18-19 because pregnant last year alone in one relatively small province

Teen Pregnancy RatesToday’s pregnancy statistic is

significantly lower than 20 years ago

This statistic is troubling because teens are more educated than ever about sexual relations and pregnancies

In addition, more preventative measures such as birth control and condoms are available to teenagers in order to protect themselves but there are still far too many teen pregnancies for all the measures they can use to protect themselves