Introduction
The data provided by CDC shows that 229, 715 children were born of mothers between 15 and 19 years in 2015. The figures represent a birth rate of 22.3 for every 1000 women in the age bracket mentioned (CDC, 2017). The many street children, broken families, school dropouts and abortions are because there is a high involvement of adolescents in sexual activities that often lead to pregnancies. Peer pressure has been cited in many forums to be a major contributor to teenage pregnancy. Other reasons include absence of parents, glamorizing pregnancy of teenagers by media outlets and movies, drinking among teenagers, sexual abuse, rape, poverty and sheer lack of knowledge.
Source: https://www.livestrong.com/article/97113-preventing-teenage-pregnancy/
The intention of this information handout is to educate young girls between the ages of 10 and 19 years on the risks of becoming pregnant while still a teenager, and what they need to do to avoid being caught in web. The target audience is largely children in the upper primary and those in secondary schools. There is a great need to interact with girls in these places.
What leads to pregnancy?
Peer Pressure
Teenagers experience a lot of pressure to make friends and to flow with their peers. On many occasions, such teenagers allow their friends to influence their sex related decisions including having sex. Usually, they will be influenced without knowing the consequences of such decisions (CDC, 2017). Sex involvement by teenagers is a way to express their stance at life. It is a way of being sophisticated...
However, the act leads to pregnancy that is unplanned. According to the Kaiser family foundation, over 29% of teens who become pregnant said that they had sex out of peer pressure. It further points out that 33% of the pregnant teenage girls registered their concerns that they were not ready or prepared for a sexual partner relations but went on to have sex any way because of fear of rejection by their peers(Langham, 2015)..
Source: https://www.123rf.com/photo_49256385_underage-victim-of-abuse-pregnant-young-teen-expecting-baby-but-happy-with-care-about-her.html
Absent Parents
Teenagers stand a higher chance of becoming pregnant if they receive zero guidance from their parents. The busy and demanding lifestyle has caused many parents to fail to provide the needed support to their teenage children so that they can make informed decisions on matters relating to sex (Langham, 2015). They are short of time to do so. When a teenager doesn’t identify with the parents enough to make them feel comfortable to share their concerns regarding sex or just because the parent has either forbidden the subject of always absent, they will rely on advice from their friends. The friends may not provide truthful or factual information.
Glamorization of Pregnancy
Movies and the media contribute to the high rate of teenage pregnancy through glamorizing it. When movies portray pregnancy of teens as something desirable, it becomes a norm for them. They, consequently involve in sexual activity (Langham, 2015). Teens tend to be preoccupied with how…
