Dealing with Teen Pregnancy
Over recent years, it seems that all the efforts to fight teen pregnancy are beginning to pay off. Thanks to the continued dedication of our parents, teachers and community leaders, the young people today have more support and education concerning the dangers, consequences, and challenges of adolescent sex. Currently at its lowest annual rate in over 20 years, teen pregnancies have declined 14 percent in this decade alone. But despite this recent downward trend, the issue still stands prominently and remains a critical concern to everyone. While these improving numbers are encouraging on the surface, the number of children having children of their own remains higher than acceptable and progress must continue to be made (planned).Over half a million American teenage girls gave birth in 1997 (close to 1 million actually became pregnant) (teen). For many of the 500,000, it was an unintended occurrence, usually the result of young men and women having unprotected sex while relying on misinformation (or none at all), poor planning, and failing to recognize the consequences that would arise from their actions. For some, however, it was an intentional decision - a decision based on unreliable emotions and unrealistic perception
Its obvious that such reckless behavior can lead to unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, but what about those teenage girls who choose to have a child before marriage? Marcena Levine, Clinic Director of Planned Parenthood in Vancouver, believes that it's common for young women to view having a child as a way out of a difficult situation. "Many women have a feeling of despair and a What helps prevent teen pregnancy? The primary reason cited for remaining abstinent from girls that have never had sex is that doing it would contradict their religious or moral values. Some don't feel that they have found the appropriate partner, while for others, the fear of STD's and pregnancy is enough to keep them from adolescent sex. In regards to the mixed messages teens receive from society about sex, a strong and open relationship with parents is vital. This coupled with the fact that a strong majority of teens learn what they know about sex from their friends, it is critical that parents communicate regularly with their teens about this issue. Strong emotional bonds to one's parents are key in prevention as teenagers with close ties to their parents are far less likely to become sexually active at an early age. Most adults agree that teenagers should, ideally, remain abstinent, but most are also supportive of making contraceptives easily available to children seeking them. Contraceptive use has increased steadily among sexually active teenagers over the years, but still remains at an unacceptably low level. Slightly over half of sexually active teens report consistently using some form of contraceptive during sex. The importance of contraceptive use cannot be stressed enough. A sexually active teenage girl has a 90 percent chance of becoming pregnant in 1 year
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1195
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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