Childbearing Among Teenagers

GCSE Religious Studies (Philosophy & Ethics)

During the past 40 years teenagers have been identified with having many social problems such as drug abuse, suicide, criminal behavior and childbearing. Even though these concerns have not shown a significant threat to the welfare of future generations, there has been considerable effort, especially in industrialized countries, to control and prevent these issues. Teenage pregnancy, in particular, has made an impressive improvement over recent years. Compared to the last three decades, 33% less teenagers in Canada were pregnant in 2001 according to Statistics Canada (Medical News Today, 2004). When analyzing teenage pregnancy rates in industrialized countries, Canada and Great Britain’s rates were modest when compared to the low rates in Sweden and France and the highest rate in the United States (The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2001).

Parents, teachers, community leaders and service providers have increased the motivation of youth to achieve higher levels of education, enforced sexual education in schools to promote effective contraceptive use and greater social support for services related to both pregnancy and disease prevention among adolescents. There is an increasing indication that the developed world is beginning to realize that the most influential pregnancy prevention strategy is to ensure that adolescents have opportunities, which allow them to make the decisions that will safeguard their own futures. They are at a vulnerable crossroad in their lives and are in need of guidance and support (Tunick, 1996). The slowly falling teen pregnancy rates in western industrialized countries have shown that these efforts have been of some help, although the numbers are far from perfect. Teenage pregnancy is an important issue. There are significant health risks for both young mothers and their children and they are more likely to suffer social and emotional traumas throughout their lives. There are many social causes and economic factors that are major contributors in early childbearing. For example, when teenagers give birth, they are less likely to complete high school and more likely during their lives to have a larger number of children than are non-parenting teens. Children born to younger teen mothers may also experience lower educational attainment, and higher rates of teenage childbearing themselves when compared to children born to older mothers. Perhaps without the introduction of abortion as a method of birth control, the teenage pregnancy rates would be lower. Therapeutic abortion rates in Canada have been and continue to be increasing with more than half of pregnancies to teenagers in Canada resulting in abortion in 1997 (Buske, 2001). There is still a great need for continued efforts to help prevent teenage pregnancy. Many organizations around the world are working together to reduce the rates. Today, in most developed countries, even though teenagers are strongly urged to wait until they have established themselves in life to have children; it has become commonly acceptable for teenagers to be engaging in sexual activity (Boonstra, 2002). This contradictory notion is a key factor that is fueling the teenage pregnancy rate to remain at its plateau.

The Canadian teenage pregnancy rate has decreased along with the rates of industrialized countries such as Sweden, France, Great Britain and the United States since 1970. When making these cross national comparisons it is important to realize the differences in culture and national history even though all of these countries have a democratic government and have been highly developed for many decades. Canada has a relatively average teenage pregnancy rate when comparing it to other nations. The negative slope of the Canadian rate is similar to the US’ in terms of its pattern in that it decreased fairly slowly in 1995 and a little more dramatically in 1997(Canada) and 2000(US). This is compared to France and Sweden where the opposite has occurred. Great Britain has seen a slight increase since 1995. The US continues to lead with the highest rate possibly due to a less-effective use of contraception. All of the countries have very similar timing and levels of sexual activity, with the exception of the United States (Exhibit 1). In 1997, high teenage pregnancy rates in Canada were prominent in the Northern and Prairie Provinces with a lower trend in the eastern provinces. Ontario and British Columbia’s rates are slightly below the average in Canada (Exhibit 2).

It is quite remarkable that there is very little variation in the percentage of women who had sex in their teenage years across the five industrialized countries, bearing in mind that the rates in the US for teenage pregnancy are extremely high compared to those in Sweden which are less than half of the US’. In fact, a greater percentage of teenagers in Sweden had sex before they were 18 and before they were 20 than in the US. This raises many questions regarding contraception and education among teenagers in all of these developed countries. If the risk is the same ...

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Abortion rates in Canada in relation to the rest of the developed countries are normal. The US’ rate during the mid-1990s was relatively lower than the rest of the countries. On average, abortions are administered for about 50% of teenage pregnancies in the five studied, developed countries (Exhibit 4). In Canada, the abortion rate has increased resulting in a lower live birth outcome than in 1974. This indicates that the revolution of technology and morals among teenagers have made an impact on these life changing decisions. In 1997, the abortion rate surpassed the live birth rate which become a greater trend. Fetal loss is slowly decreasing due to increased prenatal care and technology advances. Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec are responsible for most of the shift in the abortion rate in Canada. In those three provinces the bulk of the pregnancies ended in abortion in 1997. The other provinces and territories had a majority of live births (Exhibit 5). When evaluating the teenage pregnancy rate and the teenage abortion rate in Canada from 1994 to 1997 they are going in opposite directions. Thus, with fewer pregnancies and fetal loss more teenagers are taking advantage of their freedom to have an abortion (Dryburgh, 2003).

Teenage pregnancy and childbearing have considerable, long-term consequences for teenage parents and their children. There are serious health risks that the mother and baby are faced with. Teenage mothers run a large threat in contracting pregnancy-induced hypertension, anemia, STDs, cephalopelvic disproportion, renal disease, eclampsia and depressive disorders. These health problems are known to haunt mothers who had their first child when they were a teenager, not only initially, but in their future. Babies of teenagers are more likely to have low birth weights which greatly heighten the likelihood of infant death, blindness, deafness, chronic respiratory problems, mental retardation, mental illness, and cerebral palsy. Low birth weight doubles the chances that the child will suffer other health related problem such as dyslexia or hyperactivity in the future ( Dryburgh, 2003 & The National Campaign to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy, 2004). Economic and social disadvantage is among the causes, as well as consequences of teenage childbearing. Economically, young mothers’ lives are drastically affected. Many drop out of school and therefore have a harder time trying to find a job that generates enough cash flow to support herself and her baby. In Canada, the recessions in the 1980s and 1990s caused the standard of living to rise, requiring more than a single mother’s income. Since teenagers who gave birth were likely to be single it posed a problem in producing enough income to sustain the family unit (Dryburgh, 2003). There is a cause and effect relationship and educational failure, poverty, unemployment and low self-esteem are understood to be negative outcomes of early childbearing. These circumstances also contribute to the likelihood of teen pregnancy. For example, the teenager may not have received the proper schooling or they may have grown up in an unsupportive household which may lead them to engage in early sexual activity in which a child is born and put through the same cycle. Teenagers are very vulnerable and must be guided in the right direction by their guardians as they are at a point in their lives when they are faced with many decisions which can be overwhelming (Tunick, 1996). The Alan Guttmacher Institute states that "while sexual activity among teenagers of all income levels is now common, having a baby is not. Adolescent childbearing is heavily concentrated among poor and low-income teenagers, most of whom are unmarried"(2001). Lower class teenagers engaging in sexual activity don’t actually want to get pregnant, but, they may not have as much support and the knowledge of higher class teenagers to take the proper precautions concerning contraception. The US has the largest proportion of its population who are poor, which contributes to its extreme teenage pregnancy rate (The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2001). This may be simply because they do not have any incentive to delay childbirth since they do not have a clear cut future ahead of them like many higher class teenagers do. Another contributing factor of early childbirth is the mixed messages from the media. Sexual activity is becoming more and more acceptable while the responsibility is being overlooked. Adolescents are overwhelmed with sexual innuendos, such as the vast amount of sexual content on television, starting at very young ages. In the 1998-1999 season of television, much over half of the shows from the major networks contained sexual content. However, in the shows that portrayed teenagers it was twice as likely that the theme would be centered on the risks of unprotected sex (Ballie, 2001).

There is a concern of the rise in abortion rates worldwide, especially in the US. It seems that teenagers are increasingly taking advantage of using abortion as a form of birth control conceivably due simply to carelessness. There has been a large increase in technology as well as it has become easier to access in most cases. In large cities such as Toronto, for example, the abortion procedure is performed with no charge and there are a wide variety of clinics and hospitals that are easy to get to. However, in provinces such as Prince Edward Island it is much more difficult to terminate an unwanted pregnancy (Eggertson, 2001). On the whole, in industrialized countries it has become more confidential, simple and even more accepted to have an abortion.

With all of these negative factors that seem to be encouraging teenagers to take part in sexual activity; why are the rates declining? In industrialized countries, trends in adolescent sexual behavior are hopeful. In Canada, Sweden, Great Britain and France there is strong encouragement for parenthood in society, more so than in the US. This support acts as an incentive for teenagers in these countries to setback childbearing and urges them to practice safe sex (The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2001). We have come to a point in time where teenage sex has become somewhat accepted by society and therefore expected. For that reason, countries that are generally more open about sex commonly have easier access to contraception and are given more knowledge about prevention of childbearing, commitment in a relationship and STDs. They are able to acquire nonjudgmental service and contraception at little or no cost at all (The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 2001). Compared to the other five countries, the US’s staggering teenage pregnancy rates are believed to be a result of lack of use or effective use of contraception. This evidence aids in clarifying the reality that there is very little difference between the percentages of women who had sex in their teenage years in the five studied countries even though there is differences in their teenage birth rates. In Canada where the rates are higher in the Northern and Prairie Provinces which may be due to the fact that they are fairly rural regions with not as much funding for health care or education as in provinces with major cities such as Ontario and British Columbia which are far more urbanized. Northwest Territories, for example, is finally realizing that an increased amount of funding in health care is needed to finance issues they are facing (Department of Finance Canada, 2004). This increased funding may help in the decrease of Canada’s teenage pregnancy rate even more so. Hopefully we will start to see changes in these provinces over the next few years as the provincial governments start to concentrate on such matters.

Finally, there are many prevention tactics strongly being enforced in developed countries that are increasingly contributing to the optimistic trend in teenage pregnancy rates. Sexual education in schools has played a large role in informing adolescents on the risks and preventions regarding sexual activity. Balanced, realistic sex education which includes information on both abstinence and contraception can aid in delaying the onset of sexual activity, increase the use of contraception by sexually active teens, and reduce the number of their sexual partners. In particular, it is important for students to have information about protecting themselves against unplanned pregnancy and infection with STDs. The question that education administers are asking themselves now is not if sexual education should be taught in school but how sexual education should be taught in schools. In order for adolescents to protect themselves they need accurate knowledge and information that can be applied. The world today is beginning to realize that teaching only abstinence to teenagers isn’t as effective as teaching information on practicing safe sexual activity. Teenagers should have the correct knowledge rather than none at all; however, there is still a great deal of controversy surrounding this topic. Although sexual education programs in schools have been around for many years, most programs have not been nearly as effective as hoped. Educators, parents, and policy-makers should avoid emotional misconceptions about sexual education; based on the rates of unwanted pregnancies and STDs among teenagers, it is unwise to ignore the need for both education on how to postpone sexual involvement, and how to protect oneself when sexually active (DeCarlo, 1996). To effectively reduce rates of unintended pregnancy and births among teens, the government should invest in a teen pregnancy prevention plan. Moreover, these prevention funds should be invested in proven, scientifically evaluated programs which are effective in helping teens to delay the initiation of sexual intercourse and to practice safer sexual behaviors when they become sexually active.

The declining rates of teenage pregnancy rates in Canada and industrialized countries illustrate that they are moving forward and learning from their history. As technology has developed and much more attention has been given to issues affecting adolescents, we are attaining encouraging outcomes. The level of education, in particular sexual education that recent generations are receiving is much higher now than in the past. There is a growing acceptance in society that there is a need to improve health funding and knowledge to tackle dilemmas like teenage pregnancy. The need to continue these efforts is prevalent. Even though teenage pregnancy rates have decreased, teenage abortion and STD rates have risen. Adolescents are too fervently resorting to abortion given that a substantial proportion of pregnancies and births to young women are unwanted. Canada and the studied, developed countries have come a far way, yet they still have a far way ahead of them.

Bibliography

Ballie, R (2001). Study shows a significant increase in sexual content on TV. American Psychological Association. Retrieved on December 4, 2004 from http://www.apa.org/monitor/may01/sexualtv.html

Boonstra, Heather (2002, February). Teen Pregnancy: Trends And Lessons Learned [Electronic Version]. The Alan Guttmacher Report: On Public Policy. Retrieved on December 2, 2004 from http://www.agi-usa.org/pubs/tgr/05/1/gr050107.html

Buske, Lynda (2001). Teen pregnancy rate down, abortion rate up. Canadian Medical Association Journal. Retrieved on December 2, 2004 from http://collection.nlc-bnc.ca/100/201/300/cdn_medical_association/cmaj/vol-164/issue-3/0395a.htm

DeCarlo, Pamela (1996). Does Sex Education Work? [Electronic Version] Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at the University of California San Franciso. Retrieved on December 3, 2004 from http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/sextext.html

Department of Finance Canada (2004, September). Health Care Funding for the Territories. Retrieved on December 4, 2004 from http://pm.gc.ca/grfx/features/21-fmm_e.pdf

Dryburgh, Heather (2003, September). Teenage Pregnancy [Electronic Version]. Statistics Canada. Retrieved on December 1, 2004 from http://www.statcan.ca/english/kits/preg/preg3.htm

Eggertson, Laura (2004, March). Abortion services in Canada: a patchwork quilt with many holes. Canadian Medical Association Journal. Retrieved on December 4, 2004 from http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/164/6/847

Medical News Today (2004, October). Canada Records Fewer Pregnancies, More Pregnancies Among Older Women. Retrieved December 3, 2004, from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=15672

The Alan Guttmacher Institute (2001). Can More Progress Be Made? Teenage Sexual and Reproductive Behavior in Developed Countries [Electronic Version] Executive Summary. Retrieved on December 1, 2004 from http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/euroteens_summ.pdf

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (2004). Teen Pregnancy- So What? Retrieved on December 4, 2005 from http://www.teenpregnancy.org/whycare/sowhat.asp

Tunick, Barbara (1996). Issues in Brief: Risks and Realities of Early Childbearing Worldwide. Retrieved from Populations Studies Center at The University of Western Ontario on December 2, 2004. The Alan Guttmacher Institute.

Pregnancy figures are equal to the sum of live births, therapeutic abortions and miscarriages. Teenagers discussed are ages 15-19.