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Teenage pregnancy in the Philippines is increasingly becoming a major cause of concern.

There is a rising trend of young women becoming mothers and majority of whom are unmarried.Young pregnant women are more vulnerable to death during pregnancy while childbirth and ah u g e n u m b e r a r e n o t p h ys i c a l l y a n d e m o t i o n a l l y p r e p a r e d f o r m o t h e r h o o d . T h i s i s a d i r e c t reflection that there is inadequate and inaccurate information on adolescent pregnancy and notenough priority is given to maternal and child health care . (The Fair and Fearless Freeman:Teenage Pregnancy, a rising trend among young women, 2005). Review of Related Literature and Studies Teenage Pregnancy comprises a series of crisis, trials and action. This review of researchevidence was arranged from the teen sexual activity, teen pregnancy, role of mothers, and family problem. Teen Sexual Activity According to Guttmacher (1999), the likelihood of teenagers' having inte r c o u r s e increases with age; however, about 1 in 5 young people do not have intercourse while teenagers . Based on Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study (2004), a number of young adultsa l s o e x p e r i e n c e d r e p r o d u c t i v e h e a l t h p r o b l e m s a n d s y m p t o m s . N i n e t een percent of youngfemales said they have experienced painful u r i n a t i o n w h i l e 6 % h a v e h a d a b n o r m a l v a g i n a l discharges. Three percent of males said they have had penile discharges, 23% have had painfulurination, and 3% have had warts or ulcers in their penis.Raymundo and Lusterio (1995) found 18 percent of the youth (26% of the boys and 10%of the girls) all over the country have had pre]-marital sex experience. Derived from Alan Guttmacher Institute," Sex and America's Teenagers (1994), M orethan half of 17-year-olds have had intercourse. Most young people begin having sex in their mid-to-late teens, about 8 years before they marry.As said by Moore KA et al. (1998), while 93% of teenage women report that their first intercourse was voluntary, one-quarter of these young women report that it was unwanted. TeenPregnancy Teenage pregnancy itself is perceived by our society as a deviation from normal. It has been placed alongside drug abuse and crime on Government initiative agendas (Mowlam, 2000;Gilham, 1997).As stated BY (Baker, 1999) this overt pathologisation reinforces a culture of disapprovalof teenage pregnancy; having babies when you are young is seen as a bad thingIn line with Guttmacher, Teen Sex Overview: Teen Pregnancy (1999), Each year, almost1 million teenage women--10% of all women aged 15-19 and 19% of those who have had sexualintercourse--become pregnant.According to Henshaw, S.K. (1998),

data from the mid-1990s indicate that 43 percent of pregnancies to teens aged 15-19 ended in unintended births and another 35 percent ended in abortions. Maynard, R. (Ed.) (1997) said, mothers who do have a teen birth are more disadvantaged,o n average, than are other teens and have children who face negative health, c o g n i t i v e , a n d behavioral outcomes.Teenage pregnancy is also linked with low educational achievement, non-participation ineducation, training or employment, sexual abuse, mental health problems and crime (Social Exclusion Unit, 1999). Role of Mothers Parents are given little advice on how to talk with their children about sex and school- based sex education is patchy and often under-developed and inconsistent. As a result there is aconsiderable amount of misinformation and ignorance among youths about sex, and how to copewith puberty and adolescence (Social Exclusion Unit, 1999).According to Homeier, M.D (2005), whatever feelings youre experiencing; this is likelyto be a difficult time for your family. The important thing to realize your teen needs you nowmore than ever. Being able to communicate with each other especially when emotions arerunning high is essential.Based on C HILDREN ' S D EFENSE F UND (1996), t hat is, the challenges of adolescence derive f r o m t h e f a c t t h a t y o u t h t o d a y a r e b o t h i n n e e d o f p a r e n t i n g t h a t p r o m o t e s t h e i r p o s i t i v e development and, AT THE SAME TIME , h i s t o r i c a l l y u n p r e c e d e n t e d n u m b e r s o f a d o l e s c e n t s a r e themselves becoming parents and, typically, unmarried parents. Family Problem The degree to which these families and their children are able to manage such stressors islikely to affect their level of adjustment according to Kazak, Segal-Andrews, & Johnson (1995).Based on Melamed (1991) Families with children

who have chronic illnesses or physicaldisabilities face multiple burdens due to frequent hospitalizations, financial strain, time-consuming medical regimens, and other stressors.McGreW (1991) stated, The teenagers' parents are often thrust into the role of raising twochildren--the teenager and his or her child. Further, they find themselves stressed emo tionallyand economically at a time when they were looking forward to their children becoming self -sufficient.

Teen pregnancies in the Philippines


By Rebecca B. Singson Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 19:49:00 06/20/2008 Filed Under: People, Lifestyle & Leisure

(Conclusion) Read previous part: Teen pregnancies in the Philippines (June 14, 2008) ? RISKS for the teen mother Teen mothers are more disadvantaged, on average, than their same-age counterparts. Teenage pregnancies are often associated with an increased rate of delinquent behaviors including alcohol and substance abuse. To begin with, majority of them belong to the low income group. Teenage births are associated with lower annual income for the mother, 80 percent of whom eventually rely on welfare. In the United States, seven in 10 teen mothers complete high school, but they are less likely to go to college when compared to women who delay childbearing. They are also more likely to drop out of school with only about one-third able to obtain a high school diploma. With early termination of formal education comes limited employment opportunities. However, they have the responsibility of having to fend for their children before they even ever planned to. In hiring, an employer may lean toward someone without a child versus someone who is already with one just because there are more chances of absences with the latter when her child becomes sick. They also face greater financial difficulties and marital conflict. With a lower capacity for earning and less emotional maturity, relationships are under more stress for breaking. Young unmarried mothers also face social stigmas that can have harmful psychological and social impact. ? Risk for the baby Children of teen moms also face negative health, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes. This may result from lack of maturity, and emotional quotient or simply from ignorance due to a lack of life?s experiences. Children born to teenage mothers are less likely to receive proper nutrition, health care, and cognitive and social stimulation. As a result, they may have an underdeveloped intellect and attain lower academic achievement. Children born to teenage mothers are at greater risk for abuse and neglect. Boys born to teenage mothers are 13 percent more likely to be incarcerated whereas girls born to teenage mothers are 22 percent more likely to become teenage mothers.

How to prevent teen pregnancy? 1. Keep them at home with an intact family set up. The social institutions surrounding the youth jointly form a web of influence that either shield or lay them open to the lure of sexual risk-taking. The family is one such social institution since an intact family with both parents raising the child was found to be correlated to less risk taking behavior by teens. Those who left home early or were raised by separated parents were noted to engage in sex early and other risk taking behaviors. Family supervision and a stable parental union are associated with lesser chances of their children engaging in premarital sex. 2. Keep them in school. The other social institution that shields the youth from engaging in risk taking behavior is the school. Teens leaving school at an early age are more likely than other group of women to have their first sexual experience outside of marriage. 3. Keep talking to them. Increased parental communication decreases the likelihood of young Filipinos to engage in sexual risk-taking activities. It has been found that the mother, in particular, has a special role because their monitoring as well as open communication lines with their daughter were found to be associated with less chance for the teen to engage in intercourse or have fewer sexual partners. 4. Keep them morally and spiritually grounded. Over 80 percent of the 502 teens in a September poll told researchers that religion is important in their lives. Regardless of gender or race, survey results revealed that teens who attend religious services frequently are less likely to have permissive attitudes about sex. Orienting them with the proper values early helps them imbibe it in their lives and keeps them from succumbing to peer pressure. Preventing teen pregnancies requires a concerted effort on the part of the parents, the school and government. They need to insure that the right information is transmitted to children especially during their pre-teen years and that they are well-monitored and supported emotionally and psychologically. We can?t watch what our kids do all the time, but then again, we won?t have to if they are equipped to make better decisions for themselves.

In the spring, public school students in Midland will touch what until recently was the political third rail of sex education. For the first time they will be taught about contraception and how to practice safe sex.

the West Texas town is known for oil and Republican presidents, not progressive social policy. But after watching the teenage pregnancy rates creep up year after year 172 pregnant girls were enrolled in the citys public schools last year many in the community realized something needed to change. These are girls as young as 13 that are pregnant; some of them are on their second pregnancies, said Tracey Dees, the supervisor of health services in this district of just under 22,000 students, adding that many of the girls reported having sexually transmitted infections as well. Eighteen months ago, after comments from parents, staff members and other community leaders, the school board decided to institute a new curriculum for seventh and eighth graders one that emphasizes that waiting to have sex is best, but also teaches students about condoms and other birth-control methods. Midland is just one of several schools, from West Texas to the suburbs of Houston, that are moving toward abstinence plus education at the urging of their health advisory committees made up of community members. Were getting calls from all over the state, said Susan Tortolero, the director of the University of Texas Prevention Research Center in Houston, who developed the curriculum being used in Midland. Its like were beyond this argument of abstinence, abstinence plus. Districts want something that works.

While many people still believe that talking about contraception gives children permission to have sex, or even encourages them to do so, Ms. Tortolero said, research shows that teaching them about birth control actually delays sexual initiation. I can assure you that kids arent getting aroused when they see a condom, she said. At a time when children are learning about sex on television and through the Internet and their friends, she said, it is important to make sure the correct information is out there. The more you know about your body, how to make better decisions and choices, the better decisions that adolescents make, she said, adding, The more we demystify it, the more we talk about it, the better. Though some support exists for specific abstinence-only programs, particularly those that do not apply a moralistic lens to sexual behavior, a larger body of research indicates that the approach is ineffective in preventing teenage pregnancies. It remains the preferred choice for Texas public schools. Democratic lawmakers have struggled for years to pass legislation that requires districts to use medically accurate information in sex education. The state health department, which last year chose not to apply for federal financing that supported more comprehensive programs, remains the largest recipient of federal money for abstinence-only grants.

A law enacted in 1995 under the leadership of Gov. George W. Bush gives districts latitude in deciding how, or if, they want to offer sex education as long as they teach more about abstinence than any other method. Though that leaves room for more comprehensive approaches, as late as 2009, according to a study from the Texas Freedom Network, the vast majority of districts chose to teach only abstinence. That is slowly changing. In Harris County, nine school districts either have or are in the process of adopting an abstinence-plus curriculum, Ms. Tortolero said. Districts in Austin, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Plano have also followed suit. A new analysis, which has not yet been released, of data from the Texas Freedom Network reported to the Texas Education Agency last spring shows that while abstinence is still the king, there has been a big shift in how districts approach sex education, said David C. Wiley, a professor at Texas State University who is reviewing the data for the watchdog group that monitors right-wing activity.

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