Pregnancy

Abortion is one of the most debated topics in the United States today. Many people form their opinions on their already religious beliefs and morals. Right now in the United States, it is legal everywhere to perform an abortion. Abortion can be done at many different stages of the pregnancy and most people’s opinion on abortion differs with their thoughts of when during the pregnancy should it be ok to abort.

I believe that abortion should always be legal because no one person has the right to tell a woman that she must have a child, even if it was a mistake. Accidents happen whether it be the condom tears, the birth control does not work, or even the rare cases where a woman gets pregnant without actually having sex. We are human beings, we are not perfect in anyway shape or form, we are bound to make mistakes and I don’t believe that this kind of mistake should automatically change your life without giving you an option if it does.

I can see where people could get upset from someone performing an abortion when you can actually see fetus, but I don’t see where they could get upset when the egg is just fertilized or is just a collection of cells. One human being has over 50 trillion cells in their body and you shouldn’t get mad if a woman decides to kill about 100 of them (Human Body). That is my viewpoint; women should be allowed to get an abortion before a certain time in the pregnancy. I don’t view a collection of cells that is not any type of developed organism yet to be a living person.

There are also other circumstances that I believe make abortion a valid choice for a woman. Rape is a horrific event that no woman chooses to have done to her and I don’t believe they should also have to be pregnant from it too. If I was a woman and I was raped and became pregnant, but was not allowed to have an abortion, I would be furious. “I would feel that I did not choose for this to happen to me, it was violently forced upon me and I think that should be enough punishment. I also would not want to have a child that has the mixture of DNA from myself and the man who raped me and scared me for life. Also when a woman is not fit to become pregnant I don’t believe that they should be forced into maintaining the pregnancy if they made a mistake. If a woman is too young, is not financially stable, or has a drug problem are all valid reasons to not stay pregnant. Becoming pregnant at a young age can honestly ruin your life and make it so you can never go back to the way things were and fulfill your dreams that you once had.

Not being financially stable to support a child is also a big problem because every child deserves to have a safe and healthy childhood. Having a drug addiction really is a problem because addicts will not stop during that nine months that they’re pregnant and that can severely compromise the health and wellbeing of the growing fetus. Abortion is a very debated topic because of all the moral and ethnic ties that come with it. Everyone has different belief systems and family upbringings that make it so their viewpoints are their very own.

All I can argue is that not everyone chooses to become pregnant and that is why I don’t believe people should not have the choice to not stay pregnant, because in the end the woman has the right to do what she wants with her own body. Work Cited “Human Body. ” Www. newworldencyclopedia. org. Ed. Frank Kaufmann. New World Encyclopedia, 10 July 2009. Web. 26 Oct. 2010. <http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/entry/Human_body>.

The traditional way of doing things in America goes as follows; you meet Mr. or Mrs. Right, you get married, buy a house and have a family. After having all the children that one family wants someone in the relationship makes the responsible decision to be permanently sterilized or continue using birth control until menopause. Being permanently sterilized means, having the woman’s fallopian tubes either clamped or cut so as no more eggs are release into the uterus or having a man’s seminal vesicles cut so that no sperm is ejaculated.

When a pregnancy occurs after one of these measures has been taken, it is looked into as wrongful conception or wrongful pregnancy. Women can become pregnant when their fallopian tubes were not completely cut, a man’s seminal vesicles are not severed all the way or something is wrong with the birth control in which she is taking. Wrongful conception, also known as wrongful pregnancy, is a case of action based on negligence in the provision of birth control or performance of sterilization procedures that result in an unwanted pregnancy. Sullivan, 2000) Physicians and pharmacists have come under legal trouble when a patient becomes pregnant and it is unwanted. Women have many reasons for no longer wanting any more children. It could be due to the age of the women and she is at a higher risk for the child to be mentally handicapped. The couple could merely be done having children because they have the desired amount that they could afford and wanted. The woman could have had a very difficult pregnancy in the past and therefore not want to put her at risk any further.

All of these are legitimate reasons to have a surgical intervention to no longer have children or to prevent having children with birth control. Many of those parents who end up taking legal action against a physician are those who have genetic disorders that they do not wish to pass on to their unborn children. Parents who have genetic testing done and find out that the likelihood of their children developing sickle cell anemia, downs syndrome or any other genetic disorder choose to no longer put themselves in the running to conceive a child.

According to The Journal of Health, many medical malpractice claims have been brought against doctors by parents of children born with genetic diseases. In most of these cases, the parents allege either that the physicians failed to inform the parents of the availability of genetic testing for the unborn child or that the physician negligently performed the genetic testing. These claims automatically make physicians, genetic counselors, and genetic testing laboratories possible defendants in civil law suits.

As the patient or victim, it is a crushing moment to find out that someone failed to do their job and now an innocent life is being brought unwanted into the world. Patients have a Bill of Rights that must be followed by any physician or hospital. Patients have the right to access their own medical records. According to George D. Pozgar, patients may have access to information which includes, “that maintained or possessed by a health care organization and/or a health care practitioner who has treated or is treating a patient” (Pozgar, 2010, p. 396).

With this right in place, patients should be able to prevent unwanted pregnancies from happening. This right makes for an open book policy in many hospital and physician offices. Patients now have access to their labs and records online or even in the physician’s office. The history behind wrongful conception is hard to determine with a timeline. It appears that when patients could have genetic testing done is when the number of cases started to arise for legal action being taken against physicians. One of the first reported cases was in 1974 with a family who sued their physician who performed a vasectomy after the couple’s fourth child.

Continuing on from 1974 until present day, there are many patients that are affected from the actions of physicians all over. Currently, patients rely on medical testing to look for genetic disorders that can affect unborn children. Testing is becoming more and more advanced every day. Many pregnant have option to undergo genetic testing at twelve weeks to check for downs syndrome, trisomy 18, or trisomy 13. At the same time as these blood tests, an ultrasound test for fetal nuchal translucency is performed. Nuchal translucency screening uses an ultrasound test to examine the area at the back of the fetal neck for increased fluid. “Common tests during,”) During the second trimester of pregnancy a whole new set of blood tests are performed. Alpha-fetoprotein screening is done to determine open neural tube defects (ONTD) such as spina bifida, Down syndrome, other chromosomal abnormalities, defects in the abdominal wall of the fetus, twins – more than one fetus is making the protein, or a miscalculated due date, as the levels vary throughout pregnancy. (“Common tests during,”) Some of these tests can come back negative when in reality they are positive or patients can also get a false-negative result.

Patient now sign consents so that they will not sue the physicians when these rare occurrences happen. The way that lawsuits and malpractice suits have come up, the rate of lawsuits against physicians will continue to rise. It seems that physicians need to have malpractice insurance with higher premiums due to the fact the patients now are “sue happy”. Physicians are very careful about what information they tell their patients and with how tests and physical examinations are given. The more information and the more physicians explain circumstances to patients, the less likely a patient is to sue.

There are patients who look for reasons to file malpractice suits against physicians. Wrongful conceptions or wrongful pregnancies do happen. There are many reasons for this unhappy occurrence to happen, physician wrongdoing, pharmacist tampering or misinformation given to the patient. No matter what the reason is that the conception happened, the parents of the unborn child are still going to be affected. To compensate for some of the mental and emotional damage that is going to be done with having an unplanned pregnancy, patients are choosing to sue physicians.

References

Pozgar, G. D. (2010). Legal and ethical Issues for health professionals (2nd ed.) Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Sullivan, Mary B. (2000, March 22). Article: wrongful birth and wrongful conception: a parent’s need for a cause of action. . Retrieved from http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-85016556.html Common tests during pregnancy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.lpch.org/DiseaseHealthInfo/HealthLibrary/pregnant/tests.html Untitled. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.loislaw.com/gpc/index.htp?dockey=9512686@CTSUP

Introduction to Ovulation

Many women learn how to calculate their ovulation when they first talk to a doctor about birth control. But some may still question whether they can get pregnant if they aren’t ovulating. The answer to that question is not as straightforward as it seems. One would think that if a woman isn’t ovulating, she can’t get pregnant. This is only partially true. Generally, a woman isn’t fertile if she isn’t ovulating.

If she isn’t ovulating, she has no egg present to be fertilized outside the ovulation period. The confusion comes when trying to decipher when the ovulation period really is. Sometimes a woman can ovulate beyond what she considers her normal ovulating period, and she can become pregnant outside of her calculated fertility window.

How to Calculate Ovulation

A woman generally ovulates between 11 and 21 days after her last menstrual cycle. Women with a 28-day cycle generally, on average, ovulate on day 14. But every woman is different and other factors can come into play to alter when and whether she ovulates. For some women, calculating ovulating periods can be tricky. Using methods such as evaluating cervical mucus, reading basal body temperature and keeping track of menstrual cycles can help with the calculations. A woman should get to know her body; this will be the most telling sign in knowing when ovulation occurs. If in doubt, an ovulation kit can help clarify when ovulation occurs.

Ovulation Misconceptions

Many misconceptions surround ovulation. First, not all women ovulate on day 14 of their cycle. Another myth is that keeping up with ovulation is an effective birth control method. Although an egg can live for only 24 hours, sperm can live inside a woman for five to seven days. So even if a woman thinks it is safe to have unprotected sex a couple of days before she ovulates, the sperm can still fertilize the egg days after intercourse.For women who have irregular periods, it is not accurate to count from the last day of the menstrual cycle to determine the ovulating time frame.

Can a Woman Get Pregnant If She Is Not Ovulating?

Technically, a woman cannot get pregnant if she isn’t ovulating. Determining whether and when a woman is ovulating can be miscalculated, however. A woman can actually get pregnant when she believes that she is safe because she thinks she isn’t ovulating. Sperm can live long enough to fertilize the egg days after intercourse.

Abortion: Should Abortion Be Legal? Throughout the history people have agreed and disagreed with many significant issues. And in the face of controversial arguments everyone has their very own opinion. Even though it is more likely that reasonable people might agree with a logical argument, there are some that are not very easy to convince because it contradicts their view points. Such is the case of the controversial issue of abortion. To understand better why people support abortion, first we have to comprehend what abortion is.

According to the National Right to Life, the term abortion refers to “any premature expulsion of a human fetus, whether naturally spontaneous, as in a miscarriage, or artificially induced, as in a surgical or chemical abortion. ” (www. nrlc. org, March 4, 2013). The definition is only useful to appreciate the real problem more precisely. In this paper I will focus on four key arguments that support pro-abortion; and I will present my opinion on each one to evaluate if the argument works or not through the usage of rhetorical thinking.

Finally, I will conclude by briefly stating my opinion regarding this issue after analyzing these arguments of the other side of the coin. One of the most talked about arguments that support abortion is “Abortion is a Fundamental Right. ” In Jan. 22, 1973 the US Supreme Court recognized “A woman’s right to choose abortion is a ‘fundamental right’” in the case Roe v. Wade. Lower federal courts had declared… denying a woman the right to decide whether to carry a pregnancy to term violated basic privacy and liberty interests contained in the Constitution.

The court concluded that Constitutional rights to privacy and liberty protected a woman’s right to terminate her pregnancy. ”(NAF. org, 5 March 2013). This is a strong argument because it is about abortion in the terms of its legal premises. The Supreme Court had to give the woman the reason because that is what is written in the Constitution. Besides, it is much easier to let a person win a case than changing the Constitution. Even though the arguments presented in court defended the woman very assuredly.

The final decision did not even mention any rights of the potential life that was forming or whatsoever, which is wrong because the woman can do anything that she wants with her body, but the fetus that I inside her is a totally distinct individual with different DNA and factions. For these reasons, this argument is a dilemma because while abortion gives the woman the right to make decisions on her body, it eliminates the legal rights of the unborn child. Another slightly more sensible pro-abortion argument is “Abortion in the Case of Pregnancy Due to Rape. According to the website Libertarians for Life, “Pregnancy due to rape acts against the woman’s liberty. In some sense, it’s a perpetuation of the aggression of the rapist. Regardless of the practical problems of pregnancy, rape is a major trauma, and the pregnancy complicates that still further. ” (Walter, 10 March 2013). This argument has a sense of pathos, in the way that it conveys a tragic experience with an undesired pregnancy. The author highlights how keeping the pregnancy could lead to a major psychological trauma.

A different but as well as sensible pro-abortion topic is the issue of “Abortion gives couples the option to choose not to birth babies with severe and life-threatening medical conditions. ” According to PROCON. org, “The X syndrome, the most common genetic form of mental retardation, affects about 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 8,000 females. One in 800 babies have Down Syndrome, and one in 3,500 babies are born with Cystic Fibrosis. It is not right to sentence a child to life with an acute handicap. ” (PROCON. org, 5 March 2013) This argument conveys a lot of sense of pathos.

It is effective because the only people that can actually understand this deeply are the parents and family involved. However, I still strongly disagree with taking away an innocent human’s life. Besides, with so many technological advantages, it is sad to see that people don’t test themselves before deciding to have a baby and later find, during the pregnancy, that the baby that’s coming will have a mental or physical disadvantage. In addition, there is no proof that showing that Down Syndrome people feel ‘sentenced’ or in any disadvantage.

It is just the parents that see that the baby is different, not the baby himself. Therefore, this should also be considered a hasty generalization because the family and others see that the baby will be born with a disadvantage, they think that the baby will be miserable—but there’s no proof of that. Mary Gordon, a pro-choice woman author of A Moral Choice, gives her opinion and brings up a very important issue in favor of abortion: “Abortion transformed from a public into a private issue. She stated that “The RU-486 pill, which can induce abortion early on, exists. ” She added that women were going to obtain it whether or not it is “legally available. ” Her claim is that “If abortion can occur through chemical rather than physical means, in the privacy of one’s home, most people not directly involved will lose interest in it. As abortion is transformed from a public into a private issue, it will cease to be perceived as political; it will be called personal instead. ” (Gordon 190).

I think Gordon is right at some point—when she softens out the issue that by making a medical rather than a physical abortion it would then become more personal rather than political, some people might even change their view point, just like they did with the morning-after pill. However, I still believe that if there is already a morning-after pill, then there should be no reason for any woman to wait until confirming her pregnancy in order to take action. Why not taking the morning-after-pill after an unprotected intercourse to avoid any problem on the first place?

Time is very crucial in all aspects; women that wait to see if they are pregnant take a very high risk that can lead to either an unwanted pregnancy or worse—an abortion. On the other hand, I think she is trying to cover the sun with one finger. She is exposing a slippery slope fallacy by sort of saying that if people don’t see the problem, then there should be no problem at all, which isn’t true because not by covering the problem, it will make it disappear. Who knows maybe by doing abortions at home there could be more risks involved.

In conclusion, I believe that Abortion is a cruel, immature and unfair way to end a pregnancy. No one should end a pregnancy because it is their responsibility to use contraceptives on the first place. If a woman cannot afford to buy contraceptives, then she should control her instincts instead of getting pregnant to get rid of the unborn baby afterwards. Besides, medicine is so advanced nowadays which really makes abortion a despicable choice for an apathetic woman.

Even though, I do respect their opinions regarding their “freedom”, I do not think that they have much of consideration for the lives of their unborn babies. The reasons why a woman could end her pregnancy are endless. There are tons of excuses—some good others not much—that will always come into sight, but if we start taking wise choices from the beginning, then, we will be able to determine that who pays the consequences is not the person that made the damage but the innocent baby that the mom-to-be does not want to give the right to live.

Moreover, if abortion was made illegal again, then hundreds of lives would be saved every year. Besides, life is the most valuable gift anyone can have and possibly give. But like the saying goes: to each their own. Since abortion is legal, it is really up to the woman to take a wise and moral decision and to opt for different alternatives before abortion. Works Cited: Gordon, Mary. “Should Abortion Be Restricted? ” Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Political Issues. By George McKenna and Stanley Feingold. 18th ed. N. p. : McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc, 2012. 188-96. Print.

Taking Sides Ser. NAF, Staff. “National Abortion Federation: Pro-Choice and Proud. ” National Abortion Federation: Pro-Choice and Proud. N. p. , n. d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. NRL, Staff. “Abortion: Some Medical Facts. ” Abortion: Some Medical Facts. National Right to Life, n. d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013. ProCon, Staff. “Abortion ProCon. org. ” Abortion ProCon. org. © 2013 a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit, 5 Feb. 2013. Web. 5 Mar. 2013. Walker, John. “Abortion in the Case of Pregnancy Due to Rape. ” Libertarians for Life – Abortion in the Case of Pregnancy Due to Rape. N. p. , 1998. Web. 10 Mar. 2013.

This paper discusses the different effects of smoking to pregnant woman. The paper is divided into three parts. First part of the paper shows the statistical data available in the United States about smoking. Second part of the paper discusses the different experiments that had been done by experts to compare the babies that are not exposed to smoking. Lastly, the third part of the paper shows the other complications of exposure to smoking. A conclusion is also provided in the last part of the paper

Smoking is considered as a habit that had contributed negative effects not only to pregnant women but also to people who are not pregnant. There are two ways of exposure to cigarette smoke. First is the exposure through first hand smoking, where a person inhales the smoke through smoking and the second hand smoking where a person inhales the smoke from the cigarette of another smoker. According to statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Development (CDC) (2006) from the Women and Tobacco, cigarette had been the cause of death of 178,000.

Further investigation shows that ninety percent of women who had lung cancers can be attributed to smoking. Women who smoke have an increased risk for diseases such as cancer, coronary heart disease and pulmonary diseases. Looking at the National Statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Development, there is an estimate of 18.1% of women with ages 18 and above is cigarette smokers. Statistics also show that there is an estimate of 18% pregnant women from the ages of 15 to 44 years.

As stated above, smoking does not only involve the first hand smoker but also the second hand smoker. Looking at the statistics from the CDC (2006), second hand smoke exposure had declined. It was further explained that the levels of cotinine had fallen down by 70% for the years 1988 to 1991 and 2001-2002. However, even though there has been a decline on the exposure, 126 million non-smoking Americans both children and adult are exposed to this second hand exposure. Children according to the figures from CDC are more exposed than adults. To be exact, 60% of the children in the age bracket of 3 to 11 years old are exposed to second hand smoke.

To understand fully the implications on the effect of smoking to the child, an investigation was done by the proponent of the study. There have been several studies that had been made in the past that can further explain the effect of smoking to children. Josephine Thomas had made an experiment regarding the exposure of children to smoking. Based on the report written by Thomas (2000), the effects that might be experienced by children who were exposed to smoke are infertility, coagulation problems, obstetric complications such as extra uterine pregnancy and placenta previa, and intrauterine growth retardation.

Results on the study had also shown that unborn children who had been exposed to tobacco smoke could indicate a negative behavior for toddlers and smoking experimentation among adolescents. Mothers who had smoked during pregnancy had scored their children high on toddler negativity, although there are other factors that might influence the children to do so but being exposed to cigarettes had shown that the data proved that the children high on toddler negativity had been exposed. The experts had also experimented on the early experimentation of adolescents with regard to smoking. The results of the study are not clear enough to know. However, experts are speculating that nervous system damage could have happened because of maternal smoking. The damage can be expressed as inattention aggression, depression and anxiety.

Another experiment that had been done to compare the effects of maternal smoking exposure is the possible genetic mutation chromosomes of the babies. Based on the results of the study, there are 12.1% smokers and 3.5% non-smokers who had shown a structural chromosomal abnormaities, 10.5% smokers and 8% non-smokers had shown chromosomal instability and 15.7% smokers and 10.1% non-smokers had shown chromosomal lesions. Among the three changed items, the chromosomal instability and chromosomal lesions pose a risk of cancer and blood malignancies to the child who had been exposed to smoke.

Lannero et al. (2006) have another experiment that can be associated with the comparison of smokers and non-smokers. The experts had studied 4,089 infants and had observed the babies up to two months. Questionnaires was used by the proponents in order to determine the status of the infants.  Based on the results of the study, it has been proven that maternal smoking increase the risk of recurrent wheezing for babies up to two years of age. Unborn and newlyborn babies are prone to recurrent wheezing.

This can also be diagnosed as asthma by the doctors. Lastly, Rebagliato et al (1995) had correlated the exposure of the babies to smoke and the weight of the baby born. The experiment was done in Spain. The duration of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke at home, work, vehicles and Public places had been collected through a questionnaire. Based on the results there is a very small difference in the weight of the child that had been exposed. Looking at the results closely, these small difference had been a basis that there is a growth retardation to the child exposed to maternal smoking.

There are many more experiments that could have been done by the experts to prove their point about exposure to maternal smoking. Healthgoods had shown all the possible effects of maternal smoking. Smoking is said to limit the amount of nutrients and oxygen that would react the unborn child. According to the American Lung Association, maternal smoking brings about several negative effects to the baby.

This include miscarriages, still births, very low birth weight and could also result to a sudden infant death syndrome. Other implications of having been exposed to maternal smoke is that the newly-born children suffers more from lung problems, learning deficiencies and behavioral problems. As stated above, behavioral problems are one of the implications of tobacco prenatal exposure. Ear infections are also possible. Breast Feeding mothers are also discouraged to smoke because the chemicals in the cigarettes could enter the breast milk of the mother such as nicotine and carbon monoxide and this can be passed on to the baby.

The child and the mother are closely linked together because when women are pregnant, the child and the mother share the same body, inhales the same air and eats the same food. Having a child is very sensitive because whatever the mother does to herself affects the baby. If the mother is a cigarette addict, then she must try to curb her habits well to avoid putting that child that she is carrying at risk. There are many implications, and complications that the child can experience if he or she is exposed to smoking. As much as possible, it is really not advisable to smoke or be surrounded by smokers if a particular person is pregnant. Not smoking a cigarette helps the mother avoid the first hand smoke exposure. However in public places, mothers should take good care that they are not exposed to smokers. Second Hand smoke exposure also has an effect on the baby.

The website Healthgoods.com had enumerated several tips to stop smoking to help mothers avoid risking their child’s life. It would be helpful for pregnant women who are addicted to cigarettes to read websites, pamphlets or ask advice from a doctor to help them stop their habits of smoking.

REFERENCES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  (November 2006). Women and Tobacco. Retrieved last January 20, 2008 from Department of Health and Human Services. Website: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/Factsheets/women_tobacco.htm

March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation (2007). Smoking and Pregnancy. Retrieved last January 20, 2008 from Health Goods. Website:

Medical Studies/Trials (9 March 2005). Maternal Smoking During Preganancy Associated with Chromosomal Abnormalities. Retrieved last January 22, 2008 from  News Medical.net. Website: http://www.news-medical.net/?id=8330

Thomas, J. (2000) Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy Associated With Negative Toddler Behavior and Early Smoking Experimentation. Retrieved last November 22, 2008 from National Institute on Drug Abuse. Website: http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol16N1/Maternal.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  (October 2006). Trends in Secondhand Smoke Exposure Among U.S. Nonsmokers: Progress and Gaps. Retrieved last January 20, 2008 from Department of Health and Human Services. Website: http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/Factsheets/SecondhandTrends.htm

Rebagliato,M., Florey, C.D. and Bolumar, F. (1995) Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke in Nonsmoking Pregnant Women in Relation to Birthweight.  Retrieved last January 20, 2008 from  American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 142 No. 5 pp. 531-537 . Website: http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/142/5/531

1. (Robin Elise Weiss, LCCE) Another problem facing teen mothers is the use of drugs and alcohol, including cigarette smoking. No amount of any of these substances is safe for use in pregnancy. In fact, their use can complicate pregnancy even further increasing the likelihood of premature birth and other complications. 2. Rebecca B. Singson In the Philippines, the sexual revolution has ushered in a period in which the average adolescent experiences tremendous pressures to have sexual experiences of all kinds.

Filipino teens get a higher exposure to sex from the Internet, magazines, TV shows, movies and other media than decades ago, yet without any corresponding increase in information on how to handle the input. So kids are pretty much left to other kids for opinions and value formation when it comes to sex. 3. (Dryfoos, 1991) Bearing a child during adolescence adds up the stress and triggers changes in various aspects-physical, emotional, personal, and social. Among the well documented includes school dropouts, developmental and health problems, depression, poverty, etc. . (Dilworth, 2004) It’s found that literature on teenage pregnancy mostly focuses on the negative consequences of being a teen parent though there are teen parents who said that they enjoy being so and the child has brought more joy to the family. 5. Mariah Kilgore, The situation of teenage pregnancy has grown abundantly throughout the United States. Sex education taught in the school system can help teens realize the consequences of having pre-marital sex and prevent pregnancy.

The realities and effects of teen pregnancies are sometimes difficult and harsh to face for the mother, father, and child. 6. Fullerton,1997 Social, economical, environmental as well as individual factors determines for the increase in teenage pregnancy rate and thus makes it difficult to disentangle the exact cause for teen pregnancies. 7. Finkel et al, 2002 Speaking about expectations for the future, one needs to remember that teenage mothers typically do not plan long-term and attempt to concentrate on their baby.

On the contrary teenagers who plan long –term and expect a lot from their future delay pregnancy as much as possible and certainly for a longer period of time than those who lack hope and expectation of the future. 8. Jessor, R. , & Jessor, 2002 Ignorance about reproduction and contraception is another factor that contributes to the increase of teenage pregnancy and places another burden on females and the society they live in. Misunderstanding and false assumptions regarding reproduction and contraception can lead to trial-and-error approach to exploring sexual life which in turn might result in an unwanted pregnancy.

For instance, the majority of US teen females still believe that losing virginity without a condom will not result in a pregnancy, while others believe that one cannot get married if she did not have an orgasm. 9. Shah et al, 2003 Health or sex education that teaches females and males about contraception and safe sexual behavior is believed to be able to quickly and efficiently reduce the number of pregnancies in the USA as well as other countries around the world.

Countries of the European Union that already use progressive sex education at young age at school witness lowering rates of teenage pregnancies. The proponents of early sex education in schools claim that providing all the needed information about sex, contraception and pregnancy to school children will allow them to make their own informed and educated choices and then decided what to do with their lives. 10. Ettinger, 2001 Resources needs to be directed in tackling psychosocial factors influencing teen mothers like low self esteem, low expectations, unrealistic goals, limited support etc.