How pregnancy effects teens

What to think about before becoming sexually active

In 2002, girls between the ages of fifteen and nineteen gave birth to 425,493 babies. Clearly all the abstinence programs or safe sex seminars given to high school students are not able to reach everyone in time. How pregnancy effects teens can be summed up by these three terms: Physically, Emotionally and Mentally. Becoming pregnant is obviously a huge decision, and sometimes an accident. Whether a teen becomes pregnant because of a lack of birth control or improper use of birth control is irrelevant: it all results in the same outcome. But how pregnancy effects teens is different for everyone.

Let's say a teenage girl and her boyfriend have unprotected sex. Even if the family is supportive and the boyfriend sticks around to offer his full love and resources, stress and strain will inevitably occur. (Remember, this is the BEST case scenario.) Besides taking a toll on her body, pregnancy will cause the young woman to experience exhaustion, frequent urination, dizziness, and nausea or vomiting in the morning (known as "morning sickness.") Mentally, she may be scared
for her future. She may worry that she has to give up college or a career, and she might be right.

Now let's say a teenage girl and her boyfriend or fling have unprotected sex and the family and boyfriend are NOT supportive of her. Now the effects of pregnancy will become even more dire. How will she take care of the baby without a loving place to live? How will she feed it without an income? These are all questions teenagers of both genders should be asking themselves before becoming sexually active.

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