Is Teenage Pregnancy Bad?

Teenage pregnancy is a pregnancy in a woman who is 19 years old or younger. Teen pregnancy comes with some challenges such as a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure, technically known as preeclampsia. There are also some risks for the baby, such as premature birth and low birth weight. Preeclampsia can also endanger the kidneys or even turn out fatal for mother or baby.

Pregnant teenagers also have a higher chance of getting anemic. Anemia is a reduction in the number of red blood cells, and it causes weakness and tiredness. It could also affect the baby’s development.

A number of teens feel frightened and embarrassed discussing their pregnancy with family and friends. This eventually makes them feel isolated and depressed. Some even drop out of school as a result.

It`s not only teenage girls who suffer the consequences of teenage pregnancy; teenage fathers do too. Fathering a child as a teenager can be life-changing. Although they don’t have to worry about the health implications of pregnancy and childbirth, they could have difficulties staying in school and earning a living.

How to Diagnose Pregnancy

If you suspect that you`re pregnant, you can visit drugstores that sell home pregnancy test kits that can detect pregnancy hormones in urine. These kits are most accurate if you use them over a week after your missed period. If it indicates you’re not pregnant, wait a week and take another test to be sure. If it shows you’re pregnant, then you need to see your doctor immediately. Your doctor will confirm your pregnancy with a blood test and perhaps a physical examination also.

What comes next after your pregnancy is confirmed? There are some options to choose from, depending on the laws of your state, your cultural and religious beliefs, and the state of the pregnancy. The common options are:

• giving birth and raising the child yourself
• giving birth and legally permitting someone else to raise the child
• ending the pregnancy medically

If you decide to have the baby, then proper obstetrical care is required throughout your pregnancy, to ensure the health and well-being of you and the baby. It is also vital for you to eat well, exercise, and draw some strength from friends and family members at this time.

Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, or taking hard drugs when you`re pregnant. Cigarette smoking during pregnancy causes lower birth weight and premature birth. If you are addicted to any substance, speak with your doctor about counseling and treatment programs to help you quit. Don`t take any medicine without your doctor`s prescription.

Prenatal Care for Teens

During the first six months of your pregnancy, you might have an appointment at least once every month. In the last months of your pregnancy, the visits might get more frequent, probably every other week, and eventually becoming weekly visits in your final month. These visits are vital in ensuring the health of you and your baby.

Your visit to the doctor’s office will entail checking your weight, your blood pressure, your stomach`s measurement, your baby`s development, as well as its position and heartbeat.

Your doctor will ask how you feel and educate you on what to expect during the coming weeks of your pregnancy.

See your doctor immediately if you experience any of these:

• leaking of fluid from your vagina
• pain or swelling in your legs
• vaginal bleeding
• abdominal pain
• persistent vomiting
• chills
• fever
• severe headache
• dim vision
• pain or burning during urination

How to Prevent Teenage Pregnancy

The only sure way of preventing teenage pregnancy is by avoiding sexual intercourse. However, there are various methods of reducing the chances of pregnancy among sexually active teens. Let`s look at some prescription birth control methods that they can use.

Intrauterine Device (IUD)

An intrauterine device (IUD) is a device that a doctor can implant in your uterus. The IUD prevents pregnancy by various mechanisms. It also has a 99% rate of effectiveness.

Birth Control Implant

There are several birth control methods that affect hormone levels in the body and reduces the chances of getting pregnant. This implant is a small plastic stick that’s inserted under the skin. It can stay for up to three years and is highly effective also.

Morning-After Pill

Morning-after pills contain hormones that prevent the female`s body from releasing eggs into the uterus and causing the lining of the uterus to shed, thereby inhibiting implantation. For pregnancy to happen, eggs have to come into contact with sperm, and also implant. A morning-after pill is a good option if the regular birth control didn’t work or you didn`t use it. Women who are 17 and older don`t need a prescription before using a morning-after pill.

Condoms

Experts say that teen pregnancy rates have reduced drastically in the United States for the past 25 years because more sexually active teens use condoms. Condoms can prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and are 85% effective.

Birth Control Sponge

There are sponges treated with spermicide that block sperm from entering the uterus. These sponges can prevent pregnancy with an effectiveness of 75 to 85 percent.

Some Sex and Pregnancy Facts

• The hymen is inside the vaginal entrance and is protected by the two layers of the vulva`s lips called the labia major and the labia minora.
• It is normal for females not to bleed during their first sex.
• There are various factors that determine if bleeding happens or not, and one of them is the nature of the hymen: some hymens are more stretchy than others.
• The hymen becomes more stretchy after puberty.
• The penis and clitoris, are homologous, which means that they form from the same tissue in a developing embryo.
• There have been many myths about the hymen around for years, some of which even medical practitioners believed.
• The hymen is a stretchy collar of tissue and has nothing to do with virginity. This means that you cannot tell if someone is a virgin or not by looking at their hymen.
• The area of the brain that gets stimulated during heroin intake for addicts is the same as the area of the brain that orgasms stimulate for men.
• Sex cures headaches and migraines.
• Sperm contains proteins that have the same anti-wrinkle effect as moisturizers
• Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.
• Some people experience arousal when eating delicious food as when having sex.
• Good sex triggers the region of the brain that’s associated with falling in love.
• People who have sex about twice a week have a stronger immune system.
• At about four months into the pregnancy, a baby begins to urinate inside of its mother.
• Because of water weight and other extra fluid, the feet of pregnant women swell.
• A baby has all of their fingerprints by 9-12 weeks in the womb.
• Humans are the only mammals who do not ingest their placenta after birth.
• Nine in ten women experience a change in skin tone during pregnancy.
• Pregnant women have a heightened sense of smell to enable them to steer clear of foods they shouldn’t eat because of their growing baby.
• Three out of four women develop a linea nigra during pregnancy. The linea nigra is a dark, vertical line that runs down the abdomen. It may or may not vanish after birth.