TEENAGE PREGNANCY IS NOT A BLESSING

HEART Q. ZARAGOSA

ERYLL EUNICE V. VILLAGANAS

GNED 10 – GENDER AND SOCIETY

Adolescent pregnancy, commonly known as teenage pregnancy is portrayed as happening

some place in the scope of thirteen and nineteen years of age. There are, however, young ladies

as young as ten who seem to be sexually active and every so often become pregnant and

conceive an offspring. While being comprehensive of all young ladies who can become pregnant

and conceive a child, the term utilized is adolescent pregnancy, which portrays the emotional and

biological development stage called puberty. Teenage pregnancy is one of the issues facing

various countries in the world including the Philippines.

We chose this topic for the reason that it is a timely issue not only in the Philippines but

as well as in other countries. This is a global phenomenon that everyone can see the cause and

there are also consequences when it happens, its effects will be felt not only on the health but

also on the economic and social life of the person, families, and their communities. Nowadays, it

can be seen everywhere that there are more teenagers abstaining from sexual activity and

performing it without using any birth control, resulting in adolescent pregnancy. Teenage

pregnancy is a topic sensitive enough to discuss for the reason that the Philippines is a religious

country and believes that youth is the hope of the nation. And the writers of this paper are

teenagers as well. Choosing this topic with the aim to provide facts about teenage pregnancy and

how it has all those bad effects not only on the physical body of a woman who is conceiving a

child but as well as the mental health and social status of a person. 
 The objective of this paper is to provide ample information about the causes and effects

of teenage pregnancy as well as provide suggestions on how to lessen the numbers of teenage

childbirth. Discussing factors that teenage pregnancy is indeed not a blessing in any form nor a

situation to be romanticized. The phenomenon has gone far and given high numbers of cases

from all over the world. The outcome of having intercourse without proper use of contraceptives

has resulted in many unimaginable things done by no other than teenage parents. It is enough

reason to suggest why it should be resolved as early as possible. Too much is bad. Too many

cases of adolescent pregnancy are bad, and should be resolved before it is too late to even plan

the solution. 

The World Health Organization reports that around 16 million young ladies aged 15-19

conceive an offspring every year, generally 11% of all births around the world. Practically 95%

of these births happen in developing nations. The adolescent fertility rate overall was assessed to

be 55.3 per thousand for the 2000-2005 period, intending that on normal, around 5.5% of young

people conceive an offspring every year. In the Philippines, as per the most recent Vital Statistics

Report delivered by the National Statistics Office, in 2008 an all-out 1,784,316 births were

enlisted; of these 10.4%, (186,527 births) were brought into the world to moms under 20 years

old. Complete enrolled births in 2008 expanded by 2% from the earlier year's 1,749,878 births

while births to young moms expanded by 7.6 %, from 173,282 of every 2007. According to the

UNFPA (2020) the teenage pregnancy rate in the Philippines was 10% in 2008, down to 9% in

2017. Live births by young moms (aged 10-19) in 2016 a total of 203,085, which somewhat

diminished to 196,478 out of 2017 and 183,000 out of 2018. In any case, the Philippines has one

of the greatest young adult rates of birth among the ASEAN Part States.
 However, the two years-worth of lockdowns had constrained young Filipinos to remain at

home, restricting social interactions with peers and incidentally lessening potential open doors

for sexual experiences. From 495 births each day in 2019, the pace of births to adolescent moms

went somewhere around 13% the next year. The numbers presented are horrifying to think that

those teenagers should be going to school and learning about different things are nursing and

taking care of their own child when they are still kids themselves. 

There are many determinants why teenage pregnancy has skyrocketed and is still a timely

issue. Lack of information on sexual and reproductive health and rights is one of the many

causes why teenage pregnancy is still rampant. There are many places not only in the Philippines

but as well as in other countries where sexual and reproductive health is a very sensitive topic.

The people in those kinds of places are not open to sex education and it can lead to difficulty

accessing information about sex and reproduction. Especially in places where they have different

cultural beliefs and do not entertain abortions and contraceptives. Many young women living in

secluded areas have little to no information about protected intercourse resulting in teenage

pregnancies. Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) programs are frequently not focused on

because of an absence or lack of funding and the emphasis that is put on community-based HIV

counteraction programs. (Govender et. al, 2019) 

LACK OF INFORMATION ON SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

Lack of information on sexual and reproductive health and rights does not only revolve

around not having enough knowledge about safe sex but also knowledge about their rights on
sexual reproductive health. The right to life, where no woman's life should be ought to be

seriously jeopardized by reason of pregnancy, gender or absence of admittance to wellbeing data

and administrations. This additionally incorporates the option to be protected, as well as having

safe and fulfilling sexual coexistence. The right to liberty and security of the person where no

woman should be forced into sterilization, forced abortion, and most importantly forced

pregnancy. The right to equality, and to be free from all forms of discrimination, having the

freedom to express one's sexuality and reproductive choices. The right to information and

education, this includes admittance to full data on the advantages, dangers and effectiveness of

all methods for fertility regulation. All the choices taken are made based on full, free and

informed consent. The right to decide whether or when to have children, teenagers would have

the knowledge that even when they have the right to decide when to have children, it comes with

great responsibility and family planning would have been introduced. The right to the benefits of

scientific progress, should they have known that they have every right to benefit from the sexual

and reproductive health services that are safe, effective, and acceptable, it would lessen the

chance to have early pregnancies. Spreading openness about safe sex and sex education can help

teenagers to be mindful of all sexual activities. Both local and national governments should put

more attention on the stigma of buying different contraceptives and availability of the products. 

PEER PRESSURE

Peer pressure also played a role in the cause of teenage pregnancy. Negative surrounding

of circle friends that teenagers engage in their teenage years has a great impact on how they see

and live life. Teenagers are easily influenced by the environment they belong to. They are

curious people. They love exploring things and experimenting with new experiences such as
drinking alcohol and using drugs with their peers in gathering. The cause of excessive

consumption of alcohol accompanied by drugs, is a high chance of doing sexual intercourse

without any protection. After a month, two red lines on the pregnancy test, a child is waving.

There are many cases where the reason of teenage pregnancy is caused by the pressure from

friends that having sexual intercourse makes you cool and superior to those teens who have not

done any sexual intercourse.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS

Socio-economic status is also one of the reasons why someone get pregnant at an early

age. Teenagers who grew up on poor areas are likely prone to have intercourse without any

protection at a young age. It is because they grew up in a negative environment seeing people

getting pregnant and so they will think that it is normal to conceive at an early age. They are the

people who grew up in an environment where the residents have low educational goals and are

not well guided or they lack involvement with their parents. They are influenced and become

friends with people who do not have a strong role model or someone they can be an inspiration

to. Adolescent young ladies who experience childhood in a hazardous and eccentric climate

could have negative future goals which would settle on them take unsafe choices. Teenagers who

grew up with a single mother or with the absence of a father figure are more vulnerable and may

seek for a better life as well as male companionship. The cycle of early childbearing may likely

continue to those teenagers born to teenage mothers that lives in a poor area.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE
 There are cases where sexual violence is the cause of early childbearing. Many cases

have been reported in different countries. According to WHO, there are estimated 120 million

girls aged under 20 years old experienced forced sexual contact in 2020. That same year, it is

estimated that 1 in 8 of the world’s children were sexually abused before they reached the age of

18, and 1 in 20 girls aged 15-19 have been forced to have sex in their lifetime. For some young

ladies, sexual abuse prompts undesirable pregnancy as adolescent young ladies who have been

constrained into sex are less likely to have the opportunity to use contraceptives. Sexual violence

may not only cause unwanted pregnancy but as well as trauma and injury to the victim. In the

data from 2018, there is a greater number where the partners of teenage mother are older than

them. In the year 2014, out of 2,250 adolescent mothers that ages from 10 to 14 years old, only

64 of their partners were of the same age. The remaining more than 2,000 are with their partners

older than them (Lalu, 2020). There are cases where the reason young women get pregnant is

because their partners force or pressure them to have unsafe and unprotected sex in order to say

or express that they love and have genuine affections for one another. They are being

manipulated to accomplish what their partner wants.

SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES

Eary childbearing should not be taken lightly. Its effects on a young girl conceiving a

child are not easy. It affects not only the physical body but also the different aspects of one’s life.

Having enough knowledge on the effects of early pregnancy is a great way to prevent it. Being

knowledgeable is power. The negative effects of teenage pregnancy on society are also dire.

Society cannot accept the concept of teenage pregnancy. It is considered a taboo topic in some

countries. Teenage parents are prone to social discriminations, they may as well don’t get the
support that they need, and the job to support their family. Due to pregnancy, adolescent parents

put their education on hold, some may even drop-out of school to focus more on taking care of

their offspring. Other than that, teenage parents feel humiliated to even go back to school

accompanied with the fear of harassments from fellow students and other people. The stigma of

being a teenage parent will be likely felt inside their family and communities. Social obligations

may change as well, from being a teenager to a teenage mother who do not have a job that pay

well, and not getting respect from friends and family. Suffering from the said effects may cause

the teenage mother to experience or live her life in emotional trauma.

ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

Early childbearing can hold teen parents to continue their education and thus affect the

country’s economic growth. Being unable to complete higher education means have lesser ability

to gain more income over the course of their life, causing economic losses to the country.

Adolescent pregnancy is pulling down the Philippines' monetary development, as per the nation's

top economist. For the Philippines to cut down poverty incidence to just 14% by 2022,

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia says that the public authority should

investigate teenage pregnancy first. (Rivas, 2019) The Commission on Population and

Development (PopCom) prior revealed that there are around 1.2 million youngsters having kids

consistently. As a result, the population is being increased by teenage pregnancy. Around 30,000

of these young moms have encountered repeated pregnancies. It is estimated that 30 billion pesos

is lost due to teenage pregnancy according to PopCom.

POVERTY
 Things can get even worse if the father did not take the responsibility to father the child

and give support. In this case, the mother will shoulder all the responsibilities in order to finance

and buy all the necessities needed for the child. Enabling the mother to put more focus on work

rather than going back to school. Limiting the opportunities to have a better future employment.

Lack of financial support will lead to poverty. Poverty is both a reason and a result of adolescent

pregnancy. Over 60% of youthful, unmarried moms live in families that qualify as being in

poverty (Gaille, 2016). It is important to note that not all the blame belongs on the mothers with

regards on the teenage pregnancy. According to Gaille, just 1 of every 5 adolescent men, the

fathers of these children, will proceed to wed the moms. Poverty does not only affect the teenage

parents, it causes greater effect on their offspring. Children born in poverty are less likely to

improve or score highly in school. For the reason that they lack school necessities or their

parents are fully occupied on putting food on their table than guiding them the basics of learning

like writing and reading. Poverty will enhance the chance of repeating the cycle of early child

birth as they are born in a negative environment where teenage pregnancy is likely to foster.

MENTAL HEALTH

Experiencing constant discrimination and hearing acidic words from families, friends,

and people in their community will put teenage moms in a dire psychological situation. Studies

show that adolescent moms show greater risk in experiencing both prenatal and postpartum

depression. This could be on the grounds that teenage mothers are more likely to have experience

mental and/or physical abuse, as well as experiencing higher level of stress. Another example of

why mental health is at risk is because teenage moms experience a higher level of guilt for being

pregnant accidentally. The transition to being a teenager to a mother will be hard as they battle
not only the people surrounding them but themselves as well. Accepting the fact that they have

done something they can’t undo and disappointing their families especially their parents will

haunt them for many months. Some teenage moms will resort to abortion or running away in fear

of causing pain and disappointment. In view of studies 8 out of 10 adolescent dads don't wed the

mother of their youngster. (Dsadmin, 2022) Young ladies are passed on to confront every

criticism and discrimination by others including their families. Regardless of whether their

families are being supportive, the feeling of abandonment from somebody you trust turns into the

reason for extreme loneliness. Teenage mom’s experiences anxiety on how to raise their child,

because they are still children themselves. They worry where to get money for prenatal check-up

and the necessities needed in order to raise a child. It is no big surprise that youthful moms

succumb to anxiety and ceaseless concern on how to raise them well.

PHYSICAL CONSEQUENCES

According to the World Health Organization, adolescent mothers ages 10-19 years old

face higher risk of eclampsia (seizures that occur in pregnant people with preeclampsia),

puerperal endometritis or postpartum endometritis (a uterine infection), and systemic infections

(an infection that is in the bloodstream) than women ages 20-24 years old. Adolescent mothers

do not only suffer the risks but as well as the babies being conceive. The infants have higher risk

of low birth weight, preterm birth and extreme neonatal condition. Low birth weight can also

affect brain development. It has been proven that children born under-weight have learning

difficulties. Teenage pregnancy can affect adolescent mothers to be on higher risk of pregnancy-

related high blood pressure or preeclampsia that can also harm the kidney and can be fatal to

both mother and the baby. Pregnant youngsters also have a higher possibility of becoming
anemic. Anemia is a decrease in the quantity of red blood cells (RBCs). This can cause you to

feel frail and tired and can influence your child’s turn of events. (Carey, 2018)

According to the World Health Organization, complications during pregnancy or

childbirth are the leading cause of death universally for young ladies ages 15 to 19. In addition,

infants lack complete development of any parts of the body and brain. Depending on how

premature the baby is, it could lead to serious lifelong difficulties and health development. If the

infant is born underweight, they may experience difficulty in breathing and feeding.

The risks mentioned should be enough reasons teenagers should avoid teenage

pregnancy. It does not only endanger their lives but they are also jeopardizing the life of an

infant. It is advisable to have protection when doing intercourse but it is still not appropriate to

engage in any sexual activities as a teen. It can lead to curiosity to try different sexual activities

and can cause early childbirth. Aside from different methods of contraception, the best way to

avoid teenage pregnancy is to not have any intercourse at a young age. Before jumping to the act

of doing the deed, self-reflect can be done. Be active in sex education symposiums that is held in

schools and gain knowledge about safe sex and how teenage pregnancy affects different aspects

of life.

The causes and effects mentioned are enough information to say that teenage pregnancy

is not a blessing. It does not only hinder a teenager’s education but it can affect a teen mom’s

body and also cause more indigence to the present and future generation. How can a teenager

provide for her upcoming child when a teenage mom mostly relies on their parents for shelter,

food, and finance? Teenagers who are born on a poor family that barely make ends meet because
of financial problems would add another weight that requires more expenses, calling it a blessing

is a big no. Having a child might make a person happy, but having financial instability while

conceiving a child comes with many problems. Teenage mothers who are experiencing poverty,

bear in mind that it is better to focus on your studies and aim high so that when the time comes,

you future child/children won’t have to experience the poverty that you have gone through. Do

not justify the consequence of your inappropriate action or your bad decisions. Calling early

childbirth a blessing will not solve all the problems that comes with it.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, teenage pregnancy has many determinants that greatly causes the high

number of teenage pregnancies. Lack of information on sexual and reproductive health, where

basic knowledge on sex education and different contraceptives should have been given more

attention to teach to teenagers. Peer pressure that influences a teenager of how he/she view and

live life. Socio-economic status where teenagers born on poor areas are likely to be pregnant

early because of negative environment as well as lack of parental guidance. Sexual violence that

played a great part on why teenage pregnancy has a great number of cases. It is where adolescent

women are forced into having intercourse along with hurting them physically. Consequences of

teenage pregnancy do not only affect the wellbeing of an adolescent mom. It affects the social

life of a teen conceiving a child, causing the teenage mom to hear acidic remarks, and experience

discrimination from friends and family, as well as from other people of the community. Teenage

pregnancy has an effect on the country’s economic growth as it adds number on population and

decrease educational attainment of a teenage parent. It increases poverty because of financial

problems that cannot be easily solved for the reason that the teenage mom or parents can only get
jobs that pays low because they did not finish school. Teenage pregnancy harms the mental

health of a teenage mom, they are more likely to be depressed than adults conceiving a child. The

effects of teenage pregnancy physically do not only affect the adolescent mom, but it can also

endanger the life of the baby. Teenage mom can have different physical illness like eclampsia

and the development of the body of the child might be affected.

Conceiving too early in life can have its detrimental effects on a person’s different

aspects of life. The determinants and consequences are enough information that teenage

pregnancy is not a blessing, rather it is a predicament that should be avoided. In order to avoid

early childbearing, do not have unprotected sex, always use contraception, or better yet, do not

engage in any sexual activities at all. Choose the circle of friends that pulls you on the positive

side of life. There is no problem on wanting to have a child, but the situation has to be chosen.

Having a child when a person is still a teenager and living the life in poverty will just make the

life of the child heavy. Do not pass the hardships onto the innocent child who did not even wish

to be born. End the cycle.

RECOMMENDATION

Teenage pregnancy has proven to be an alarming phenomenon that should be addressed

properly and as early as possible. In order to lessen or hopefully in the long term, cease, the case

of teenage pregnancy, it is recommended that the government should put more attention on

spreading educational awareness on safe sex. The use of different contraception should be

available and free for those people in poor areas that can not afford to spend money because of

financial problems. The national and local governments should spread the openness of using
contraceptive in order to encourage people not to be ashamed of using a certain contraceptive. If

ever there is a teenage mother, it is best to end the stigma and rather, give free service and

assistance as well as ensure the safety of both the mother and the baby.

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