The stigma of teen pregnancy has lessened and with that there has been a growing acknowledgment regarding this life-altering decision. My grandmother remembers when a classmate became pregnant during her high school years. She said those girls were taken out and hidden from society until after the baby was born.
In 2013, our society advocates the awareness and prevention of teen pregnancy by blowing it up on the media. Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnancy, two coinciding reality TV shows that air on MTV, have provided American teens with an insight on teen pregnancy and its inevitable consequences.
Chris Boyette says in his CNN article “NYC Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Campaign Comes Under Fire” that,“teen parents should expect to spend
more than $10,000 a year to raise their child.”
Lauren Beaver, a senior at WPU, says “I could never afford to take
care of a child at this stage of my life. It’s tough “raising” my two
terrier mixes; much less could I have the time to take care of a kid
right now.”
Not only has it proven that having a child before you’re an
established adult is financially difficult, it is also extremely emotionally taxing. This aspect is what seems to be most effective for pregnancy prevention. In almost all cases, the relationship that lead to the pregnancy will not last, friendships are forced to face because of changing priorities, and the hope for juggling school and a new child is nearly a failing feat.
DoSomething.org states “Teens [have] had fewer babies in 2010 than in
any year since the mid-1940s.” Teen pregnancy seemed so taboo to older
generations, yet the pregnancy rate has declined since.
Awareness and education has been the key to controlling the creation
of adolescent parents. Taylor White, a senior at WPU, says “People now
understand contraception much better due to the prevalence of sexual
education everywhere. We now understand the effectiveness and importance of a condom and how this contraceptive doesn’t work 100 percent of the time. Most girls are also on birth control even when they aren’t planning to be sexually active. It’s great it’s no longer an off-limits topic and a more open part of everyday life.”
Most importantly, these reality shows and the openness to discuss sex has had a positive, direct impact on the decisions our generation is making. Hopefully, our children’s generation will become less of a statistic than we already are.
