How Teen Pregnancy Varies
Between Countries and Cultures |
In the United States, ‘teen pregnancy’ is defined as “an underaged girl becoming pregnant”. In the United Kingdom, on the other hand, teen pregnancy is said to occur when the girl falls pregnant before her 18th birthday. Normally, this term applies to girls who fall pregnant before they reach legal adulthood.
It is seen that the average age of the first menstrual period or ‘menarche’, as it is referred to, is being reached earlier by subsequent generations of females. But if this is the major contributing factor towards teen pregnancies still remains to be established.
The rate of teen pregnancy varies widely between countries and cultures across the globe. While about 14% of teens fall pregnant in sub-Saharan Africa, the figure is only about 0.3% in South Korea.
Many young teen mothers-to-be face more health risks than pregnant women in their 20s or 30s. This risk is particularly pronounced if the girl lives in a developing country. Sometimes, even socioeconomic factors could be affecting the girl’s health.
Teenage pregnancy shows up as a social issue in the economically and economically backward classes of society. This problem is also very often associated with poverty-stricken communities. In many cultures, teen pregnancy is considered a social stigma and is looked down upon. Such societies try to limit the amount of teen pregnancies by finding more effective ways of preventing its occurrence.
The causes of teen pregnancy are many. Listed below are some of them:
Promiscuity and inadequate knowledge of the consequence of unsafe sex are the major factors giving rise to teen pregnancy.
Failure of contraceptives very often gives rise to unintended and unwanted teen pregnancy.
Many cultures, especially the developed countries, put pressure on teens to indulge in early sexual activity.
Some cultures in the African continent actually welcome teen pregnancy, as they consider it proof of the woman’s fertility.
Teenage pregnancies are very common among rural communities of the Indian subcontinent. This, though, is not prevalent in the urban cities and metros.
Teen pregnancy can cause immense physical and emotional strain on the young mother-to-be. Educating teens about the consequences of early sex and taking adequate steps to curb the problem can bring down the rate of teen pregnancies to a large extent.
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