Introduction
I was the product of a teenage pregnancy; my mom had me at the young age of 17 years old. She struggled in school and with the help of her teachers and school district she was able to do her junior and senior years together to be able to graduate. There isn’t a day that goes by that my mom doesn’t mention how hard it was to be a young mother, her childhood went out the window the moment the strip turned pink.
If those teachers and faculty of DISD didn’t have a night school program my mom wouldn’t have been able to get her diploma, she would have gotten her GED instead.
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How many people here went to school with at least one teenager who was pregnant during high school? How many of your parents had a teenager that was a pregnant teenager? How many people have seen students and friends sacrifice their education and life because they had to? How many people have engaged or aided in at least trying to decrease teen pregnancy in some form?
If you knew someone in this predicament and didn’t help then we are considered enablers because we sit and watch this vicious cycle continue to happen to our children and future adults of America and do nothing about it.
I am intrigued by this problem because I was the person who ended my mother’s childhood, even though I didn’t physically do anything. I was brought into this world and made her life a little bit harder than it should have been. I want to be able to help others not make this mistake if they can help it or allow others the tools and hopefully motivate you to decrease teen pregnancy in Dallas.
What is the need for helping prevent teenagers not becoming pregnant at such a young age?
Body:
Need
Teenage pregnancy affects all aspects of a teenager's life in many ways.
“Pregnancy rates vary across the United States, and adolescents living in the southern United States have the highest rates. Texas consistently has one of the highest rates in the nation, at 41 births per 1000 female adolescents aged 15 to 19 years, ranking fifth in the nation in adolescent birth rate in 2013.” (Gelfond, 2016)
This is in Texas, which is not narrowed down to Dallas or even by zip code. If we narrow it down by cities or zip codes the numbers actually go up.
I feel that if you love where you live, as a member of the community we should care for the children, education, neighborhoods, poverty rates, and other matters to keep it nice.
If a teenager becomes pregnant chances are she will not graduate from high school.
“54% of Latina teen mothers do not graduate from high school.” (Cortina, 2010)
We, college students, attend school and it’s hard enough as it is but if you add taking care of yourself and taking care of your child, well that just complicates life especially if you are in high school.
Dropping out of school doesn’t help young people for their future; in fact, it will cause more turmoil than we think.
Teenagers who become pregnant and drop out of school could affect their well-being
“Adolescent pregnancies continue to affect many important issues such as the development of the country, economy, society, and health. Adolescent pregnancy has a negative effect on adolescent health… Every year, approximately 3.9 million adolescents aged 15 to 19 years undergo unsafe abortions. This creates a risk of maternal death and health problems. It also affects the emotional, psychological, and social needs of pregnant adolescents, who already have more needs than non-pregnant adolescents of the same age” (Sunetr & Puangpaka, 2019)
Depression within a child can be hard, they won’t be able to do the normal things they would like to do and could commit suicide if they don’t seek help
So, you see becoming pregnant at a young age causes a domino effect for all kids. It happens in your life or happened in your life. If you could recall hearing of a girl becoming pregnant while in school but then you didn’t see her the next semester because she was affected by teen pregnancy.
There are many ways we can decrease or cease teenage pregnancies, even the smallest effort can help in this urgent matter. I believe everyone here has the ability to do it with me especially if you have children.
Satisfaction
If adults, teachers, faculty, staff, and health professionals become more involved in a teenager’s life we can possibly stop teenage pregnancy in its tracks.
There are a lot of ways to help in decreasing the amount of teenage pregnancies in Dallas; it starts in the home first.
You can speak and have discussions with your children privately about the risks of becoming sexually active.
You can buy your teenagers books with the information they need.
I wouldn’t scare them but make sure they’re informed and prepared for any situations they might go through.
I only offered a small portion of ways to help at home, but there are other ways to cast a wider net.
The suggestions given next will be able to help more kids than just our own.
I think it’s best to help the more kids we can, this way they can pass what they learn to their siblings and friends.
You could talk to your children’s principal or local school district to see if the sexual education curriculum could be shared more.
You could see if you could get your local planned parenthood to hold after-school meetings/informative courses for kids and their parents with the schools' permission first.
You can ask that the school board require all students (not just the athletes) to have physicals done.
You can also request to have condoms accessible in the nurse’s office for students, just in case they are engaging in sexual encounters.
I hope you can see why it's important to help kids in any way you can to help prevent teenage pregnancy. I would like you to imagine yourself implementing all the tips I have given or at least one.
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