Causes of teenage pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy is a growing problem in the modern world. Underage women who have not reached legal adulthood are becoming pregnant, dropping out of school and ending up on welfare in order to be able to support their children.

Lack of sexual education

The main cause of teenage pregnancy is the lack of sexual education that comes from parents, school and society. There are many of birth control methods available to teenagers but often they are not taught how to use them or how to deal with the peer pressure. Most teenagers do not even know how to say “no” to the pressure of persuasion to have sex.

Teenage pregnancy in developed countries comes outside of marriage, and unplanned. It may carry a social stigma in many communities and cultures. Teenagers may often lack knowledge of conventional methods of preventing pregnancy, or they may be too embarrassed or scared to look for such information. Some of them may even lack the access to birth control methods.

Parental guidance

Parental guidance and supervision plays a major role in prevention of teenage pregnancy. Many parents fail to educate their children about sex. One of the main mistakes parents often make is to insist that their child restrains from sex. It would be much better if parents would be more open with their children and discuss the dangers of sexual involvement. Parental guidance and direction is an essential part of keeping teenage girls from becoming pregnant.

Exploitation

Older men may sometimes take advantage of young girls and make them pregnant. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for young girl to be raped by an older male. Sometimes, victims of the rape become impregnated and the rapist is occasionally someone from the family. Girls are most often engaged in relationships with their older brother's or sister’s friends, older neighbors, or family members living near them.

It may begin as a romantic relationship but teenage girls are often being raped when they refuse to have sex with their older boyfriends. Studies show that girls who have suffered sexual abuse at some point in their lives are generally more likely to become pregnant as teenagers.

There are many reasons of teenage pregnancy, ranging from deficiency of parental control, lack of education on safe sex, pressure made by the peers, to sexual violence and rape. On the other hand, with a little communication and tutoring, the number of pregnant teenage girls can be considerably reduced.