There are many social, economical, and personal consequences of becoming pregnant as a teenager. Teen mothers face many problems ranging from criticism by peers and family, economic troubles, and even health risks for both the baby and themselves.
A study by authors at the CDC (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1477817/pdf/pubhealthrep00178-0074.pdf) set out to see if there is a correlation between infant death and the age of the mother.
Two and a half million births were included in the study, and only mothers between the ages of 10 and 29 years old. Their is a strong correlation between infant death and low birth weight. But the question remains: is low birth weight inherent to babies of young mothers, or are environmental factors mostly to blame?
The authors of the study elaborated on adjustments of the data to include socio-economic status. With these adjustments, the mortality rates of teen mothers became significantly closer to those who gave birth in their twenties. Furthermore, by counting for the lack of prenatal care, the authors believe that their is no, or significantly less, increased risk to babies born to teenage mothers. They believe that all or most of the problems caused by teen pregnancies result from bad pre-natal care and poor economic status.
This study was conducted many years ago, do you think that infant mortality for infants born to teenage mothers has improved with better access to prenatal care? Or have we failed as a society to give teen mothers access to such needed care?
-Taylor Z.
I think that our society gives good prenatal care but the problem is we do not give great education to teens on how to care for themselves as pregnant women. We would hope the pregnant teens' parents would be able to teach them the proper care of their bodies while they are pregnant but some teens do not have supportive parents who are willing to teach them proper care and our society is too anti-teen pregnancy that they don't feel teens should be taught such a thing at their age. I believe that all teens and perhaps even younger children should take a child development class in middle school to learn these important facts about pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteKristen,M
I don't think that the problem with teenage pregnancy and teenage parenting lies in the medical aspect, but definitely in the societal aspect. Even the research and studies show that the correlation between negative or problematic characteristics of infancy and that of mothering age are slim to none. The problem lies in how society views, reacts, and educates those in and around a culture of teenage pregnancy and motherhood.
ReplyDeleteAndrea W
I definetly agree with this article, and I still believe it holds true that the majority of young mothers face social problems rather than simply because of their age. Mothers in their earlier years with the right care would be physically just as capable to carry children as a women in their late twenties. However, teenagers often face hardships that older women don't have to go through. For example, they might not eat properly because they can't afford the right food. I think that with a better federal system, teenage mothers would be able to get better care and also with more education on how to treat their bodies during pregnancy.
ReplyDeleteSarah D
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ReplyDeleteThis makes me sad :( How is that we are considered to be one of the most developed countries in the world, whatever that means, and we have such a high infant mortality rate? what is the deal? This is absolute madness! i mean honestly there has to be better prenatal care options and taking care of the women. These rates and stats aren't by accident.
ReplyDeleteAlice M