Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy is a health issue in New Zealand because it is a matter which has significant public importance as a society we value a woman having children once they are educated and fanatically stable but teen pregnancy goes against the social value. New Zealand has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world almost 4000 babies born to teen parents a year.’’ Since 2000, births 15-19 year olds have been trending upwards again with the birth rate increasing between 2001 and 2008 from 27.5 births per 1000 women in 2000 to 33 births per 1000 in 2008. The number of births to this age group in 2008 was 5185, compared with 3787 in 2000.’’(1).
The social factors contibute to teen pregnancy one of ‘the reasons which highlight at risk teenagers it is widely acknowledge that children who were born to teenage parents are more likely to become teenage parents themselves’(2).Since they would think that is right to get pregnant at a young age because their mother fell pregnant when she was young they would just follow what they did also they would think if their mother has done it then why can’t they do it.This is a bad influence from their mothers and that is the one of the reasons why so many teenagers are getting pregnant more and more every year and also getting younger and younger to get pregnant. In 2009, there were 4,670 births to women under 20 years in New Zealand. Approximately two thirds of these were to 18 and 19 year olds. There were an estimated 6,000 mothers aged 16-19 and most of these mothers (around 5,000) were aged 18 or 19. (3)This is basically a cycle of children who are born to teen parents are more likely to be teen parents. Peer persures is another social factors that contribute to teen pregnancy is the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging is person to change his or attitudes, vaules, or behavior that relates to teen pregnancy. If one of your friends fell pregnant, and got popular you would automactily think that this is the right thing to do to get yourself popular, look cool and every one will talk to you. The girl may find a high school boyfriend and feel that he will be the one she will always love and he is just interested in the sex and pressures her and there is always the partying that goes on with teenagers, and the intoxication can make it easier to give into your urges. ‘A lot of teenagers indulge in early sexual behavior due to peer pressure. Teenagers growing in largely promiscuous societies tend to date far earlier than others in slightly more conventional setups. This is due to the fact that they feel the great need to be 'hip' and 'accepted' by their circle of friends. The only way they could probably achieve that would be by having a boyfriend or girlfriend or at least by dating and indulging in sexual acts often. This kind of rash behavior could lead to unintended pregnancies.’(4) They are all contributing teen pregnancy and it is also cycles that if one of your friends falls pregnant and you will just follow one and other.
One of the major cultural factors that are contibuting to teen pregnancy in New Zealand is whether you identify as being Pakeha or Maori or Asian you still have higher risk of teen pregnancy and parenthood but in New Zealand Maori people tend to have higher teen pregnancy rate compared to other entehics. ‘Maori and Pacific Island teenagers have a higher fertility(completed pregnancy) rate than European, and their abortion rate is higher also.(2)’ ‘In 2009, there were 4670 births to women aged under 20, 29 of these births were to women aged under 15 years old. Apporximately two thirds of teen births were to those aged 18 or 19 years old and half of the total number of teen births were to Maori women.(3)’ The Maori teen birth rate is 4 times higher than the non-Maori rate, and the Pacific teen birth rate is 1.5 times higher than the total teen rate.(3) In developed countries and the European culture if a teenager gets pregnant it is seen as a ‘bad thing’ so is negative and frowned upon but in the Māori culture it is not a bad thing that girls get pregnant at a young age and it is normal and celebreated. In the latest censes (2006) 9.3% of Māori teenage women were mothers compared to lower rates for Pacific (5.4%), European (3.2%) and Asian (1%). The reason causing Maori girls have higher teen pregnacy rate than other enthic group Tariana Turia stated in her speech at the Sexual and Health Conference, that: ‘We must celebrate that Whakapapa in every heartbeat, every birth and in the lives we lost’. The values of whakapapa and whānau are very important to Māori and tamariki are very important for the Māori culture to continue and succeed. Tariana Turia coleader of the Māori party stated that ‘When we look at the faces of our babies, we recognise the imprints of those before us (6)‘This shows that Maori culture encourage Maori women or Maori families wanting to get pregnant at a young age so that they can grow the next generation even faster and the families are encourage their daughters to get pregnant because the parents will look after and caring for he babies,supporting because the values of whakapapa and whānau are very important to Māori and tamariki are very important for the Māori culture. The Maori culture, tradition, values and beliefs are contributing are causing high teen pregnancy rate in New Zealand.
The factors of political can also influence young girls are getting pregnant more and more every year is the government laws and policies that influence young people views, attitudes and behaviours regarding alcohol but the major factor is their benefit support to the teen mothers. ‘Benefit receipt amongst teen parents is high, with around 78 percent (mostly Mothers) receiving a benefit. At the end of December 2009 there were 4,169 teenagers (aged 16 to 19 years) receiving the Domestic Purposes Benefit (includes those receiving the
Emergency Maintenance Allowance (EMA)). Of these, 52 per cent were Māori, 30 per cent were European, and 9 per cent were Pacific.’(5).The statistics show the there are quite among of teenagers are getting benefit and more than half of them are Maori teenagers. The DPB is influencing teenagers are getting pregnant because they would think if they got pregnant they can just get benefit, live on with it and don’t need to find a job or go to school and just staying at home doing nothing wasting time. Most of the teenagers who are likely of being on benefit 10 years later by age at first birth rather than older age. In 2009, the numbers of new female entrants to the DPB-SP (Domestic Purposes Benefit-Sole Parent) or EMA (Emergency Maintenance Allowance) with a child aged less than one year were as follows: 800 aged 16-17; 1,900 aged 18-19. Most teen mothers (62 percent) first enter the DPB from another benefit (usually Sickness Benefit received in pregnancy). Their average length of time on the DPB in the ten years after entry is 7.1 years, higher than the average of 5.2 years for all women aged 16 - 64. Forty percent of entrants have an additional newborn child included in DPB in the 10 years following entry. (5) The statistics has shown there are more teenagers are getting benefit than the older age people and they’re also carrying on their benefit for over 10 years. The government is giving too much support to the teenagers which contributes high teen pregnancy rate in NZ because in their view is so easy to just get benefit and to live on with their lives with their children by not earning their own money or educating but in fact it is not.

Being a teen mother can affect her personal well-beings physically, mentally and spiritually in positive and negative.In physically teen mothers will get tired,put on weight get stretch marks, be in pain during the birth, take along time to recover from the birth, have sore breasts, struggle to lose weight,be sleeo deprived etc, all those physical will affect her mentally welling as well and it is not good to their pregnancy and their phsyical body (7)and they are from many ways like when the teens get pregnant they become scared and panicked. Confused about making the right decision for herself and her child, the relationships between the child’s father and fear about giving birth may all cause her an amount of stress. She may also be frustrated that she can no longer participate in activities with her friends and frightened that she will be a bad mother or that her parents will react badly (2) that all cause she worries and stress and she will be lonely and sad since everyone of her friends are still at school studying and partying but she just left behind and all those sort of emotions are not good to her pregnancy at all and will also effect her relationships with family since she might be grumpy. In spiritually she will question her actions and behaviors and ask herself ‘’why me’’ since she got pregnant at a young age at first she could not believe herself got pregnant while other friends are still enjoying their teenage lives and why did she do it. She would believe that life is not fair for her; why she’s going through all this and her friends don’t have to but she will be encouraged by the miracle life, she would be proud that she brought the baby into this world and she will also find faith from her family but while they’re all suffer all these implications that will lead them to grow up to be an adult and mature to look after their own babies.
The negative and positive implications for interpersonal are the relationships between people directly affected by teenage pregnancy. The negative implication could be the judgments from her parents or family members. ’ Some teenage parents are lucky enough to have the support of their family, but this isn’t always the case. For some, judgment from their parents or family members means that they go through this difficult time with little, if any, support. While older parents get to celebrate their pregnancy and the birth of a child, many teenage parents miss out on the celebration because they are busy ‘dealing with it’ or making the most of their ‘mistake’ (2). And that will affect her emotions because no one likes judgments from anyone and specially families and they would really let her down and how feels about her family and the relationships between them. In the positive way the relationships between teen mother and her child will try to build a positive relationship. She will do her best for her child and provide a good environment also install her child strong beliefs and values that could prevent her child being a teen parent just like herself and that could bring that family together. Another negative implications are her relationships between her friends and partner. She might loss of social contact with peers. ’Your teenage years are a time of socializing and building friendships, but the responsibility of parenting means many teenage parents lose all social contact with their peers. While friends may visit in the short term, the inability to just drop everything and go means that friendships change. Many teenage parents feel like they no longer fit in with their peers, but because of their age, they don’t fit in with other parents either. Teenage parent schools or support groups are a great resource for teenage parents to meet people in a similar situation.’(2) The lack of support from their partner.‘ Parents of all ages face the risk of an unsupportive partner, but for teenage parents the risk is even higher. Even if both the mother and father do take responsibility for the pregnancy, most of these relationships eventually end in separation.’ The reason of their relationships will end because mostly the child’s father can not deal with all those money problems or having a child at a young age while he can still have fun so he might chose to leave the mother and the child so the it’s not good for a child growing up without his father. The implication of the society is that the view teenagers are getting pregnant at a young age is a bad thing because teen parents are having lots of problems to deal with such as not having enough money, a job, a proper home and looking after a baby with lack of support so the government assists people’s financial needs by providing them income through benefit from the system of ‘Social welfare’. Mostly teen parents are likely to receive DPB (Domestic Purposes Benefit) while they can’t get any income. The effect in the society is the government has to fund the benefit to help the teen parents and their children and it is from the tax income that government funds the benefit’ Two hundred and ninety teenage men with dependent children received main benefits at June 2009. One hundred and fifty eight teenage men receiving main benefits had Child Support payments deducted from their benefit at June 2009 (in most cases these men received unemployment related benefits or Sickness Benefit). Most teen mothers (62 percent) first enter the DPB from another benefit (usually Sickness Benefit received in pregnancy). Their average length of time on the DPB in the ten years after entry is 7.1 years, higher than the average of 5.2 years for all women aged 16 - 64. Forty percent of entrants have an additional newborn child10 included in DPB in the 10 years following entry.’ The statistics shown that more and more teen parents are receiving benefit and this is a long-term effect for the society since the government has to keep funding for all these benefit, which is increasing the tax and it frustrates people who are paying the taxes

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1325859