The intentional or unintentional sexual activities and adventures during adolescent stage often end up in unplanned pregnancy. Teen pregnancy is one of the most difficult and challenging experiences for a girl. It is a crisis period not only for the young girl but also for the family. Anger, guilt and denial are the most common emotions that are mingled with fear, anxiety, shock and depression. You need to understand your little girl and support her as she faces the experiences. Talk to your daughter about the available options and help her make a choice. At this delicate stage she needs more support, love and guidance than ever.
Discussing the available options
There are a number of options that a pregnant teen, her parents, the father of the baby and his parents can consider:
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When pregnant, the first option anyone can consider is to continue with the pregnancy and have the baby. You can consider this option only when you are financially and emotionally able to take care of the child.
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Another option you can consider is to continue with your pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption. This can be a choice when you are unable to take care of the child. This is one tough decision and you need to get yourself ready both emotionally and physically since you have to continue with this decision all along your life.
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Another option is to continue with your pregnancy and then provide foster parent care for the child. In this case, your baby is cared and looked after by another person as you prepare yourself to raise the child.
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If your parents are ready and are financially able they can keep the baby with them. But to make this happen, you need to talk to your parents, inform them about the pregnancy and involve them.
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The final option which one can consider is to terminate the pregnancy. You can terminate the pregnancy through abortion. Such a procedure is performed by a health care provider and is a medical procedure. The process is usually done through medications or surgical procedures. Up to 12 weeks – The pregnancy can be terminated by using abortion pills. During this period, a surgical abortion procedure can also be used and is called vacuum aspiration. It is always safe and inexpensive to terminate the pregnancy in the first 12 weeks.
Challenges faced by teen mothers
A pregnant teen and her child are always at a higher risk of health problems. The most common problems of teen pregnancy are preterm labor and low level of iron in the blood, also known as anemia. This condition is extremely common among pregnant teens younger than 15 years of age and those who did not receive prenatal care. In some cases, the pregnant teen develops high blood pressure as well. The babies are mostly born prematurely and have extremely low birth weight.
Teenage pregnancy can have a huge negative impact on the teen’s future. Teen mothers hardly graduate from high school, only some handful go on to attend college. They are also at high risk of poverty and domestic violence. Most teen fathers finish school earlier than the older fathers. The teen parents usually have low wages and are likely to have poor health and cognitive conditions. The children are also more to be neglected and abused. Girls born to teen parents also experience teenage pregnancy themselves.
If you and your daughter decide to go on with pregnancy, brief them about these challenges beforehand. See her life objectives and discuss her future. There are several programs available to help pregnant teens continue education. They can either study at school or complete their studies from home. You can also encourage your daughter to take parenting classes and prepare herself financially to support and raise the child.
No matter whatever choice your daughter makes, be with her as much as possible. Your support and love will help her go through pregnancy and all the challenges that lay ahead.
