Teenage Pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy is very rampant in our generation today. So many people to blame for it but we can’t blame people for our own mistakes.

Teenage pregnancy is 100% preventable if we take preventive measures. I always imagined what if the guy you had unprotected sex with was HIV positive do you know you will be infected.

I went to the hospital one day to see a friend that just gave birth, and I saw a 14 year old pregnant HIV patient who came for ante-natal care. She didn’t know she had the virus because the young lad that she had unprotected sex with didn’t tell her he had the virus and he also did not protect himself neither did she. After series of test, she found out she had the killer virus that could endanger the baby in her womb. If she had prevented herself, she wouldn’t have gotten the virus and also the pregnancy.

I always respect teenagers that keep their pregnancy because they took the bold step to save a life instead of aborting it. Teen pregnancy is one of the most difficult experiences a young person might ever face when it interrupts school or other plans. It can create an emotional crisis resulting in feelings of shame and fear, and it may appear that you will crumble under pressures in your environment. The stress of how you are going to break this news to your parents might be even greater, and finding help may seem an impossible task.

However, denying the pregnancy or ignoring it can only make things worse for you and your baby. Denial will not take the pregnancy away; instead, you will lose the time you could have invested in prenatal care and counseling. You have options, and making a choice may be simple or difficult, depending on your situation.

The other day on facebook I heard an old schoolmate of mine died while giving birth, people were blaming the hospital for the mishap. It could have been the hospital and it could also have been that the teenager did not take the necessary prenatal vitamins or some other things related to teen pregnancy.

 Most teenagers don't plan to get pregnant, but many do. Teen pregnancies carry extra health risks to the mother and the baby. Often, teenagers don't receive timely prenatal care, and they have a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure and its complications. Risks for the baby include premature birth and a low birth weight or may even cause death for the mother and child or mother or child.

If you're a pregnant teenager, you can help yourself and your baby by

• Taking your prenatal vitamins for your health and to prevent some birth defects.
• Avoiding smoking, alcohol and drugs.
• Using a condom, if you are still having sex, to prevent sexually transmitted diseases that could hurt your baby.

Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, friends and family whenever a teenager is having a sex talk with you please don’t assume they are doing it and also don’t ignore them. Let’s educate them on the preventive measures and the risk of unprotected sex. It will only help us reduce the teen pregnancy rate and the teen HIV rate. Thank You.