A Nuisance or Pleasure

Rhiannon Pennell
April 28, 2010
A-Block

A Nuisance or Pleasure

Imagine a complete change of life. I have seen it happen second hand numerous times due to teen pregnancy. Right now I am a CNA at Geriatric Authority of Holyoke and I am extremely interested in pursuing a career on the OBGYN floor at Baystate Hospital. Pregnant women fascinate me and the birthing process itself has been a great interest to me for some time. Experiencing seeing pregnancy has only made my interest grow stronger. The interesting thing about these pregnancies that I had the opportunity to be such a great part of was that they were both teen pregnancies.

My cousin and my sister’s best friend both had babies between the ages of 17-19. Many people think that having a baby at such a young age is a nuisance, that is unhealthy, and that many people that young cannot handle it. I absolutely agree with the fact that it can be very difficult for young girls to encounter such a life changing occurrence and that their lives will never be the same. But both of the experiences I encountered were amazing, and personally I think my friends are even better off than they were before. They have matured and although they both have very different priorities then they had before they both have their heads on straight and are making the best out of the situation. This is what made me choose this topic. In this paper through an interview and extensive supporting research I have done, I will compare and contrast the benefits and hardships of teen pregnancy and how common teen pregnancies have become over the past forty years.

I interviewed my sister’s best friend who I have always been close with but through her experience of being pregnant I have become even closer to. The nine months of her pregnancy which I witnessed most of I would imagine were much better and easier than most. She had no morning sickness, did not gain a lot of weight, and it went pretty smoothly. The worst of it was constant heart burn and urination. Although her pregnancy seemed not so bad I realize the hardships many people go through especially mentally and financially at such a young age. I asked her questions that did not so much pertain to her personally but to teen pregnancy in general because of her experience. I asked her why she thought so many teens are getting pregnant today compared to 40 years ago, her response was She does not think that teen are uneducated like they were years ago but it’s just the desire to want to have sex and see what it’s like. She also said that some teens are too embarrassed to go buy condoms or ask their doctors about their Birth Control. We then went on to talk about the ways to prevent, she said abstinence or condoms. “I thought I was safe because I was on Birth Control and taking them as I should, never skip a pill or anything. After I got pregnant I asked the doctors if this happens a lot when people are taking Birth Control and my doctor told me that those pills are only 70%effective so yes it does happen often” The next question I asked her was if she thought it was a negative or positive thing for teens to experience. She told me that its harder than others but she does not regret getting pregnant and she could never see herself without her 2 month old daughter. I then asked her why she thought lower income areas have more teen pregnancies than other places, she said that they can’t afford Birth Control or maybe it is more accepted by the people around them so they don’t take it as seriously as other places would. The last question I asked was how many teen pregnancies are planned and how many are accidents, she said she doesn’t think any are necessarily planned.

I personally do not think teen pregnancy is a negative thing but as for most other people they think differently. I can understand why some people are so upset when they see this happen. As I was researching I came across a website that said Teen pregnancy costs the United States at least $7 billion annually. That’s a lot of money that is spent on something you don’t approve of. It is more likely that a teen mother will not graduate from high school and if she does, will not further her education. These girls are also more likely to end up on welfare. “The sons of teen mothers are 13 percent more likely to end up in prison while teen daughters are 22 percent more likely to become teen mothers themselves”

It’s hard to argue the good things about being a teen mother but I believe that its make you mature faster which can be a positive thing. I also think it’s nice to be able to grow with your children. After my cousin and my sisters’ best friend had their babies they could not be happier and wouldn’t take any of it back. They are both lucky to have supportive parents that will guide them on their way to becoming good parents.

Works Cited Page
www.theodora.com/teddy/newyork/teenage.html
Patty Steffaneli, April 25th at 4:00 p.m