Adolescent Health

Adolescent pregnancy in ninety nine percent of the circumstances is unwanted and is the main consequence of adolescent sexual activity, other than STDs. This issue has affected youth, families, educators, health care professionals, and government official. A study on the high school adolescents has concluded that forty eight percent of the males and forty five percent of the females are sexually active. One fourth of the high school students had sexual contact by fifteen years of age. The average age of boys is sixteen and a girl is seventeen, who have had intercourse. Ninety percent of adolescents, in the age range of fifteen to nineteen, say their pregnancy is unintended.

Seventy four percent of females above fourteen years and sixty percent of females below fifteen years have reported to have involuntary sex. Fifty percent of the adolescent pregnancies are within the time period of six months after the initial sexual intercourse. A lot more than nine hundred thousand teenagers are reported to have become pregnant each and every year in the United States. Fifty one percent of the adolescent pregnancies result in live birth, thirty five percent result in induced abortion and fourteen percent result in stillbirths or miscarriages. Four out of ten adolescent females get pregnant, before they turn twenty, at least once. Twenty five percent of adolescent deliveries aren’t the mother’s first child. When a teenager gives birth to her initial child, she increases the risk of begetting an additional child. 1 third of the adolescent parents are themselves result of adolescent pregnancies.

There are numerous factors why adolescents pick to turn out to be sexually active at an early stage in life. The reasons can be early pubertal development, poverty, sexual abuse in childhood, lack of parent’s attention, lack of career objectives, loved ones and cultural patterns of early sex, substance abuse, dropping out from school and poor school performance. Elements which discourage an adolescent to turn out to be sexually active are stable family members environment, parental supervision, good loved ones income, normal prayers, connectedness with parents and living with complete family and both the parents. The factors which are responsible for the consistent use of contraceptive amongst adolescents are academic success, anticipation for productive future, and involvement in a stable relationship.

There are numerous medical risks associated with adolescent pregnancies. Adolescents who are much less than seventeen years are at a higher risk of creating medical complications, when compared to adult females. The risk is even more in teenagers below seventeen. The weight of the child, given birth by an adolescent, is extremely low in these pregnancies. It is typically below 2.5 kilogram. The rate of neonatal birth is also three times greater in adolescents, when compared to adults. Other problems caused by adolescent pregnancies are prematurity of the child, birth of underweight child, poor maternal weight gain, poor nutritional status, anemia, STDs and hypertension induced due to pregnancy.

Despite the fact that there is an enhance in the use of contraceptive techniques by adolescents in the course of their initial sexual contact, only sixty three percent of the high school students have stated to use condom although having sex previously. Adolescents, who use prescription contraceptives, delay their doctor’s go to until the time they become sexually active for over a year.

According to a research, youngsters who have participated in sex education programs which gave them understanding about contraception methods, abstinence, sexually transmitted diseases and youngsters who involved in discussions in order to get a clear picture, used contraceptives and condoms effectively without having any boost in sexual activity. The Center for Illness Control &amp Prevention has said that the solution for unwanted adolescent pregnancies and STDs are barrier contraceptive use and abstinence.