Kids Having Kids: Issues And Perspectives In Teenage Pregnancy

Rev. Fr. Francis Ikhianosime

Youth is an exciting time, a time of awakening to maturity. Full emotional maturity is a life long process. It begins in babyhood when a little child learns to love someone other than himself. The first sign of emotional growth is being concerned about other people.
-Leonie McSweeney
If one understands the evolution surrounding the term ‘sex’ one probably would have a better appreciation why the act has been grossly misconstrued, heavily experimented upon and in fact being an object of division rather than unity especially when done outside of its primarily designed context. The Latin derivation is sexus which simply means to divide rather than to unite. The word’s first occurrence in English was in the year 1382 in Wycliffe’s translation of the Bible. Then, the word lay dormant until the year 1735. It didn’t really become common usage until 1799 when the term sexual intercourse first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary. The next term to come into use, four years later, was sexual function, then sexual organ in 1828 and sexual desire in 1836. Sexual instinct appeared in 1861, sexual act in 1888 and sexual immorality not until 1911.
Although the term didn’t gain early entry into regular English vocabulary, the acts represented above far backdates to a time one could easily describe as the ‘civilization of the senses’. The impulse toward sex is both natural and an overriding impulse in man and overtime is highly regulatory of man’s actions. Just in the evolution of different phrasal formation with sex, so also was the evolution with the effects of the consequences of the unbridled involvement with it, since in the appearances of those vocabularies each time widened the frontiers of sexual experimentation and immorality. Of a global issue and epidemic in the evolution of sexual escapades is that of teen pregnancy. This is precisely what this paper will dedicate attention to.
Teen pregnancy as the term suggests is the procurement of pregnancy outside of wedlock by teenagers or youths. Teen pregnancy is not an issue that involves females alone as pregnancy cannot possibly be a self-contingent action. The cooperation of the inexperienced male counterpart is equally involved in the issues of teen pregnancy. Statistics reveal that over 80% of teens who get pregnant have their pregnancies from boys who are their peers or a little older than them.
Teen pregnancy has become a global tragedy and it is a fate or stage many young girls stumble though in their experimenting age of sexual maturation, although not many also bring these pregnancies to term, the effects on both parties (the teen boy and girl) are devastating and have become an issue no more than an optional extra.
Stark findings in the United States for instance, have the following grim facts about teen pregnancy: 4 in 10 girls become pregnant before age 20- over 900,000 teen; about 40% of teen mothers are under 18years of age; nearly 80% of fathers do not marry the teen mothers of their children. Albeit, these statistics represent the situation in the United States, the same or more devastating conditions abound in third world nations like Nigeria. With the development in reproductive technology, teen pregnancy seem to be reducing but the rate of girls who get pregnant at least once before they reach 20 not withstanding whether they bring the baby to term or not is put at 5 out of every 10 girls. This finding stiffens the probe into the cause and possible solutions of this global tragedy less talked about. This brings us to a more psychological evaluation of teenhood.
EVALUATING TEENHOOD
Leone McSweeney in her book, The Facts of Life, has a penetrating and water-tight analysis on teenhood. She espoused that at our teen, we are at a stage of awakening. Awakening to : (1) Freedom (II) one’s physical powers and especially to sexual desire (III) personal values which enables young people to decide for themselves what they want to do with life. This period of awareness is a very delicate one. Once teens are not properly guided through it, they will gamble through by their equally inexperienced peer and make many mistakes they will be shy to identify with publicly. A progressive characterization of this stage is that of aggression, fear and compulsion. At the teen formative stage, teens are usually aggressive to parents, authority and anything religious; exercise fear of disgrace, of others and of failure. Equally characteristic is the compulsion towards drinks, drugs, money and sex. This progression of aggression, fear and compulsion culminate to what makes radical the drive for adventure and rebellion. They thus would want to like Biblical Adam know why God (now their parents) said they should not eat of that fruit. ‘They know when we eat it we will become as wise as them’, they are quick to delude themselves, playing for themselves the devil’s advocate. Thus they would play their female counterpart to some scintillating and sugar-coated but convoluted logic in advocacy for the demystification of sex and its subsequent unbridled engagement.
Nevertheless, readings in sexology and teen psychology reveal that many teen girls are not as excited into sexual involvement like their male counterparts who have an almost unrepentant desire toward sex. Girls get involved with sex out of pressure of their loved male friend, fear of losing him, fear of being seen as ‘old-schooled’ and as still mummy’s puppet. This latter point is more compelling toward sexual debut of many girls and boys. Sex like nicotine in cigarette is addictive. Many get fixated to sex after their sexual debut and to the particular boy. This is what railroads to the usual waterloo of unfortunate teen girls- teen pregnancy.
Teenhood is thus a very volatile period that deserves close attention on teens and sympathy for them. Biology reveals too that this is the time hormonal formation reaches their peak, and the bloom of their sexual energies and powers as well as the formation of the organs of maturity. This is the time too they have their first taste of independence. It is alleged that in the US, many teen let hell loose on their Eighteenth birthday and imprudently celebrate canality on that day since by law they are free from the stringent whims and regulation of their parents. This is the psychological appreciation of Teenhood as a period.
TEEN PREGNANCY: ANALYSING THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS
Although, Africans extol fertility and children, it does not conversely encourage unwanted pregnancy, as it will be an act against her moral heritage. Many a reason accounts for the rampart pregnancy amongst teens. It should be borne that these factors do not evenly cut across the different ages of the teen period. While some of the reasons for teen pregnancy especially for girls below 15 years may be influenced by factors resulting from inexperience, the late teen years may be influenced by more compound reasons. Nevertheless, it should be noted that there are varied reasons, which cause teen pregnancy. We may not be able to exhaustively talk about them; however, we shall spotlight those salient points, which for the most are highly influential factors.
Teens that are unguarded at their age are likely to develop what can conveniently be called the ‘adolescent’s sexually-active’ traits. Teenhood is a period when young people are vibrant and sexually active. Those with a malformed view of sexuality have their ill-notions of sexuality experimented. Teens are more sexually active at this period and they are precariously inexperienced too. This is what worsens their dilemma. At their age, they feel a high pressure to have sex particularly from their counterpart. It must equally be borne in mind that this is the time teens get involved and sometimes too fixated in drugs and alcohol. These get their inhibition reduced that what they would otherwise made a decision in the reversed, they will freely give in to. Like I have said in some other works, drugs and alcohol coupled with a crescendo of emotional tickles send teens’ brains to a ‘French leave’. Their decision thus very often would be bereft of rationality and sanity. At this time, they throw overboard the implication of their act and it is at such instances, teens get pregnant.
Speculations have it too that inexperience is a root reason for teenage pregnancy. Many teen girls are not aware of their sexual rhythms or even lack adequate knowledge of adequate sex education. And that they are in a time of experiment, they are more likely to get pregnant. According to a UNESCO report on teen pregnancy in Britain, "There are four main reasons why girls in Britain become pregnant. We don’t give children enough information; we give them mixed messages about sex and relationships; social deprivation means girls are more likely to become pregnant; and girls whose mothers were teenage mums are more likely to do the same. While other points stand true of situations of teen pregnancy in Nigeria, the first and the third points are more influential reasons than the others proffered. Many young girls are very often impregnated not by young men of their age bracket but much older men. Findings put it that teenage girls are more likely to engage in romances and kisses with their peer than sex. Very often, older men who shower teen girls with gifts and a promise to quench their material want get teen girls hooked to them and very often when these teen girls get pregnant, they are more likely to bring it to term than for their peer.
Other viable opinions put causes for teen pregnancies at peer pressure, poor parental guidance, influence of the media, the starvation of love, the use of contraceptives and the like. Top ranking of these is the influence of the media. The dysfunctional censorship system in Nigeria has allowed the exaltation of sex as a standard of civility and maturity. Thus many teens in other to breakaway from what seem to be a degrading status for them, being addressed as youngsters, will want to immediately identify with sex. This only gives a make-belief of maturity and not actuality or a reality of the situation. Equally instrumental is the native family system background in Africa . The exaggerated gulf created between parents and children makes children find it difficult to confide in their parents. Many parents too sadly lack good parental skills. Girls very often thus will go through the volatile teen period experimentally and for the unfortunate group their lot may just be teen pregnancy.
There is yet another interesting contributing factor which seems to raise the stake of teen pregnancy and this is environmentally influenced. Many adolescents are victims of violent childhood. Admittedly, the experiences of a particular stage of development have effects either positively or negatively on the consequent stage of development. Adolescents with violent and love-bereft childhood are more likely to be pregnant at adolescence. This is so because, their childhood experience will tell on their way of thinking and behaviour at adolescence. Tamkins, T. (2004) opines when the family environment does not include adverse childhood experiences, becoming pregnant as an adolescent does not appear to raise the likelihood of long-term, negative psychosocial consequences.
The question of poverty cannot be discussed in low keys when analyzing teen pregnancy in our milieux. Poverty is an overriding problem in Nigeria. The capitalist trend which seems to be favoured by stiff spices of corruption and repressive injustices has continually put the common man at the mercy of the rich. For survival therefore, many resort to the unwritten thesis of ‘using what you have to get what you don’t have’. Many teen who may have been hostile victims of the lousy hand of fate and misfortune usually would submit themselves at whatever cost to the vain pleasure of a man who promises them even a flicker of material sustenance not minding the cost and consequences. This is a major reason for teen pregnancy in Nigeria. Of an insignificant few are those who get pregnant by the dying culture of rape.
It should be borne in mind once again that our analysis of pregnancy is exclusive of the fact whether the baby is brought to term or not. For the most however, these are the conspicuous contributing factors.
TEENAGE PREGNANCY: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PARTIES
On a face look, the issue of teen pregnancy may just seem a case for young girls alone but one must be quick to know that the factors that influence teen pregnancy in the female folk are the same that affect the teen boy as well and equally the issue of teen pregnancy is not a self-indulged accident. There is always the male party be he a young man or not. The implications to be considered at this section will not limit its ambit to the accidented girl alone but to both immediately and remotely concerned parties: the teen mother, the father, child and family of the teen.
Report reveals that many teen mothers are likely to bring about premature birth with low birth weight. The inexperience and circumstance of birth of the teen mother would make her pay less attention to prenatal care. A gruesome consequence thus will be that the preceding years will be marked with experiment as was the case with the grounds for pregnancy. Similarly, teen mothers are more prone to be poor dieting or nutritional deficiency. Inadequate nutrition during pregnancy is its counter effect on the child too and the complete formation of the child. Teen mothers are likely to suffer in the area of medicare than for more mature women. During delivery, they are more likely to be vulnerable to eclampsia, infant mortality and maternal death. By the same token, they run the risk of other complications resulting from underdevelopment.
There is a disheartening lot that awaits teen mothers. Conspicuous among others is the drop out of school by teen mothers. If one takes a painstaking probe at most teen mothers one may find interestingly true that most teen mothers do not otherwise pay hard interest to academics. Dropping out of school may not matter to some in any case. What may matter for them more is the shame they may have to contend with that is associated by them not going to school. The correlation between early childbearing and not finishing school as at when due affects career opportunity for the teen mother at the long run.
Teen pregnancy is a course that determines to a negative turn the life and future of a younger other. The child is more likely to be a greater sufferer of the indecorous mortgage of the mother. The first obvious point is that the child will be impaired in psycho-social development. The teen child will be bereft of the hands of the ripe warmth of a mother. Since teenage pregnancy is a consequence of an enfeebled growth, the child thus will consequently grow with developmental disabilities. The child is most likely to become a tout, a rascal and a rebel. The child will be a direct recipient of the pent anger of the teen mother, whose presence of the child is a souvenir of an ugly past. She will more likely to be eccentric in behaviour to the child. This ultimately counts on how the child eventually will behave. It is speculated that a son born to a young woman in her teens is three times more likely to serve time in prison.
In addition, children of teen mothers are likely not to perform well academically and not only that but may also have low intelligent quotient (IQ). This will tell at once the level of success of the child in future. This is so because, poor academic performance always beget low self-esteem amongst youths. This low self-esteem will if not tamed tell on how the child will evaluate things and even order his priorities. The consequences chain is virtually endless.
The implication of teen pregnancy extends its lousy hands to family members. Logic as well as studies reveals that siblings of teen mothers are more likely to exalt permissive behaviour and are likely to accept sexual initiations, parenthood and early marriages. Very often too, the teen mother who otherwise would have been a moral stalwart for the younger ones will all at once be reticent on moral issues. Again in some cases, those with an older sibling who is a teen parent often end up babysitting their nieces and nephews and that young girls placed in such a situation have an increased risk of getting pregnant themselves. One devastating effect of teen pregnancy is that the ugly implications are almost unending. Teen pregnancy has effect for the grandparents of teen mothers who at their age will very often not be too old. Their teen children becoming pregnant give them a sense of parental failure and very often loose their will among other parents. They thus will lack the actuation to speak on ill among children of other parents.
Teen mothers are sometimes impregnated by their teen counterpart, while some others by older men. The men who impregnate these teen girls sometimes take up responsibilities of their actions and may eventually wed the teen girls. This kind of marriage is what has come to be know as shotgun marriage. This kind of marriage is often not well planned for and so it operates outside of responsibility. Such marriage is thus fraught with virtually all possible constraints. For men whose responsibility does not culminate into marriage with the teen girl contend with social maladjustment. He is often hunted by the mistake of his past and may even disrupt the regularity and rationality of his thought. It must be admitted here that teenage father is often a misnomer. Nevertheless, men who put teenage girls in the family way are more likely to be promiscuous and also lack firm parental skill and will in their subsequent family.
TEENAGE PREGNANCY: TOWARD A HEALTHY REDUCTION
The issue of teen pregnancy is still pertinent and seasonable. Many people would think that as many teen girls have become well-schooled in the acts counter acts of sexual adventurism, especially in halting pregnancy via contraception and abortion, then the issue of teen pregnancy is as stale as day-break manna, No! the very issues which may count for the untimeliness of our discussion are the precipitate for a germane review. Many teen girls have developed more accultural and felonious ways of coping with teen pregnancy without the corresponding evaluation of both the immediate and remote consequences. To continue with the issues which tie around teen pregnancy and its related issues will make our work one chunk of interwoven moral aberrations. The more important discussion at stake knowing the precarious stead the issue purports is on how teen pregnancy can be healthily reduced. My emphasis is on a healthy reduction.
One viable option is the issue of sex education. Many teens and lamentably enough, some adults have an impoverished understanding of their sexuality. This is why an attempt to understanding it leads to experimentation and thus to a waterloo. Sex education should be taught is schools and there should be a matron for girls is schools whether a boarding or a day school. This will help demystify the whole conundrum called sex. Teenage pregnancy agreeably cannot fall consistently in every region but local government and health care workers should be ever conscious of this problem and note particular contributing factors and work assiduously to dwarf such. I am strongly of the opinion that poor censorship of movies has spiraled factors aiding teen pregnancy and as such the movie industry should work toward an ethics of entertainment.
Be that as it may, there should be an emphasis by religious bodies and other media functionaries on abstinence. Many youths do not see reasons for abstinence because of the exaltation of premarital sex in many shows. Similarly, healthy sexual behaviour should be encouraged. One point that must not be allowed to silence is the issue of female literacy. Young girls must begin to have a positive image about themselves and gradually free themselves from the tough-ridden snare of patrilineal society and male chauvinism. A handsome percentage of teen girls who fall into the dilemma of teen pregnancy were victims of their own gullibility and weak will. This however must not be treated in isolation; it is merely the hangover of a slipshod literacy and a reckless self-esteem. I equally concur with the option of male involvement in teen pregnancy reduction. They must be treated with care, love and patience at teenhood. Thus, gainful involvement and other means that are culturally relevant may be highly constructive.
Teen pregnancy is a case not for the concern of teens alone. It is a social menance and a cultural freak. It is a situation that needs a prompt redress because the issues and related issues that lace around teen pregnancy are those that fast deaden our moral edifice. The teens will not be the sufferers only but all and sundry. Teen pregnancy threatens the structure of our age-old morality with some arrogant temerity and poke further to ask: what do you have to say? We must talk, we must fight, and we must win. That is the climax of the crusade against teen pregnancy. I dare to ask: which vanguard do you belong?