Why do teenagers have babies?

[Gina]

"Why do teenagers have babies?"

If I can get 10 people to help me with this, I would way appreciate it. It's for my Sociology class, focused on welfare. We're supposed to ask 10 people for their answers to that question, then summarize the results. I just need a short answer, a sentence or two.

I really appreciate it!!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

They have unprotected (or not protected well) sex, a baby gets created and they opt to keep it and deliver it.



(now if the question is why do they "want" to do this--which I have heard some teenagers do "want" to "plan" to hvae a baby while a teenager)--that would make for a more interesting sociology project. OR why they opt to have unprotected sex...)

 

[Boxley]

Could be because of lack of preventive methods and sexual education. Some may see a baby as a way out of a situation, such as perhaps leaving a home to make their own.

 

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

When I was in High School, a girl got pregnant because she felt unloved by everyone in her family and wanted someone of her own to love and be loved by...very sad

 

[RadioNate]

When I was in High School, a girl got pregnant because she felt unloved by everyone in her family and wanted someone of her own to love and be loved by...very sad

everyone I know who got pregnant in HS had this reason. They wanted someone to love them unconditionally. They were careless about birth control because having a baby would bring them the love and attention they craved. Of course none of them would readily admit this. None of them set out to purposely get pregnant, but took a 'whatever happens, happens' attitude.

 

[ICF]

because sex is fun....and teens don't often think about being prepared and / or actually using protection.

After that....girl ends of pregnant and decides (or her parents decide for her) to have the baby.

 

[Rora]

I think it's a combination of what others said but I also think it's because of the media. Kids see young celebrities (Jamie Lynn Spears to name one..) having kids and they make it look easy. Of course, teenagers don't know that celebrity families have the money to pay for a live in babysitter so the mom can still have a life.

In addition, TV shows (One Tree Hill, Degrassi, Secret Life) make it look like having babies is glamorous.

 

[just4today]

Some teenage girls believe that if they are pregnant it will keep the guy in their life.

 

[RitaE]

I could answer but my answer would be an adult opinion of why I think teens do what they do.

I think you should go ask this on the Teen board - I bet you'd get some really interesting answers there.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Because that's when they become fertile. It's really quite simple, humans are meant to breed during their teenage years and die around their mid-40's. The fact that scientific and cultural advances have outpaced evolution doesn't change this. Teenage bodies want to conceive. Can their minds overcome the desires of their bodies? Sometimes.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

When I was in High School, a girl got pregnant because she felt unloved by everyone in her family and wanted someone of her own to love and be loved by...very sad

everyone I know who got pregnant in HS had this reason. They wanted someone to love them unconditionally. They were careless about birth control because having a baby would bring them the love and attention they craved. Of course none of them would readily admit this. None of them set out to purposely get pregnant, but took a 'whatever happens, happens' attitude.

When I read this thread, this is what came to my mind first. I read about it a while back and it said the same thing.

My DD goes to school with a very sweet girl, a beautiful and smart girl who came from an abused family, and she just had a baby. He is now married to the 21 year old daddy and could not be happier, from what my DD was told. She was a girl who, no matter what she did, could not please her family. I guess she too just wanted someone to love her, no matter what.

I also think that girls do this for attention.

 

[Sparx]

because abstinence only education doesn't work.

 

[barkley]

when i worked for the welfare department far too many said it was so they could have thier own 'case' and a basis to move out on their own

 

[MoonFaerie]

Because they haven't been properly informed about contraception and/or birth control failure, which doesn't necessarily mean being irresponsible (says the person that had an oops with an iud )

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I had a baby in HS that I gave up for adoption. So I can give my reason why.

Bottom line my reason was lack of a way to getting birth control.

Now I could spit out a laundry list of family dynamics that contributed to it however not having access to birth control is the bottom line.

Of course after that, I was on the pill and used other forms of BC. My family was Catholic and did not believe it BC, however that changed when I had a baby.

 

[kafitty]

i think it's the unconditional love thing, but also that having a child is a great "decider."

as in, they no longer have to make decisions just for themselves, all of these decisions are based on the baby.

as a 23 year old who just graduated college, i have a seemingly unlimited amount of options with what to do with myself now. It's a little scary, actually. i have an overwhelming amount of choices, and no one to blame if i make the wrong ones.

kids with kids can say, "Well, I had to do ____ because of the baby." "I could have gone to school, but I had the baby so I had to work." "We can't move, because of the baby, we need to stay close to mom & dad." etc. etc.

though i know having a child is full of uncertainties, it certainly takes the focus off of the parent's life.

 

[surfergirl602]

Well, I got pregnant at 19 with my first in college while on BC and with a condom. So sometimes those little suckers beat all the odds. She's 9 now and has two sisters. Their dad and I have been married for 8 years now!

 

[Starbrite]

Speaking from experience...... I was pregnant @ 16....

It was the "It can't happen to me" mentality. I wasn't one of "those" girls & never imagined that I would get pregnant. Live & Learn

 

[hereyago]

2 of my friends in high school, both expected the guy to take care of the bc aka condom, the girls weren't on any form of bc. One girl became pregnant the first time she had sex, because the guy told her she couldn't get pregnant the first time.

 

[Pigeon]

The two teenagers in my neighborhood who got pregnant both come from religious fundamentalist families, where premarital sex is completely taboo. In these cases, I'm sure the girls thought it would be sinful to be prepared, and are dealing with the consequences.

Neither is on welfare, however. Both are living with their parents and while the grandparents love the grandbabies, it's tense and unpleasant all around.