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Health Risks to the baby
A baby inside of a woman's womb depends on its carrier greatly. A baby born to a teenage mother is more at risk than a baby born to a grown woman.
- 9% of teen girls have low-birth-weight babies (under 5.5 pounds)
- Low birth-weight babies may have organs that are not fully developed. This can lead to lung problems such as respiratory distress syndrome, or bleeding in the brain
- low birth-weight babies are 40x more likely to die in their first month of life than normal weight babies
- Low birth-weight babies may have, immature organ systems (brain, lungs, and heart), difficulty controlling body temperature and blood sugar levels, and mental retardation. Low birth-weight babies have a higher risk of dying in early infancy than among normal weight babies
- Low birth-weight babies are exposed to mental retardation, brain damage, and injury at birth
Health Risks to a Teenage mother
A teenage mother has special problems, emotionally and physically
- The death rate from pregnancy complications is a lot higher for girls who are pregnant under the age of 15 than among older teenagers
- Pregnant teenagers are more likely to be undernourished and suffer premature or prolonged labor
- During the first 3 months of pregnancy; seven out of ten teenage girls do not get prenatal care, see a doctor, or go to a clinic
- Teenage mothers are at risk of getting anemia, high blood pressure, placental problems, and pregnancy induced hypertension
- Teenage girls with STI's or HIV can pass complications on to her baby when it is born
- Teenage girls may also develop many emotional problems such as depression, shame, guilt, and stress
- Teenage mothers have the risk of problems such as poor weight gain, premature labor, and other complications. *The younger the mother, the greater the chance to have complications for both the baby and the mother.
Consequences of Teenage Pregnancy
The future of teenage girls who are pregnant often don't hold great promises for the baby and teenager due to the amount of dedication involved with raising a child
- 2/3 of pregnant teenagers drop out of school
- The demands of education are high in order to find a good job, therefore leaving a problem for a teenage mother who has dropped out; leading her to go on welfare because of her deep financial problem
- If a teenage couple get married after they have a baby, it will most likely end in divorce
- A teenager cant go out with friends as much as they used to, their social life is put on hold for quite a while
- Teenage girls who are pregnant cant party (drink, smoke, and use drugs)
- Teenage girls miss out on their own childhood because they are busy taking care of another child
- Teenage girls put pressure on their parents for help on raising the child
- Children miss out on many things an older mother can give to her child
- Due to a teenagers young age, they do not have the proper parenting skills that are needed in order to raise a child well
- Staying in school can be harder due to the schools attitude, peer attitudes, and lack of day care for the baby
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