Personal Perspective

Teenage Pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy has been an issue in the Philippines for many years now. And, this is becoming an alarming problem in the country which needs to be addressed as efficiently as possible. Aside from being itself a problem, it also causes a lot of unwanted consequences that can sometimes even lead to death, either of the mother or of the child. According to recent studies conducted by the government and private sectors, teenage pregnancy is driven by several factors, one of which is the lack of information about s****l and reproductive health and rights. Clearly, despite the implementation of s****l education among schools and institutions, the highlighted problem does still exist. Many teens still indulge in premarital s*x, which will actually result in teenage pregnancy. Given the fact that they are not fully aware of the possible aftereffects of doing so, hesitation seems inexistent. This can also be connected with the rampant use of social media among this generation, where they can be freely exposed to malicious content, including s*x. Another heartbreaking and indeed disturbing reason is due to s****l violence. Nowadays, r**e has been constantly circulating across media platforms. Sadly, some of the featured cases are brutally done by the victims’ own family members or relatives, or worse, by their own father. This is a fearsome reality that needs to be stopped by the authorities involved. The law is deemed to protect the vulnerable, including the youth—the future of the country. There should be guaranteed safety for the majority to live properly and for these teenagers to live the lives that they are looking forward to. r***s and other forms of violence should be ended by stricter laws to keep young women from getting pregnant unwantedly. And later on, to have suffered for the things they had no control over.

Teenage pregnancy, on the other hand, is seen as one of the reasons why many teenagers have serious mental issues. Postpartum is one of the common side effects of giving birth. It is the state of being depressed, restless, anxious and even recurring thoughts of death and suicide. These highlighted emotions obviously cause one’s life to blur and start to take them away from being effective as an individual. Teenage pregnancy does not only affect the health of the mother, but oftentimes, the child suffers most. Due to early pregnancy, with the mother being physically and emotionally unready, many health complications arise. Another effect of teenage pregnancy is poverty. Most of these pregnancies are twice as likely to happen among teens from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Thus, even this could lead these families to become impoverished. The aforementioned issue can result in long-term financial stress that affects not only the mother but also the child.Indeed, teenage pregnancy causes interconnected problems that hinder an individual’s and the country’s success. Teenage pregnancy is a serious issue, but just like any other problem, there are solutions, if not to stop it, at least to gradually decrease the number of cases. Some ways I personally consider that must be done are first ---the help and support of the family. Everything should start inside our individual homes. The parents or guardians are supposed to be the light for these young women to do what is right. It is also their obligation to assure their children that they can open up their stories to their parents so that they will be guided properly. The parents should be calibrated on how to deal with or explain the consequences of getting pregnant at an early age with the exclusion of shouting and insults. They have to empower their children with proper counseling. In relation to this, the government should not only focus on school symposiums, seminars, or even s*x education as it is evidently ineffective in providing the increasing numbers of teenage pregnancy across the country. They have to guide these parents or guardians as well, since they are the ones who know their children firsthand. Another solution I have in mind is to embrace liberalism. I notice that Filipinos are actually conservative types of people. However, the population is undoubtedly increasing. Despite the implementation of the RH law, this does not efficiently control the numbers of women getting pregnant, including these adolescents, because we are so concerned about how others will react to our actions. We have to accept the use of condoms and other reproductive health remedies as they can scientifically help reduce the cases of overpopulation. People have to stop discriminating against those who would prefer to use these precautions, as it can help them have a better life in the future. There is nothing wrong with being cautious rather than letting this innocent child be born without proper preparations. Hence, these teenagers also have to rethink multiple times before going into some sensual activities to avoid being regretful in the end. In this generation, teenage pregnancy is no less than a disturbing issue that, if not taken with proper actions and precautions, the future of many, including of the country itself, will certainly become wary. It has been happening not only here in the Philippines but also around the globe. As a result, this must be stopped.Schools, families, and the government should devote more time to figuring out how to end this seemingly intractable problem.