Home Blogs The Pros and Cons of Being a Teenage Mom

The Pros and Cons of Being a Teenage Mom

Teenage pregnancies are very common, especially in the United States, where one in every three teenagers gets pregnant. Teenager’s getting pregnant is such a big part of life in the US that there are even reality shows on teenage pregnancies, tracking the lives of such girls!

Being a teenage mom is lot of responsibility – physically, psychologically, economically and of course, even morally. Even if you did want to weigh the positives and negatives of teenage pregnancy, it would seem more like a bad idea than a good one.

Let’s try weighing the good with the bad.

Advantages

These are some factors that could be seen as advantages of being a teenage mom:

• If you become a teenage mum or someone you know becomes a teenage mum, you will learn responsibility really quickly.
• You will be responsible for another person – taking care of that person’s needs – monetarily, emotionally, physically.
• You will be young parents and might be able to relate better to your child when he or she grows up.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages far outweigh the advantages of becoming a teenage mum. Some of the main cons of being a teenage mum are:

• You are too young to have a baby. You might be able to conceive a baby but this does not mean that your body is completely ready to endure the process of childbirth and child-rearing.
• You are also emotionally not ready for a child. You might find yourself being confused about being a teenager (with your parents) and a parent (with your baby). You might not have the emotional capacity to deal with this.
• You, as a teenager, may also not have considered the implication of being a single parent. It will be a lifelong responsibility.
• You will become susceptible to possible complications during and after the pregnancy. Sudden Infant death (SIDS), premature birth, and low birth weight babies are all very common during teenage pregnancies.
• You will most likely give up your education. A very miniscule number of teenage mums actually complete college or get a college degree. An even smaller number of teenage mom’s go ahead and complete their high school diploma.
• A lack of education puts you at a disadvantage when taking care of your child to the best of your ability. Not being able to complete your education will ensure that you only get low-paying jobs all through your working life.
• Without the possibility of a good income, you are almost certainly going to be dependent on welfare schemes.
• You will also notice the lack of a social life once you get pregnant and have a baby.

There is no real upside to becoming a teenage parent. There are many disadvantages including personal and social repercussions. The United States has one of the highest incidences of teenage pregnancies. The US also has a high rate of abortions and a lot of stigma attached to abortion as teenagers. It is therefore important for teenagers to educate themselves and have a good support system in place in order to prevent pregnancies.

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