Wunderlich

One of the biggest unresolved problems facing our world is that of unwanted pregnancies, particularly among teens. In todays day and age almost 1,000,000 teens will become pregnant with children they dont want. Because of the rampant belief of pre-marital sex, unwanted pregnancies and even more serious, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) have skyrocketed in the last 40 years.

STD's are a serious disease that either can be cured or cannot. With the seriousness of the effects that these diseases have it would be thought that people would be a little more careful. Transmitted diseases (STD's) are infections that are passed from one person to another by sexual contact. The number of STD's has risen constantly; according to the national institutes of health More than 12 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases occur each year, at least 3 million of them are teenagers.. HIV is one of the deadliest STD's to acquire and one of the most fearful, due to its inability to be cured. According to Henderson an estimated 29.4 [million] people throughout the world had been infected with HIV, and an approximate number of 8.4 million contracted AIDS.

STD's are contracted though sexual contact. There are many different types of STD's, some of the more common are "Chlamydeous, Gonorrhea, Herpes, Crab lice, Syphilis, Genital warts, Trichomunal, HIV and Hepatitis B." (Jacobs 1). As a sexually active teen in this day and age, it is almost a necessity to use a condom. Disease testing should also be a priority and done every couple of months to ensure well being. Some signs and symptoms that are noticeable are blisters, painful bumps, or sore in the genital region.. Other symptoms may be warty growths around the genitals, a yellowish discharge from the vagina, or frequent painful urination. Sexually transmitted diseases inflict long term affects to their victims. It is a know fact that STD's are running rampant in today's society, yet some people still indulge in their carnal desires through unprotected sex.

Unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases are only two of the many negative consequences teenager today must face. These issues can also have a psychological, as well as a physical effect on the body. Teenagers are not physically capable to handle the responsibilities that raising a child requires. A teenagers life today is very stressful; let alone having to care for another human being. It's a tremendous stress feeding, comforting, and looking out for a baby for the rest of his/her life. Raising a child should be left to mature adults only, what kind of life is a child to have being raised by another child or children? Teenagers are to busy with their lives to deal with problems that come with having children. Many teen parents are led to welfare; in fact "over three-quarters of all unmarried teenage mothers begin receiving cash benefits form the AID to families with dependant children (AFDC) program within five years of the birth of their first child.

When teens are involved in adult issues there is always a negative stereotype that follows. People in the community, instead of helping the teens involved the pregnancy issue, they are more willing to spread rumors and gossip about how poor of parents the teens are. The stereotype is different for the boys involved than for the girls. The boys for most of the time, are blamed for the entire pregnancy. People in the community for the most will label the boy as a bad seed, irresponsible, and a father that will most likely abandoned their responsibilities. When in fact that might not even be the case at all. The parents of the girl who has gotten pregnant will most likely prevent the girl form coming in contact with the boy. These are all the wrong actions that the community will take, but it is what will most likely happen. On the other hand the girl is faced with the entire community believing that she is promiscuous and allowed this to willingly happen.

If more active teens would take the time to plan ahead, all of the previous problems stated throughout this paper would either be resolved or never of happened. Family planning has many benefits, it benefits family by ensuring a closer and a reliable family. A lot of families break up after their teenager unexpectedly becomes a parent. With family planning practiced in every home it would prevent the 900,000 girls a year from becoming pregnant. Family planning will also benefit society. It will show younger girls to practice it, and in whole prevent more and more teen pregnancies as time goes on. Planning ahead also benefits both the male and the female. It helps to maintain and keep their lives in order, while at the same time it secures their lives form heartache and an unwanted child.

With every problem there must be a solution, whether it be before or after the fact. In order to maintain a steady household after the birth of a child, when the responsibility is not yet ready to be handled, Counseling may be in order. For some it may be individual counseling, but for the most part group or family counseling is favored. There are several programs that focus on the prevention of unwanted pregnancy. These groups have shown to have positive effects on delaying intercourse; it also improves contraceptive use therefore preventing pregnancy among adolescents. Hopefully in the near future more and more teens along with adults will realize the seriousness of caring for a child and the burden that comes along with it.

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