Teenage pregnancy is a worldwide problem bearing serious social and medical implications relating to maternal and child health.

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Teenage pregnancy is a worldwide problem bearing serious social and medical implications relating to maternal and child health. Each year, approximately 900000 teenagers become pregnant in the United States, and despite decreasing rates, more than 4 in 10 adolescent girls have been pregnant at least once before 20 years of age. Also the incidence of STD has skyrocketed, and most new infections occur in people between 13 and 21 years of age (National Center for HIV/AIDS, 2010). Teens exhibit high behavioral risk for acquiring most STDs. Teenagers and young adults are more likely than other age groups to have multiple sex partners , to engage and unprotect sex and to choose older partner older than herself (for youngers woman’s) .We as a nurses always must assess sexuality . When discussing the topic of sexuality, take and open, frank, direct, and nonjudgmental approach. There are special risks to a baby when the mother is not fully mature. Because most teenagers are not physically, emotionally, or financially ready to carry and care for a child, their babies tend to have low birth weight and are predisposed to a variety of illnesses.

There are many precursors to adolescent pregnancy like:

Lack of knowledge about sex or contraception

Having sex at a young age

Being the victim of sexual abuse

Dating older guys

Poor parental supervision

Limited communication between parents and teen

Nurses can develop audiovisual aids (diagrams, pictures, Power Point presentations, and videos) to make sex education unforgettable. We must tech our teens that abstinence is a highly positive choice for both sexes until they are ready to deal with the responsibility of being sexually active. The emphasis must be that sexual health promotion is a lifestyle choice and that contraception is useless if not practice consistently. Use of condoms should be encourage for every sexual encounter.

Teen pregnancy prevention is a critical dimension of adolescent health, and strong, effective organizations are best positioned to make a positive impact on policies and programs which affect teens. For this reason, Advocates for Youth created the National Support Center for State Teen Pregnancy Organizations, designed to support and strengthen state organizations’ capacity to address adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Reference:

Hunt, R. (2009). Introduction to community-based nursing (4th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer