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Teen Pregnancy
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
What do we think? What steps should be taken to reduce it? Is there too much of it around? Is it always bad? Would you ever consider abortion?
Food for thought, last year over 1000 babies were born to girls aged 12 or younger in the UK. WE have on eof the highest teenage pregnancy rates in europe, and Holland has the highest teenage sex rate, but one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates. What are they doing there.
Anyway, someone said that the boards had died, so this should give us something to talk about.
Food for thought, last year over 1000 babies were born to girls aged 12 or younger in the UK. WE have on eof the highest teenage pregnancy rates in europe, and Holland has the highest teenage sex rate, but one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates. What are they doing there.
Anyway, someone said that the boards had died, so this should give us something to talk about.
0
Comments
One girl I know, Carrie, had a very late (but legal) abortion. She had to actually give birth to the 'baby', and it survived for a few minutes afterwards. But the doctors weren't allowed to attempt to save it. Bad case scenario I know. But then, if you think about the alternative, it would have been raised by a (then) 13 year-old, no father, no grandparents (Carrie'd been abused and was in care) and seeing as she was into drugs and drink as well I can't imagine it would have had a good life. She made the right decision.
Personally, I think a lot of it is down to social perception of sex. I've been to Holland quite a lot as my cousin lives there. People talk about orgasms over dinner as casually as they do about what happened on the soaps last night. Say the word 'clitoris' in public in England (around adults) and 99% of people would turn bright red and look away. 1 in 6 parents don't tell their kids ANYTHING about sex. 1 in 3 haven't talked contraception. Terrifying.
The Government et al concentrate SO MUCH on the idea of sex as a sin (let's face it, they do) that in most schools (and peer groups) it's actually cool to suspect your pregnant. It's wrong, so therefore it's right. When the words 'teenage' and 'sex' are mentioned in the same sentence to the average 30+, the mind automatically flips to the pregnant girls. Boys aren't focused on nearly enough. It's a very small minority of boys who are pressurised into sex by girlfriends. If they are pressured, it's almost always by their mates.
If you ask me, the problem is more with parents and their generation. I mean, from the time we can talk we're fed stupid stories about storks and cabbage patches, parents'd be better off giving them a sketchy version of the truth. I know that me and most people my age I know would be OK talking to their parents about sex and contraception. It's rarely the same the other way around.
*|* Chica *|*
Stay Calm <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/mad.gif">
And at the moment the government's knee jerk reaction is to say "sex is bad". That's not going to change anyone's opinion. What we really need is unbiased information that lets young people make an informed decision. And there isn't much of that around.
well hunny bunnys if u dont do it u cant get pregant. Ohhh i would also like say thank u to every one who helped me on my qusetion about wether i should have sex yet or wait well i would like to tell those who r intersted that iam gonna wait
<IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/eek.gif">
Think about it, what did you learn in school about sex?
All we did was label a picture of a womb and learn a few words such as "OVA" or "SPERM".
We aren't taught the morals of sex and the dangers of teenage pregnancies and we aren't taught in the right way.
OPEN YOUR MIND...
Sorry Liberty but I've got to disagree with you there. Sex education in our school was really good. I learned loads of stuff, in fact I was beginning to get sick of contraception and STD's!
at the ages of 11-15 etc is quite redicilous. but if u think ur old enough 2 shag then u should b old enough 2 deal with the consequences.
u start ur periods so as u can reproduce, so why do we start so early? its just society thats labeled 'teenage pregnancys', and made em out to b wrong.
i known loads a teenage mums, and i have hardly a bad word 2 say, no1 is a perfect parent, no matter the age.
I think abortion is completely and utterly wrong. I am only 15 but I know if I got pregnant now, as much as it would ruin my education etc, I would keep it.
It would be my fault I got pregnant therefore my responsibility and I feel that if you cant hack the responsibility you shouldnt be having sex.
I think that these days abortion is used as an easy escape route, people aren't so careful with contreception because, if they do get pregnant, they can, correct "the problem".
I know people who wouldnt even think twice about it. I think it's awful. It's a baby for godsake.
We did the subject in Ethics @ skool and I cant remember how long it takes, but its not that late on, the baby becomes aware of all of its surroundings and whats going on. Therefore it would be aware, not of whats happening, but the pain and just being terrified.
The only time when I would consider it would be if the baby was very severly disabled, so disabled that it would have an awful quality of life.
Anyone agree with me?????
My cousin was actually raped when she was 15, and the thought of being pregnant by this monster (understandably) disgusted her. Fortunately she wasn't pregnant, but as that side of the family are all strict catholics, they wouldn't have let her have an abortion. How the hell was she ever supposed to get over something so traumatic if she was forced to keep a child that was the product of a brutal rape. Of course it would have been the right decision to abort it.
As for the sex education thing, in some schools it can be good and informative, but it many it's utter crap. When I was 14 (FAR too late) we had ONE day, called health education day. We spent most of the time learning about drugs and alcohol (which is important) and only 45 minutes on sex. We watched some crap video that went something like this:
"And when a man and a woman love each other, they want to show it by getting very close to each other." For fuck's sake, they could have been learning the tango! Then our teacher tried to put a condom on a carrot, but obviously had no idea what she was doing. She split about five of them and only managed to get one on by cutting off the end of it so it fit! By which time we were all in hysterics! We taught us nothing, and they even managed to do that years late. How pathetic.
*|* Chica *|*
Stay Calm <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/mad.gif">
Good Luck, to nayone in the position at the moment, i didn't mean to offend anyone.
My teacher saw a video of a legal abortion and she said the baby actually screamed and tried to move away from the poker they were pulling it out with.
Food for thought, i hope.
"some rarely touch it but it touches them often." Stanley, Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams
Less of the "the man then puts his penis..." crap and more ethics style stuff that actually gets people thinking about the consequences of unprotected sex, and lets them make informed choices rather than being pressured into something where they're not completely sure of the consequences.
Also, I don't understand how you can disagree with abortion because of the pain caused to the baby, but excuse it if the baby was the result of a rape? Have I misunderstood?
Just my opinion!!
~ Did you know that the average Russian woman will undergo THREE abortions in her lifetime? Apparantly, because the main religion over there only has a relatively small following, it's widely perceived as an acceptable form of birth control.
*|* Chica *|*
Stay Calm <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/mad.gif">
.................Anal.......................
I don't think abortion should be a cure all or an easy-out, but I do think its good that women can have the power to make choices about their bodies.
Well I am 18 and pregnant as most of u should know by now so guess Im in the teen catagory.
I think its really bad how many girls are having abbies so young. Its like a fashion round here, not that I look at it like that, but I think a lot of girls do. Since finding out I was pregnant I know five other girl who I went to school with and was in hospital with who have since got pregnant. Also I am the seventh from my year at school and thats not including a boy who has one with his girlfriend! That to me is a joke. So many of my friens have babies or are due to have them I find it really frighteneing.
I think a lot of it is down to the lack of sex education at school. We had one class in secondary school and that was useless.
Still I dont think there is really any excuse for getting pregnant young and at the end of the day, contraception isnt exactly hard to get hold of now is it. I put it down to just not taking precautions.
With me I was stupid and didnt take any care at all. I do have to stick up for myself by saying that I have been told in the past that it would be highly unlikely I would be able to have kids and also with the amount of drugs I was taking I find it quite amazing that I fell pregnant anyway.
This isnt an excuse though and I should have been carefull, but its done now and I am absolutly over the moon at the fact Im gonna b a mum. For me its the best thing to have happened in my life, but I think that Im one of very few young mums that c it like that. This baby has been tha making of me and the only thing that was left to keep me goin in life!
Also I truly beleive u can b a good mum at any age and as long as that child has love, it will b fine.
Tee hee...ok ok so at three in the morning things may look a little different!!U make me laugh <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif"> <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/tongue.gif">
i think u'll make a gr8 mum,even at 3 in the morning!
love ya lots helly
Hiya Helly,
Yea things seem 2 b goin ok. Am fed up with the whole pregnant thing though, just wanna b free to go get mashed without worrying about harming the bubba!!No seriously, its a real bummer carrying this thing around all day. But like u say, not too long now, and ta for the good mum part (am worrying about that one lol!).
Luv Lolly
*|* Chica *|*
Stay Calm <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/mad.gif">
i am 18 and a catholic so yeah i do believe that abortion is wrong.... in a way. trouble is i can see how it is often better than keeping the baby if your just a kid or in a bad situation or whatever. so i think its a very grey area to be honest. if i got pregnant tomorrow i have no idea what i would do but i know that i certainly don't feel ready to be a mother. its a difficult one.
see ya,
angel
i'm not denying that women are stupid; God made them to match the men.
Cheers chica! I hope my delivery goes well too <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/frown.gif">. And I totally agree with the honesty thing, my kid will know its father is a wanker from day one ha ha ha!
It goes like this-you go to you local familly planning clinic (look in the phone book) and ask for sime condoms (simple as "Can I Have some condoms please?").if you don't know how to use it, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!!!!!You can get an absolute stack of condoms from there for NO CHARGE-you have no excuse for not having them.therefore, If you do not use them you are an idiot. They protect you from HIV and all sorts of other nasty ailments, like children. another alternative is the pill-you can get them, as well as advice from a PROPER doctor, not a school nurse; absolutely free.These do not give protection from STI's but it works as an insurance policy if a condom breaks(which shouldn't happen if you put it on properly).Use them in conjunction with condoms, because niether are 100% safe, but the chances of them both failing at the same time are half the chance of the pill not doing It's job.
Basically peeps, I'm saying if you're big enough to have sex, you're big enough to know what the risks are. I've had a couple of times where we've had to run around for a morning-after pill due to split condoms. Before that ol' thing is slipped in, always think "do I want a kid in 9 months? <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/eek.gif">".
examine the condom after sex as well.I'm not talking a microscopic analysis, just look for splits-If you spot anything, get to the family planning clinic or casualty within 2 days and get a morning after pill.Even if you have to wait 4 hours at casualty.It's far less than losing 20 years beacause you haven't looked at a johnny, which takes about 10 seconds.Splits are very large-you will see them if they are there.
Overall-get condoms
-use them
-put them on properly
-use other contraceptives if you can-ther is nothing wrong with taking the pill, it's actually good for you
-check your condoms after use
<IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/confused.gif">I hope my advice has been of some help.If you would like to know more, email gt2masta@hotmail.com and I'll be happy to help.
thanks for reading guys, hope I helped
The gt2masta <IMG alt="image" SRC="http://www.thesite.org/ubb/smile.gif">
I've just gone into lower 6th form in skool & in PSE (social studies) we were shown a video of an abortion. They showed really late abortions & showed (in a lot of detail) the doctors pulling the baby out. They actually left the baby on a table & were pointing out "if you look closely you can see the baby's leg. The white liquid is the crushed brain" etc.
Most of the class turned away & some of the girls were crying. Loads of people have complained, apparently the video may have come from the chaplain at our school. (Maybe trying to turn us against abortion).
Chris