DIRECT QUOTATION

Teenage pregnancy is one of the most important and alarming issues in today's world. A teenage
pregnancy, also referred to as teen pregnancy, comes to be when a girl attains motherhood before
she becomes a major or adult, as laid down by the law of the land.

From What Causes Teenage Pregnancy By Melissa Fox 

SUMMARY

Why do teenage pregnancies occur?

There are many reasons for teenage pregnancies today. While it is common culture in some
societies, most pregnancies occur due to the following reasons:

Consequence of raging hormones!

Most teenagers experience sudden and hitherto unknown emotions and feelings during their early
puberty. They feel a natural sense of rebelling against the set norms as well. All this, coupled
with a sudden sense of new-found freedom and sexuality, results in many of them giving vent to
their feelings through sexual expressions and experiences. Of course, most countries stress on
sex education in schools, but yet, some teenagers involve themselves in unsafe sex, which could
lead to unwanted pregnancies. This is one of the most vital reasons for teenage pregnancies at
this time.

Pressure from the peer group

A lot of teenagers indulge in early sexual behavior due to peer pressure. Teenagers growing in
largely promiscuous societies tend to date far earlier than others in slightly more conventional
setups. This is due to the fact that they feel the great need to be 'hip' and 'accepted' by their circle
of friends. The only way they could probably achieve that would be by having a boyfriend or
girlfriend or at least by dating and indulging in sexual acts often. This kind of rash behavior
could lead to unintended pregnancies.

Contraceptive failure

This is yet another very fundamental reason for teenage pregnancies today. Though there are
many types and brands of contraceptives and emergency birth control pills easily available in the
market, these are never a guarantee for complete safety. Only Mother Nature knows when she
might want to get into action, so no form of birth control is going to be completely foolproof!
Sometimes, not knowing how to use a contraceptive properly can lead to unwanted teenage
pregnancy.

From What causes teenage pregnancy by Melissa Fox

PARAPHRASE

There are many ways to prevent teenage pregnancies. Popular solutions include discussions of
“safe sex” practices. 

In addition to condoms, doctors can prescribe birth control pills that regulate the fertility of a
woman’s eggs, or advise the use of other pregnancy prevention tools, like intra-uterine devices or
spermicides. These options are not 100% effective. There is even the option of abortion, which
terminates the pregnancy at the proven cost of a life and a lifetime of emotional scars. 

Medicine has developed a pill named RU486, the morning after solution to a sexual encounter. 

For teenagers, however, the option of a doctor’s prescription requires parental consent. Most
teenagers do not want their parents to know of their sexual activity. 

Media often promotes sexuality to children and teens before they are capable of making mature
decisions about a pregnancy, or before they clearly understand the consequences of raising a
child. They are under a lot of pressure to experience sex outside the boundaries set by God. 

Sex creates an emotional bond between two people that does not end with the culmination of the
act. Teenagers who experience sexual activity, while they may believe they are old enough to
handle it, are rarely emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically prepared for the consequences of
sex, which physically and emotionally joins two people together into one. 

When a pregnancy results from sex, the couple has then been joined together for the rest of their
lives, with or without marriage. No matter what choice they make regarding the pregnancy, the
consequences of sex do not go away. 

The best advice for avoiding teenage pregnancy is to abstain from sex completely before
marriage. Abstinence is the only 100% certain prevention for:

 Sexually transmitted diseases

 Undesired lifetime ties to others
 Unwanted pregnancy

From allaboutlifechallenges.org, Teen pregnancy prevention – How can I prevent pregnancy?