ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

INTRODUCTION:

Teenage pregnancy is defined as occurring between thirteen and nineteen years

of age. There are, however, girls as young as ten who are sexually active and
occasionally become pregnant and give birth. With this research it gives people
awareness about this common problem our country has.

BACKGROUND:

Sexuality plays a very significant role in the lives of both boys and girls. It is,
therefore, considered important for schools to recognise and accept sexuality as
part of the development process of the child. Professor Kader Asmal (previous
South African Minister of Education) suggested that the earlier the school begins
to teach learners about sexuality, the better because they can be easily misled by
their peers if proper guidance regarding their sexuality is not given. The purpose
for this proper guidance among teenagers is that to give them education and
awareness of teenage pregnancy. Not only that, it also prevents them from facing
the consequences of teenage pregnancy.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE #1

The teenage pregnancy rate in the Philippines was 10% in 2008, down to 9% in
2017. Live births by teenage mothers (aged 10-19) in 2016 totalled 203,085,
which slightly decreased to 196,478 in 2017 and 183,000 in 2018. Still, the
Philippines has one of the highest adolescent birth rates among the ASEAN
Member States.
Since the Philippines is one of the highest adolescent birth rates among the
ASEAN Member States, we have to take action about this major issue our country
is facing.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE #2

Female reproduction has always been risky and doubtless pregnancies and births
are, independent of maternal age, critical phases in the life of mother and fetus.
Teenage pregnancies were seen as a special problem because adverse health
consequences of teenage pregnancies were solely attributed to the young
maternal age for a long time.

 Teenage pregnancy is labelled alongside obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular

disease, and cancer rates as a major public health problem. The classification of
teenage pregnancies as a high-risk category and a major public health concern,
however, is debated controversial today. Adverse medical effects of teenage
pregnancies have been reported mainly in quite old studies dated back to the
1950s. At this time, teenage pregnancies were seen as obstetric problems per se,
which are associated with an increased risk of anemia, preterm labor, urinary
tract infections, hypertension, preeclampsia, a high rate of caesarean sections but
also preterm birth, low birth weight, and intrauterine growth restriction. These
observations, however, are based on studies among social-deprived
subpopulations and from third-world countries with very poor medical conditions.

SUPPORTING EVIDENCE #3

The authors concluded that teenage motherhood is a social problem and not an
obstetrical or a clinical one. Adverse health consequences and poor pregnancy
outcome among teenage mothers seem not to be associated with low
gynecological or chronological age of the mothers but with adverse life
circumstances because the highest proportions of teenage pregnancies occur in
most socioeconomically disadvantaged subpopulations or in developing countries.
Therefore, in developed countries teenage pregnancies and teenage motherhood
were no longer seen as medical risk but as a social problem because teenage
motherhood has numerous deleterious social consequences for mother and child.
Teenage motherhood is significantly associated with dropping out of school, low
educational level, low income, poverty and single parenting, and/or belonging to
ethnic minority groups.

COUNTERARGUMENT:

The main purpose of this program is to avoid getting pregnant. Unfortunately, sex
education is lacking in many countries and consequently young girls are not aware
about physiological basis of reproduction and contraceptives. Furthermore, many
girls may feel too inhibited or ashamed to seek contraception services. On the
other hand, contraceptives are sometimes too expensive or not widely or legally
available. Consequently, the most important strategies to avoid teenage
pregnancies are improved education of girls, the introduction or improvement of
sexual education, and the availability of cheap and easy to use contraceptives.

SUM UP CONCLUSION:

It is, therefore, considered important for schools to recognize and accept

sexuality as part of the development process of the child. Professor Kader Asmal
(previous South African Minister of Education) suggested that the earlier the
school begins to teach learners about sexuality, the better because they can be
easily misled by their peers if proper guidance regarding their sexuality is not
given. The teenage pregnancy rate in the Philippines was 10% in 2008, down to
9% in 2017. Female reproduction has always been risky and doubtless
pregnancies and births are, independent of maternal age, critical phases in the life
of mother and fetus. Teenage pregnancies were seen as a special problem
because adverse health consequences of teenage pregnancies were solely
attributed to the young maternal age for a long time.
The classification of teenage pregnancies as a high-risk category and a major
public health concern, however, is debated controversial today. Adverse medical
effects of teenage pregnancies have been reported mainly in quite old studies
dated back to the 1950s. Adverse health consequences and poor pregnancy
outcome among teenage mothers seem not to be associated with low
gynecological or chronological age of the mothers but with adverse life
circumstances because the highest proportions of teenage pregnancies occur in
most socioeconomically disadvantaged subpopulations or in developing countries.
Therefore, in developed countries teenage pregnancies and teenage motherhood
were no longer seen as medical risk but as a social problem because teenage
motherhood has numerous deleterious social consequences for mother and child.

SO WHAT CONCLUSION:

To sum up everything that has been stated so far, teenage pregnancy is getting
out of hand and this issue needs to be monitored and bring awareness to the
teenagers and give them the proper guidance and let schools teach sex education
as early, in order for teenagers, to have better knowledge and understanding
about the consequences when experiencing teenage pregnancy.
 TEENAGE PREGNANCY

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

The study is delimited to students who have been pregnant at their teens (12-19
years old). The study focused on the extent of major causes of teenage pregnancy
which are family, peers, community, and church involvement, with the
educational development of students and out-of-school youth.

The perception of the teenager to the effects of major causes of teenage

pregnancy, were limited to educational development only. This was the
dependent variables of the study. The dependent variables of the respondents
indicate the effects of educational development among students in school and
out-of-school youth. These are teenagers who got pregnant and pursued their
studies in spite of the hassle of having in the school and having a child to rear.
There are also teenagers who got pregnant tried to go to school and earned a
vocation plus degree, while others did not. There are also teenagers especially
out-of-school youth who never have the chance to go to school after pregnancy.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

The results of the study will then be beneficial to the following persons and
institutions:

Student Mothers
They could gain insight about their situation and be aware of their
responsibilities as both parent and student.

Students
They will gain deeper understanding about the reality of student mothers
and most importantly for them to learn about the experiences of student
mothers.

Researchers
They will broaden their knowledge about the experiences of student
mothers in a college.

Guidance Counsellors
The findings and observations would provide them relevant data that can
be utilized in their counselling interventions.

Administration and Faculty

This will provide them information to promote, enhance understanding and
support to programs concerning student mothers to help them cope in
their situation.