Allisa Dubiel Dubiel 1

Professor Bernard
English 1190
October 27th, 2022

Research Proposal

In recent years, teen pregnancy is redundant due to a lack of responsibility, dropping out of
high school along with health issues; at the same time, girls didn’t plan to get pregnant but they
do sometimes unexpectedly or if it was an “accident”. Research indicates teachers and parents
didn’t take every part of sex education seriously where teenage girls and boys start to get
curious about methods of birth control but how to have safe sex to avoid getting pregnant;
whereas some schools didn’t teach them sex education (safe sex, puberty, hormones, gender
identity, sexual orientation, etc) and not enough support and resources if needed. Teenage
pregnancies has its owns ups and downs because of the girl’s anatomy and a psychological
understanding of why her body is changing and what turmoils she may face along with social
and economical consequences (is she going to end up at home or homeless, does she have a
job that provides enough money for her and her baby, does her school provide day care
facilities when she goes to school,etc). While some teenage girls find their pregnancies and
family life positive and fulfilling, some of their journeys are not similar whereas they have
different experiences (economically, psychologically, and emotionally) but how are they treated
and have an understanding of parenthood. When girls get pregnant unexpectedly, their fears
are yet worse when they don’t know how to tell their parents or boyfriends this news but what
their reactions are going to be (isolated, scared, lonely, fearful, sad, angry). According to the
World Health Organization, contraceptives aren’t an easy medicine to have access due to the
lack of resources to pay for them, where to obtain them but how to take them correctly by
providing choices of birth control (vaginal rings, pills, shots, patch, etc) and weighing out pros
and cons whereas males are rarely talked about because they only have two methods of birth
control. In this research, it leads us to these questions; what are the pros and cons of teenage
pregnancy? With another question in this research; how can we provide sex education in
schools with safeties of talking to a counselor or a teacher?

This issue is compelling to me because I want to learn every girl’s story and understand her in
terms of where she is coming from but letting her know she is not alone in all of this. Along with
this interest, I want to know more about why sex education isn’t always provided in schools but
how do teenage girls feel after giving birth but finding out if they have resources and insurance
they need and deserve. In my experience, Heather, my cousin’s experience was very
compelling whereas she experienced questioning her moral and social norms but how she was
raised. She was raised by a hard working mom and an abusive dad who controlled every thing
her mom did but as she reached sixteen, she met Steve (Desree’s dad) and things were getting
serious whereas they started to have feelings for each other. When she got pregnant with
Des’ree, a principal of an all girls school she attended found out about it through the clothing
she was wearing but got kicked out due to their strict rules. After this expulsion, she knew she
wasn’t ready to have a baby due to the structure of the household but where her relationship
with Steve was going. At that time, her and Steve’s education was interrupted when her and her
mom, Kathy moved out of the house to lead themselves to a better and stable household. After
moving and having Des’ree, she started to have resentment whereas she started to hang out
with the wrong people at the wrong time. While doing this, she tried to hide her longing feelings
for herself after Steve confessed he no longer loved her or was a part of Des'ree’s life. When
Des’ree got older, curiosities started to rise; who is my dad, why is my dad not here, where did
he go, am I enough for him, whereas their relationship went to turmoil (physical alterations and
intense arguments) which led them to not speaking to each other for years along with her
moving in with Kathy.

Throughout this issue, I’ve already learned they aren’t going to get the support they need but
their lives are going to change. With this issue, I’ve learned that teenage mothers are less likely
to go back to school or to obtain a college degree whereas children of teenage mothers are
most likely to have lower school achievement, having health problems, facing unemployment at
a young age and being incarcerated. Along with these issues, children of teenage mothers are
more likely to have children of their own and face prejudice while prevailing social and
economical norms. From my experience, my grandmother faced an ultimatum after she got
pregnant with Kathy at the age of sixteen; marry Bill and raise the child or move out. After she
chose that ultimatum, she did her very best of juggling work, family and a relationship by doing
what is best for them and not making the same mistakes she did (psychologically and
emotionally). While she married, questions raised; what lifestyle do I want to raise my kids and
how I want them to be successful in life; until one day; Kathy hit her with this news; she got
pregnant with Heather at sixteen; after finding this out; she was angry but managed to put her
emotions to the side and give her the support she needed (pregnant with Barry at the time).
Throughout this experience, there were mixed feelings along with a feeling of guilt and worry
about the future (am i still able to obtain an education, a job, housing, am i able to have the
same relationships with friends, family, etc).

In this research, I need to learn more about sexual education and rates of teenage pregnancy
if it has increased or decreased over the years but find out how it helped teens not get pregnant.
Throughout this, TV media has become a huge platform of pregnancy prevention but learn
about the consequences of sexual behavior and how it effects the boy and girl psychologically
and emotionally. TV media (16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom franchise) provides great
examples of what each of these girls are going through but how their relationships changed over
time and provide the advice they give to generational teenage girls. At the same time, I want to
find out how boys and girls feel after attending a sex education class and what they learned but
how to turn it into a conversation without feeling gross or silly about it. In this issue, we need to
learn about the effects of teenagers after they give birth because we tend to forget they have
feelings and how it affects their physical and mental health by asking how they are feeling and
symptoms they are experiencing but how can they go to a medical professional without feeling
scared. In teenage pregnancy, “baby” blues is a condition when a woman goes through
symptoms after one or two weeks giving birth (sadness, anxiety, depression, trouble eating and
sleeping) whereas postpartum depression shows they have night terrors, trouble bonding with
their baby, going through suicidal or depressive thoughts and a lack of concentration or
unwanted thoughts. While going through this, it makes them question about treatment, if some
of the symptoms went away or if it has increased over time but finding out if it is common or
treatable and what happens to their body after postpartum.