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Managing Teenage Pregnancy: Parental Role at the Antenatal stage (2) -By Edwin Alivionote

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condom collective teen pregnancy

Teenage Pregnancy

 

Adolescent pregnancy and babies born to adolescents have not dropped even with the increased use of condoms. The precaution required to handle safe sex more often is improperly managed due to the high dose of hormonal response to the pleasure of the newly found experience. Finding out you’re pregnant when you’re a teenager can be very daunting, particularly if the pregnancy wasn’t planned. Since there are cases of planned pregnancy occurring at teenage age as a result of consent of some sort from parents and especially from early and infant marriages which has its consequences though.

Adolescent pregnancy is a complex issue with many reasons for concern. After crossing the various stage of mind questioning which has the following phases: i-excitement about having a child, ii-worry about telling your parents and iii-anxiety about pregnancy and childbirth. The basic question that surge is; who offers antenatal support for the pregnant teenager who is a real novice at the job of nursing the child in pregnancy. Kids age 12 – 14 years old are more likely than other adolescents to have unplanned sexual intercourse. They are more likely to be talked into having sex. Up to two-thirds of adolescent pregnancies occur in teens age 18 – 19 years old.

Risk factors for adolescent pregnancy include and the advised management at this stage are:

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Younger age: the support of a specially trained family nurse visits your home regularly from early pregnancy to child birth. The mother can serve this role in cases of low income to foot this bill but where the girl is to do this alone then, she should ensure there are people you can share your feelings with and who can offer you support.

Poor school performance: The occurrence of pregnancy will definitely have huge impact on the girl’s education. She cannot attend classes with the emotional and physical demands of the pregnancy, plus the stigma associated to her condition. She will have to stop her school for a minimum of two years. Home lesson is recommended for the child whose parents can afford this.

Psychological pressured: The girl will need a therapist’s visit periodically to access her capacity to manage her condition. She will normally be recommended to engage in an economic activity that is capable of distracting her for the period of time to make her feel a sense of value and have something to channel her negative mood swings.

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Older male partner: the male partner responsible for this condition should be allowed to visit from time to time to keep the girl company. Although most parents will frown at this, it is reinforcement for the teenage girl to nursing the baby with less strain. Also, it makes the male more responsible for his action and put him to task for this. Most often, older male are responsible for this and the two partners in the crime can learn the consequences of their deeds as they share in the responsibility.

If you need help coping with your feelings about the situation, talk to someone you trust or seek professional counseling. A neutral third party can be a great resource at a time like this. All the suggested care mentioned in this article have been duly considered with reference to social impact and moral concerns affecting the teenage girl, the family and the other teenage members of the society.

 

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