Television is where most of the adolescents do a lot of learning about a lot of things. One of those things was teen pregnancy, if it was not seen it on television, it was seen it in person, every high school had at least one pregnant girl. At a point in time, teen moms were a trend but as of now the rate for teen pregnancy has lowered, according to Washington Post, “16 and Pregnant led to a 5.7% reduction in teen births a year – a percentage that accounts for one-third of the total decline in births: 20,000 fewer teen births a year.” (Goldstein, 2014). The MTV series 16 and Pregnant is helping the younger teens to see the trials and tribulations they have through go to become a parent and raising a child, which encourages other teens to stay away from having kids or at least practice safe sex. That puts teen pregnancy rates at an all-time low, the usage of birth control increases, and it pushes schools to advocate for more informational sexual education classes.
Teen pregnancy rates were skyrocketing but now they are at an all-time low and the cause of that is the hit MTV show 16 and Pregnant. This is why the show was produced, as reported by the creators, "When we developed '16 and Pregnant,' teen birth rates were reported to be on the rise, so we created this series as a cautionary tale on the hard realities of teen pregnancy.” (Newswire, 2014) There were a lot of pregnancies before this show aired and once it did other teens were drawn into the hardships of motherhood. Watching them struggle and go through the pains of not just labor but financial issues and relationships problems as well. Those are the things that just made the audience interested to figure out what life after an unplanned pregnancy was like. While watching it they saw all the things and learning about how much harder their (the casts) lives was going to become, nothing can prepare someone for motherhood. After watching this show most of the teens had an idea and that was something, they did not want to be a part of it. That also brings up the question of what they can do to avoid being pregnant, which leads to asking questions about contraceptives.
Contraceptives are the way of preventing pregnancy, there are several methods of it. Those methods are, the birth control pill, intrauterine device (IUD), the birth control implant, female/ male condom, birth control shot, birth control patch, spermicide, cervical cap, diaphragm, and vaginal ring. As stated by the NCHS, “15.9% of women ages 15-44 are currently using the pill.” (NCHS, 2016). The most effective and convenient methods of birth control are the implant and intrauterine device. That is because they are the longtime use devices that you do not have to change or remember to take it. Using these methods will help avoid pregnancies and have a very big effect on a woman’s hormone, depending on the woman’s body. Being informed about these kinds of things at an earlier age is something we need nowadays, it is better to be informed than misinformed.
As a 5th grader, the experience the first sexual education class and it is not what is expected of them. It is just the instructor informing the student body about periods and where babies come from all in one day. They miss one tiny step, sexual intercourse. Then now it is time to go touch down into the 7th grade and once again the experience of that one-day class, as per usual, and get the same thing. The only difference is this is the start of learning about STDs and how they are contracted. The American Public Health Association states that “The role of school connectedness in achieving positive effects is well documented. Sexuality education, by engaging students in topics that are meaningful to them and by substantively contributing to school-wide efforts to create safe and welcoming environments, can foster school connectedness. School connectedness, in turn, leads to improved sexual and reproductive health…” (APHA, 2014). With this, the students will tend to engage more and make real-world connections to the class making it interesting and fun. This is the missing piece to the puzzle to end the battle against teen pregnancy.
Teens are starting to stray away from having sex due to these three reasons, television, sexual education, and contraceptives. TV shows the hard truth, they show it how it is or how it is going to be. In agreement with Entertainment Weekly says, “And when the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy surveyed Teen Mom fans, 90 percent of teen viewers said the show makes pregnancy look "harder than I imagined," and 72 percent said it motivates them to delay parenthood.” (Maerz, 2012). This is a statistic helps shed light on what just watching them on television is doing. Whereas sexual education teaches it in-depth so do not go looking for answers and end up with a response that is not wanted. That raises the biggest question how they can avoid this. That is when they start looking things up about contraceptives and the different varieties of them. They can avoid doing this by just being abstinent and refrain from sex if they are virgins.
The causes of teen pregnancy, in this case, are unprotected sex, glamorization on television such movies just like Juno, The Pregnancy Project, and Precious. Another cause is the media, just scrolling down a timeline and boom there is an adorable baby or a sonogram. There are several consequences such as STDs, dropping out of school, maturing faster, taking care of another life, and it is also high risk. Babies born to teen parents are likely to experience health, social and emotional issues. (Swierzewski, 2000) They will also see that most young moms are reliant on the government for funds to support their children. Teen moms have it hard there is a lot to worry about a lot when pregnant. Such as are is continuing school an option, are plans to go accordingly. This is when quick thinking becomes important because time will pass by and there will be a beautiful baby.
This trend generally affects females between the ages of 15-19 years old. This trend became prevalent when young women started having unprotected sex with their partners only depending on the withdraw method. Teenage pregnancy can have a negative effect on a teenager. One reason is that teens might have to deal with birth defects that might be life-changing. That can lead to child abuse or neglect due to frustration about the child’s defect. Another one is if it is a girl, she is more likely to have a child around the same time her mother had her. Teen pregnancy has a negative effect on the society because it derails girls from trying to pursue their dreams because of the extra responsibilities they have to uptake.
The things we see on TV can act as a learning experience for some and here you can see that the hit MTV show 16 & Pregnant is acting as a live and direct form of birth control. Which is keeping teens away from unsafe sex. This is the place that greater part of the young people does more of their finding out about a considerable number of things. Teenager mothers were a pattern yet starting at now the rate for adolescent pregnancy has brought down. That puts high school pregnancy rates at a record-breaking low, the utilization of contraception skyrockets, and it pushes schools to advocate for more instructive sexual training classes.