Teen Pregnancy Prevention - An Overview

Introduction

With the increasing technology and advancements, human desires and emotions have also been overgrown. Selfish desire or pleasure that is wanted by a teenager can lead to a societal black mark which is teenage pregnancy. Preventing teen pregnancy involves a comprehensive approach along with inner motivation and the ability to control and lead one's life in the right direction. This article explains the many strategies implemented by the government to prevent teen pregnancy.

Why Are the Strategies Devised to Prevent Teen Pregnancy?

There was a need to implement management strategies to prevent teenage pregnancies due to the following reasons:

• Most teen pregnancies result in a deviation of the lifestyle and the responsibilities to be implemented by the teenager.

• They are less likely to complete graduation and usually have low self-esteem and symptoms of depression.

• Substance abuse problems are also in the bag of pregnant teenagers.

• The lack of resources to develop and enrich the child's life makes the future of the child miserable.

• Teenage mothers have an increased risk of delivering a child with lower birth weight or underdeveloped childbirth.

• Many cases of teen pregnancies sought to receive public assistance five years after delivering the child, and the societal cost, including the medical expenses for both the mother and child, has also been increasing.

All these factors pave the way for devising certain strategies for preventing teenage pregnancies.

What Are the Characteristics of an Effective Program to Reduce Teenage Pregnancy?

• The focus must be laid on decreasing high-risk sexual behaviors.

• All the participants in the program should be actively involved.

• Adequate time must be allowed for interactive exchange.

• Communication skills necessary to avoid any peer pressure, which can lead to sexual activities, must be taught.

• Theoretic models, which proved profound changes in high-risk behaviors, must be applied.

• Cultural sensitive information about the complications involved in teenage sexual activity, age, and ethically appropriate information must be delivered through the program.

What Are the Various Strategies to Prevent Teen Pregnancies?

1. Youth Social Development Program

• These programs aim at psychological and social skills which are required to avoid the behavior of early sexual activity. These programs highlight a point that delay in sexual activity can increase the aspirations of teenagers to develop in education and also help in building up and supervising, and supporting parent-children relationships.

• The social skills of teenagers are developed by increasing their attachment to the family and schools.

• Problem-solving skills, behavior management of children, and prevention of drug abuse in teenagers were the basis of the program but did not involve sex education.

2. Abstinence-Only Programs

• These programs believe that the only way to avoid pregnancy without marriage, sexually transmitted diseases, and other health issues is abstinence. They do not encourage using contraception.

• PSI (postponing sexual involvement) program helped in making a difference in decreasing teenage pregnancies.

3. Comprehensive Sex Education Programs

• These programs have abstinence as the primary method of preventing any complication related to pregnancy but also explain the benefits of contraception as a strategy.

4. Contraceptive Counseling

• A key role can be played by healthcare professionals in improving the use of contraception and in preventing sexually transmitted diseases.

• Most success in this regard can be achieved by such counseling.

• Medical accurate and complete information on sexual behavior should be included in counseling.

• Teenagers should be talked about responsible sexual behavior and the role of contraception. This can be done by engaging the teenagers in open, confidential, and non-judgemental discussions, irrespective of the caregivers.

• Contraceptive methods include condoms, oral contraceptive pills, injections, and intrauterine devices.

How Are the Preventive Strategies for Teen Pregnancy Implemented?

• After involving the teenager in a program and evaluation based on his knowledge about saying no to teen pregnancy and about a contraceptive plan, it is recommended to screen for high-risk behaviors and sexually transmitted diseases along with frequently monitoring the satisfaction and the ability of the individual to adhere to the basic foundation of the plan.

• During every visit, contraception and STDs (sexually transmitted diseases) are discussed, the doses taken, including delayed or missed doses, should be checked, and modifications should be planned.

• Along with encouraging sexually transmitted diseases prevention and the use of contraception, sexually active adolescents are educated about emergency contraception also. Counseling is done properly to emphasize that emergency contraception is used only for emergency purposes, cannot be used as regular hormonal methods, and does not provide any protection against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).

• It has to be noted that emergency contraception is effective and safe but cannot be used as a medicine to abort the child.

• Emergency contraceptives include oral contraception and intrauterine devices.

• Counseling male adolescence forms an essential part of preventing teenage pregnancy.

• It is more likely that teenage boys experience early intercourse than teenage girls and seek less concern for reproductive care. Most of the adolescent education programs aim at the health of girls, and only a few are aimed at teenage boys.

• Teenage boys do show interest in learning about contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, and sexual health but account for only 32 percent.

• All the factors increasing the thoughts about sexual activities should be discussed equally with both teenage boys and girls, such as listed below.

  • History of drug and alcohol use.

  • History of medications.

  • History of previously contracted STDs.

  • History of sexual partners, sexual orientation, and drug abuse.

  • Counseling regarding abstinence.

  • Enlightenment on preventing pregnancy.

  • Sexual education.

  • Providing information about contraception.

  • Encouraging the environment of parents.

  • Participating and supporting the research ongoing.

  • Supporting programs that outreach in preventing teen pregnancy.

Conclusion

Many key strategies aimed at decreasing the rate and preventing teenage pregnancies are elaborated in this article, along with certain hard-earned lessons running through the generations. The vibrancy and promising nature of teenagers is an important resource that can be beneficial to everyone. Primary investment in health and well-being, along with education, are the key factors to assure teenagers gain their complete potential. The future of a nation rest in the hands of the future adults, the teenagers. Remembering the examples from the past, certain strategies can be shaped to acknowledge the strength, centrality, and resilience of the country's teenagers. For this reason, it is necessary to protect and prevent teenage pregnancy by saving a precious part of one's life that is teenage.