Faculty of Society & Health: Teenage Pregnancy Article Review (LC472)

This report presents a comprehensive review of an article focusing on teenage pregnancy and its multifaceted societal implications. The review begins by identifying the main arguments presented in the article, which center on whether teenage pregnancy should be viewed as pregnancy or parenthood, exploring the associated risks and societal consequences. The arguments are then developed by examining the interplay of social exclusion, medical risks of abortion, and health risks to the baby, as well as the impact of socio-economic factors on teenage pregnancy. Counter-arguments are presented, considering the influence of values and norms on decision-making. The report further explores the interrelationship of various issues, including social and economic factors, and balances arguments and counter-arguments to offer a nuanced perspective. The chosen research method, the interview method, is described along with its advantages, disadvantages, and suitability for the research topic, highlighting its effectiveness in gaining deeper insights into the views and opinions of the young women regarding teenage pregnancies. The report concludes by summarizing the arguments and reflecting on the article's contribution to understanding the complexities of teenage pregnancy.

POLICY AND SOCIETY

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
1. Main arguments identified from the article.............................................................................3
2. Main arguments developed from the article............................................................................4
3. Counter arguments along with justification.............................................................................4
4. Interrelationship of various issues regarding the teenage pregnancies....................................5
5. Balancing of arguments and counter arguments......................................................................6
6. Description of the method chosen for research.......................................................................7
7. Advantages and Disadvantages of chosen research method....................................................7
8. Suitability of the chosen method for the research topic..........................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
This project is all about discussing about the underage pregnancy issues. In this report
article related to the pregnancy in young girl will be discussed. This is among the key issue this
society is facing at this moment. As cases have been reported in respect to the young pregnant
women’s and girls who witness pregnancy at such a young age due to the inappropriateness and
the relax nature. The number of cases is increasing every year all across the globe of the young
girls addressing pregnancy at such a young age. This issue has been very serious and in most of
the cases people do not address the issue properly due to unawareness in respect to knowledge
and also they do not understand the exact situation which causes to plenty of issues for such
peoples. The post pregnancy situation is very critical. Many times people try to hide situation for
couple of months due to the fear of the shame of society and many other aspects. The seriousness
of these issues made us motivated to choose this issue in order to conduct the entire assessment
over this topic in this project. This project carries a huge scope in form of spreading awareness in
the society and people about the issue. This project would guide and support to all; the people
who are totally unaware of the situation and the process to deal effectively with the issue. This
entire project is intellectual and contains huge scope in spreading the knowledge properly.
Henceforth, this project would talk about the issue; development in respect to main argument
will be done. Counter argument will also provide in this project. Different methodologies to
support the argument will also provide in this project. Advantages and disadvantages associated
with the solution will also outline in this project.
MAIN BODY
1. Main arguments identified from the article
The selected article was based on the teenage pregnancy, the issues and the risks
associated with it. The main issue identified was that whether the teenage pregnancy must be
considered as pregnancy or parenthood. At this time, there comes two options. First one is to
adopt the child and second one is to continue with the child. The teenage pregnancy has become
a trend nowadays. The teenage abortion is also a problem as regular abortion can lead to various
medical risks. Though these medical risks are low but the emotional price paid for the abortion is
much more which leads to many unspecified ethical anxieties. But on the other hand if the option
for abortion is not chosen then, choosing the parenthood is the another option but this leads to
social exclusion which is faced not only by the teenage but the whole family faces its negative
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impacts (Ponsford and et.al., 2018). So, the arguments were based on the negative and positive
sides of the teenage parenthood or abortion. The social exclusion, medical risks of abortion and
the risks of the health of the baby are the centre points of all the arguments regarding the teenage
pregnancies.
2. Main arguments developed from the article
The arguments can be developed by keeping in mind the pregnancy policy framework
where the focus is on three areas which are inter-related to each other. The analysis which can be
done statistically has identified the risks of social exclusion, the discussion of the theories
examined that there can be risk governance which can impact the policy developments of
teenage pregnancy and the researches were done to decide upon the view of the teenagers
towards the pregnancies at an early age whose outcomes are adverse. The arguments developed
can be as follows:
Social exclusion which is hard to describe involves many disadvantages from many dimensions,
this is the reason it was used in the strategy documents of teenage pregnancy. It was also
identified by the statistical analysis that there are adverse outcomes for the teenage mothers and
the children as the age of the mother also leads to disadvantages (Pace, 2017). It was also shown
by the systematic review that there are also adverse health outcomes for mother and child. The
research also identified that the age had various negative effects on the outcomes.
Also some arguments can be developed after examining the findings of the research that the
teenagers who are more socially deprived are more likely to be pregnant and less prefer
terminating the pregnancies. The argument can also be developed as the pregnancies are based
on the classes also. This can be justified as the teenagers who are more educated and employed
rejects the decision of motherhood and chooses the option of abortion. On the other hand, the
teenage motherhood is more attracted by the unskilled and unemployed teenagers who are
against of abortion completely.
3. Counter arguments along with justification
The counter arguments can be presented by the studies which show that the decision
making of the teenage pregnancy is impacted by the values and norms where it was identified
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that the people have negative attitude towards the abortion and there were accepting the
motherhood. The teenagers who are pregnant do not prefer to terminate the pregnancies.
In the minority communities who are ethnic, the unmarried motherhood prefers more abortion.
The cultures of the family and the community influences the decision-making of the women
pregnancy. The people who prefers abortion of child have a negative image of teenager
motherhood in their mind while the people who continued with their pregnancies have worst
image regarding the abortion (Morgan and Liu, 2017). But after evaluating all the points, it was
observed that among both the judgements of parenting and abortion, less people were in favour
of teenage abortion and more in favour of teenage parenthood though it leads to social exclusion.
So, the counter argument can be that the decision of the teenage pregnancy is also influenced by
the norms and the values. Some of the teenagers decide to become a young mother but they are
influenced by the decisions of their family. This is possible when the families have different
attitudes and views which prevents the teenage to become a younger mother.
4. Interrelationship of various issues regarding the teenage pregnancies
Along with the issues discussed above, the other issues that can lead to the teenage
pregnancy are social and economic factors which are described as below:
Social factors: The decisions of teenage pregnancy are also decided by the social factors as
when the females are socially active and are aware of the consequences of the teenage
pregnancy, then they find better solutions which do not impact them and their families
negatively. The society where the marriage at an early age is allowed mostly leads to teenage
pregnancies and many issues associated with it (Cook and Cameron, 2017). This happens
because the process responsible for teenage pregnancy after marriage for reproduction is socially
accepted by all the communities. It also hinders the education of girls and force them to
terminate their career and become involved in the responsibilities of child and home. This also
force the teenagers to continue with the baby instead of aborting it. Social exclusion can be the
result if the teenagers decide to continue carrying the baby till the birth (Appleby, 2020). This
can be due to the social inequality also when some teenagers are discriminated on any basis.
They feel socially excluded and take the decision.
Economic factors: Due to the less stable financial condition of the families, teenage girls and
boys are not provided with education. This lack of education affects their career as well as many
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of their decisions of life including the pregnancy. This also lead to the lack of contraceptive
information which made the use of these protective measures negligible (The socio-economic
factors associated with teenage pregnancy in Makueni division, 2018). Therefore, it was
observed that if the teenagers are educated then they get the education regarding this at the
schools at the age of 15-16 which can make them aware of these things and its consequences.
Therefore, along with the norms, values etc. these socio-economic factors also influence the
decision making of the teenagers. Therefore, poverty can be the major reason behind the teenage
pregnancies.
5. Balancing of arguments and counter arguments
The arguments and the counter arguments regarding the teenage pregnancies can be
balanced as follows:
The reasons behind the increasing number of teenage pregnancies can be many. The arguments
were regarding the consideration of the teenage pregnancies as pregnancy or parenthood. Some
teenagers prefer continuing with the child while some prefer the adoption. This depends
sometimes on the wish of the teenagers themselves and some are forced by the families and
community. Aborting the child can lead to various negative impacts in terms of health of teenage
mother and the child while continuing with the baby can lead to social exclusion of the teenage
as well as the families (Skinner and Marino, 2016). Education can also be a major factor in this
decision. This was justified as the people who are more educated and employed takes the
decision to adopt the child whereas the people who are unskilled and unemployed prefers
continuing the baby instead of adopting. The norms and values also plays a major role in
deciding regarding the adoption and parenthood. The teenagers who are educated and also forced
by the families to adopt the child, which happens mostly in the case of unmarried teenagers, then
the decision of adoption is taken and when the teenagers are less educated and are forced by the
families to continue the child which happens mostly in the case of married teenagers, the
decision of continuing the child is taken. This is how the arguments and counter arguments
regarding the teenage pregnancies can be balanced.
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6. Description of the method chosen for research
The methodology which was chosen by the author for conducting the research was the
interview method. Three studies were conducted in which the teenage mothers were interviewed
regarding their decisions. In the first two studies, the teenage mothers were interviewed
regarding their decision to continue with their pregnancies and in the third study, the teenage
mothers were interviewed by considering their decisions to abort the child. In the first study, 12
young mothers who belong to the age group of 14-18 were interviewed. In the second, 12 young
teenage mothers were interviewed who were between the age group of 14-18. The participants of
these two studies continued their pregnancies (Déom and et.al., 2020). In the third study, 10
young women were interviewed regarding their termination of pregnancy and they belong to the
age group of 16-19.
7. Advantages and Disadvantages of chosen research method
Advantages: Provides more flexibility, helps in getting better response, the place can be
decided by the interviewer, the questions can be ordered according to the interviewer by
analysing the spontaneity and the situation which is not possible in the questionnaire and many
more (Advantages and Disadvantages of Interview in Research, 2020).
Disadvantages: Becomes very costly, time-consuming, can cause biases in terms of class, race,
religion, gender etc., provides less anonymity and many more.
8. Suitability of the chosen method for the research topic
The methodology chosen was the interview which was best suited to the research
question as the sample decided was completely diversified which do not created chances for
discrimination on any basis. Also it helped in getting the deeper insights about the views and
opinions of the women regarding the teenage pregnancies. The participants were not forced in
any way to take part and for that consent forms were filled by them. The methods helped in
gaining generalized findings (Pot, 2019). Also, the interviews were recorded which did not give
any chance to make manipulations in the data collected which decided the overall findings. This
research topic was such that which must be discussed in person so the interview method was the
best in order to maintain respect and dignity of every teenage, women, culture and practices.
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CONCLUSION
This project portrait that in case of pregnancy in respect to the young age girls or under
age girls this has become a key issue at a global level. Its important to deal the situation
effectively every time the pregnancy issue arises in the family. The two situations are occurred
one is to keep the pregnancy and the other one is to abbot the pregnancy, these two solutions are
situated for the people in case of pregnancy. On the basis of the situation people should take the
best decision in favour of the girl and the child. Its important to have the proper knowledge in
respect to dealing with the situation so this article will spread the awareness in all the people to
deal with the situation of pregnancy. This project would try to fill certain gap of knowledge in
people in respect to dealing with the situation. This will provide the idea amount of knowledge to
all the people about how to react in a certain situation. It is justified that on the basis of the
situation they should make the best possible decision with the opinion of doctors.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Appleby, G.S.D., 2020. How is teenage pregnancy portrayed in Okechukwu Nzelu’s novel, The
Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney? How has teenage pregnancy changed today?. Literary
Cultures. 3(1).
Cook, S.M. and Cameron, S.T., 2017. Social issues of teenage pregnancy. Obstetrics,
Gynaecology & Reproductive Medicine. 27(11). pp.327-332.
Déom, V. and et.al., 2020. Quick and collaborative response to teenage pregnancies in a poor
semi-rural area of Belgium. European Journal of Public Health. 30(Supplement_5),
pp.ckaa165-1025.
Morgan, C.R. and Liu, H., 2017. The relationship between area deprivation and prescription of
long-acting reversible contraception in women of reproductive age in Lothian, Scotland,
UK. Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care. 43(4). pp.281-288.
Pace, M., 2017. Teenage pregnancy in Malta. Malta Medical School Gazette. 1(4). pp.1-2.
Ponsford, R. and et.al., 2018. Study protocol for the optimisation, feasibility testing and pilot
cluster randomised trial of positive choices: A school-based social marketing intervention
to promote sexual health, prevent unintended teenage pregnancies and address health
inequalities in England. Pilot and feasibility studies. 4(1). pp.1-15.
Pot, H., 2019. INGO Behavior Change Projects: Culturalism and Teenage Pregnancies in
Malawi. Medical anthropology. 38(4). pp.327-341.
Skinner, S.R. and Marino, J.L., 2016. England's Teenage Pregnancy Strategy: a hard-won
success. The Lancet. 388(10044). pp.538-540.
Online
Advantages and Disadvantages of Interview in Research, 2020. [ONLINE]. Available through :<
https://www.sociologygroup.com/advantages-disadvantages-interview-research/>
The socio-economic factors associated with teenage pregnancy in Makueni division, 2018.
[ONLINE]. Available through :< http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/handle/11295/16043>
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