Although teenagers have school and all of the technology that 2015 has to offer, teen pregnancy a big issue that needs to society’s attention. According to the latest data, the teenage pregnancy rate in the US is 20.2 percent in 2005 and it will rise to 36.2 in 2020 among 15 to 17 year-olds and from 117.7 to 105.9 among 18-19 year-olds.

Though this number is down from a decade ago, this is still a staggering number of pregnancies. Do the sexually active teenagers involved understand the consequences of their actions? Do they understand the work that comes with a baby? What happens to their life once the baby arrives?

Options for Teen Moms

There are several options for a teen mother. Once the panic has run its course, it’s decision time! Adoption is one option for the mother and father to consider. Some adoptive parents are willing to make it an open adoption where the birth parents are able to have some contact with the baby. Alternatively, there is closed adoption, where the birth parents have no contact with the child once he/she is given up.

Another option is keeping the baby and raising the little bundle of joy with family support. This could mean marrying the father of the baby or not, but either way, family support is key. The parents of the new arrival need the support so that they can finish school and, hopefully, find a job so that they can support their child and begin their life.

The last option is abortion. Many states require parental consent before the abortion is performed, which, in some cases, could cause some division amongst the family. This one, though, comes with a lot of emotional baggage. Many teenage girls report feeling a great deal of sadness causing them to turn to drugs and alcohol, something that they may or may not have done before they had gotten pregnant.

Teen Fathers Affected by Pregnancy Too

Since the girl is the one carrying the child, a lot of focus is put on her, but the father must not be forgotten. While the strain may not be as outwardly apparent for the father of the child, his relationships with his girlfriend and family might become stained due to the pregnancy, he might not do well in school or even finish school, and the probability of him being successful in the career field is slim.

What Happens to Baby as a Result of Teen Pregnancy?

Mommy and Daddy have been discussed, but what are the statistics on the baby, the product of a teenage pregnancy? Unfortunately, children born to teenage parents have a higher likelihood of performing poorly in school.

According to a 1996 special report on teen pregnancy by charity organization Robin Hood Foundation, if the child happens to be a daughter, she has a twenty-two percent higher chance of becoming pregnant as a teenager, thus perpetuating the cycle started by her own parents.

Teen Pregnancy Prevention

There are several choices to help prevent teen pregnancy from occurring. One option is birth control pills that are taken daily, male and female condoms, a cervical cap or injections. There are also several other methods of birth control, but the most foolproof pregnancy prevention is abstinence.

While teen pregnancy scary, there are several options for the mother and father and their families to consider before and after the baby comes, whether it be adoption, keeping the baby, or abortion. In any three of these cases, there are hard decisions to be made and consequences that will follow both physically and mentally. With a lot of hard work, maybe some teenagers will be able to beat the statistics; but, unfortunately, most have a hard life ahead of them.