Nursing Essay

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Adolescence is the period of change from childhood to adulthood. Pregnancy by a girl between 10-19 years is considered as teenage pregnancy. This has led to plenty of consequences regarding of maternal health, child health and the community at large. Factors leading to teenage pregnancy are numerous and vary among populations. However, in developed countries, like Florida, it usually occurs outside marriage and carries social stigma within the community (Robinson et al, 2015). A family of low socioeconomic status, for instance, is one of the contributing factors since most teenagers engage in early marriages as a way to escape the poverty conditions back at home. Lack of education is also a contributing factor since most girls don’t get the privilege to attend school and build a career for themselves. Some teenagers are victims of sexual abuse from close relatives or strangers, leading to early motherhood.
Early motherhood among teenagers has become rampant in most communities, and it has posed tremendous health risks to the mother and the child (Kassebaum et al, 2017). Raising the child is also a community problem because both the child become the community’s responsibility. Different states have set up resources to curb teenage pregnancy, for instance, an unplanned pregnancy prevention webpage in Florida, was created to help spread awareness on how to prevent teenage pregnancies. Stay Teen is another webpage that aids teenagers to ask questions about contraception and early pregnancies.

In the past decade, teen birth rates in Florida has shown a tremendous decrease of 72% this leading to a decrease in the public savings (Kassebaum et al, 2017). The states vigorous involvement with the teens by engaging them into various activities during school holidays has majorly contributed to the decrease of teenage pregnancies (Robinson et al, 2015). Making it easy for the teenagers to access contraception pills has also helped reduce the number of pregnancies with a good education on how and when to use the pills.References
Kassebaum, N., Kyu, H. H., Zoeckler, L., Olsen, H. E., Thomas, K., Pinho, C., … & Hay, S. I. (2017). Child and adolescent health from 1990 to 2015: findings from the global burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors 2015 study. JAMA pediatrics, 171(6), 573-592.
Robinson, A., O’Donohue, M., Drolet, J., & Di Meglio, G. (2015). 123. Tackling Teenage Pregnancy Together: The Effect of a Multidisciplinary Approach on Adolescent Obstetrical Outcomes. Journal of Adolescent Health, 56(2), S64-S65.