Being teenager is hard enough. With addition to high school and friends to worry about, there is also homework, family drama, and part-time jobs. Now, imagine having to do all of that as a teenager who is either pregnant or is a mom.
Nearly 1,700 teens from ages 15 to 17 give birth every week according to Teen Pregnancy Statistics. To many people that might sound like the teenage pregnancy birth rate has gone up, but in fact, it has gone down. The highest time for teenage pregnancy was during the 1980’s when women were married and having children early. That, however, doesn’t stop the fact that the Untied States has the highest birthing rate among teens in the industrialized world.
Even though the United States has the highest rate of young teenagers becoming pregnant, this doesn’t always mean that it was by choice. The truth is that 4 in 10 teenage girls who had sex at 13 or 14 report the sex was unwanted or pushed onto them, according to the Teen Pregnancy Statistics. Many teenage girls fall into this category, yet still they get slut shamed for it.
Yes, you read that right one of the most common stigmas attached to teenage girls becoming moms too young is the fact they are sluts. They were sluts and it is their fault that they got pregnant in the first place, because who doesn’t use protection, right? Wrong again, because if we are titling her a slut, then why not call the guy who got her pregnant one too?
All I am saying is that we shouldn’t continue labeling these girls when we don’t have all of the pieces to the story. Sometimes these girls are either raped or were just too young to realize their actions have consequences. Now that they are in this situation it is hard to think of what to do next.
Personally, my mother was a teenage mom who also had to face her choices because whatever she chose would forever affect her. The three options that young girls are given are either adoption, abortion, or raising the child. My mom chose to keep the baby fully knowing that her life was going to be forever changed. My mom thankfully had caring parents and family that helped watch me as she went to college for nursing. Not many girls get that extra support from their families, so my mom was truly blessed.
But just because my mom had me as a teenager, she didn’t allow that to define her. That is the message we should be sharing with these young girls. They can go to college and get their degrees in something that they love to do while also being a mom. It wont be easy, but it's never too late to go back to school. They can have the opportunity to build a successful future for not only them but also their child.
I don’t condone teenage pregnancy in any way, but I think we should stop having all these negative stigmas associated with it. If a young girl is in fact pregnant, we shouldn’t be claiming that she is a slut, but instead help her and show her that the future is still very much open for opportunity.
