Teenage Mother -Trials And Tribulations Faced By A Teenage Mother

Author: Abhishek

"You are going to have a baby!" This statement is greeted with joy by any woman, especially if she is a mature adult, has a secure source of income, and people to support her emotionally and physically. The same does not hold true for a young girl who is still too wet behind the ears to handle being a teenage mother.

While the news that the rate of teenage pregnancies is going down is welcoming indeed, there is also concern expressed for those pregnant teenagers who wish to carry on till the end and give birth to their babies. The path they have chosen is full of challenges, whether it is related to personal health, health of the newborn, or what lies ahead in the future.

The first obstacle to happiness for a teenage mother is the disapproval expressed by society. The same social haunts where they were greeted with cordiality earlier such as ’school/college, the church, houses of friends and relatives’ now become a curse because they are looked down upon by all and sundry. In addition to the trauma they are already facing because of a sudden pregnancy and birth, these young mothers are forced to leave their happy teens behind and behave like mature adults now. This may prove to be too much, too soon!

The family members of a teenage mother go through a traumatic time too. They have to face society’s taunts as well. The stress associated with an unplanned pregnancy and delivery of the baby has a bad effec
t on the teenage mother’s health too. Later years are going to prove equally difficult. This mother runs the risk of developing preeclampsia leading to high blood pressure, STDs, and anemia. The high blood pressure may become a lifelong illness. There are chances of developing obesity too.

The baby born to a teenage mother faces health risks too, especially malnutrition, seeing that the mother herself is little more than a child and has no idea about how to take care of her own nutritional needs during pregnancy. This ignorance and immaturity leads to the birth of premature infants or newborn infants being born with a low birth weight. Even after birth, an unhealthy mother is unable to provide proper health care for her newborn.

The addition of a baby to the household makes it difficult for the teenage mother to continue her education. Skills to be developed for earning an income are left incomplete. Most often, she gets no monetary support or childcare support for taking care of her child. Proper living conditions cannot be provided for the infant as the mother herself is on the brink of poverty. Thus, the overall picture does not look too good.

Hopefully, with proper counseling, today’s adolescents will be well on the way to developing self-confidence, learn how to blend with family and society, and ensure themselves of a good education. And we shall get to hear less and less about "teenage mothers"!

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