Something ALL Parents Should Show Their Teen...SCARE TACTICS ON TEENAGE PREGNANCY

I think every teen “especially sexually active teens” should see this Hub to open their eyes; that getting pregnant at 16 may not turn out like it does on MTV. The consequences of their actions may be devastating.

Given the resent popularity of MTV’s number one shows sixteen and pregnant as well as it's spin off teen mom, it seemed necessary to share research and certain infromation on the topic that does not play into the specific roles in which MTV wishes to reveal to their audience. Although I do not blame teen pregnancy on MTV, I do believe the hit show has unintentionally encouraged an attention factor that was not there before.

First, to quickly address the show that has added glamour to a subject, that was not tolerated by society until recent decades. The show truly can glue a person to the TV. It's a reality soap opera, four seperate saga's that continue to unfold week after week. Concidering these drama packed episodes had the intensity and attention of viewers in their tweenties, curiosity began to arise in regards to the impact or influence this show was having on the thousands of teen that were also tunning in each week. So, looking to feed my own curiosity I went to bloggs. The place were anyone and everyone, especialy teens, can express their true thoughts and feeling under the comfort of an alias/username. The results were truly suprising. The thought process where so naive and unrealistic. Several girls, ages 13 to 16, blogged about how they thought " having a baby belly in high school is way cuter then being like 29 -30 with one, it's just gross then", "I have no one and a baby will never leave me", to "I'm only 15 and me and my boyfriend are trying right now. We're eventually getting married and a baby just represents out love for one another".

The show seems to only features spoiled upper-middle class “mainly white” girls who live in the suburbs and have parents who can afford a new addition. Also, only a small portion of their ordial is filmed, from about 8 months pregnant to 2 weeks after birth. It then ends with everyone safe, not regretting too much, and having the support of the show, their parents, and thousands of teens.

Reality check….. This is what happens after they stop filiming. Sara got pregnant at 16; her stepdad made a lot of money and provided her with everything, while her mom stayed at home and watched the baby when even she needed it. After the filliming stops; all teen eventually grow up and want to move out. This she did, but not without the assistance of government funding and I mean almost all government funding; section 8, food stamps, and Medicaid. Her education stopped at a high school diploma and the best paying job she has ever had, has been the past six years working for her step-father. Sara is now 28 and her daughter 11, and she is still treading steadily in the same place she was when she moved out. Nothing has changed, she is in the same section 8 apartment, recieving food stamps and medicaid. The once baby that everyone paid so much attention to, which makes these girls feel so special, eventually grows up. Those people whom gave all the extra attention, have left and went on to peruse their dreams and goals, and each year the now pre-teen grows, that once teen mom is still left back trying to just keep a float in the same place. This is not a fictional story, but the life of a personal friend.

Not only have they limited their dreams, which isn’t truley noticed until later, it’s the emotional risk their taking as well. The first mistake they are making, is thinking only of themselves. You see, that’s the first thing everyone say's that is so ass backwards, "What about me, i never get to do anything with my friends". Once you have a baby, nothing is about you anymore. Moms are the most deprived people I know when it comes to doing for themselves.

The sleepless nights are only a small portion of what’s to come. You first have to make it that far. Every year in the United States 4,058,000 babies are born alive. 1,995,840 pregnancy losses and 468,988 babies are born to teenage mothers each year. The odds do not play in a pregnant teens favor. There are almost 3X as many babies lost as there are to teen births. When a teen gets pregnant, they are in the mind set of the fairy tales and happly ever after, buying clothes and dressing a baby up. Do you not realize the devastation that could come from getting pregnant? Not every pregnancy is perfect...

· 600,000 women experience pregnancy loss through miscarriage

· 64,000 women experience pregnancy loss through ectopic pregnancy

Is where the egg attached to the fallopian tube and continues to grow, if the egg is not removed it can cause the tube to burst causing difficulty in conception later on or even death.

· 6,000 women experience pregnancy loss through molar pregnancies

Complete molar pregnancies have only placental parts (there is no baby), and form when the sperm fertilizes an empty egg. Because the egg is empty, no baby is formed. The placenta grows and produces the pregnancy hormone, hCG. Unfortunately, an ultrasound will show that there is no fetus, only a placenta

· 26,000 women experience pregnancy loss through stillbirth

This is when the baby is presumed diseased in the womb. Normal conformed through an ultra sound, which reveals no heart, beat. Due to the size of the baby the mother must still presume with a labor and delivery.

Once the baby is born, you or your baby are not in the clear. The most important thing teens need to understand, is that a mom is never in the clear, it's a constant worry. A baby delivered early has the environment they were just introduced to, to fight against. This is a great challenge do to the underdevelopment of vital organs and immune system. According to the March of Dimes, a non-profit organization dedicated to pregnancy and baby health, teen mothers are more likely to give birth to their babies prematurely. Premature birth takes place before the 37th week of pregnancy. Health risks to a premature baby include breathing problems from unformed lungs, long-term disabilities and possibly death.

Now, maybe pregnancy, birth, and baby are healthy or maybe even some have had to deal with the obstacles above and made it through, which is wounderful, sucess right, but wait, there is more to come. The Leading cause of death among infants 1 month to 1 year of life is SIDs or Sudden infant death syndrome. Babies who pass from this dark syndrome are usually perfect, showing a healthy start in life. Although this syndrome causes thousands of deaths a year, no one knows the causes. I think the worst thing about SIDs is that it’s so abrupt and unpredictable. No consistent warning signs occur that might alert us to the impending occurrence of SIDS. It just happens, leaving no means of preparation to prevent the horrible syndrome.

These are not things teenage girls should be worrying about. How some make it through these tragedies and continue on is a miracle. Any of these complications listed above, a grown woman could barley handle.

The commercial the UK that has aired, has created major controversy. Controversy, because of the use of scare tactics. The fact is, what happened in the commercial is very unlikely, if anyone wants to use scare tactics against teens, show them the very true possibilities that occur daily. If you take the fun and cuteness out or even lay out the possibilities, the percentage of them thinking twice, the next time they think about doing something stupid, would increase noticeable.

Just wait, there is a reason you are taught your entire life that things are suspose to happen in a particular order, meaning, graduation, college, a carrier, getting engaged, marriage, and then children. Children being last, because it is so hard to accomplish the things you want with such a huge responsibility. In fact, most never do and settle for a way to survive. This is not something you can shut the door on when you get mad, curse at when your frustrated, or walk away from when you get tiered of it. There are so many things in life that should be experienced and seen with ones own eyes, not just on televison. Life is about choices, big and small, getting pregnant young usually comes from a split second decision, forgetting to take a pill, having sex just one time without a condom, or even the idea of purposely getting pregnant for attention, or wanting someone’s unconditional love. That split second decision will fill life with a lot of big unwanted, unliked, and complicated decisons that could have been easily prevented.

Be granted that moment, that lovely moment
When you can see
The other buds, the other blooms,
The other leaves on the tree:

That can be taken in, such a bliss
The breeze that is like the baby before,
But stiller, lighter, whose faint coo, a cry
Exhoes the joy that lasted but only a day.

Above on the blue and white cloud so full
There are small clouds at play floating on the wind.
I watch their remote, mysterious time and graceful play
Wondering how I stay away, why I never got to play .

Grant I may hear the small birds singing
the songs that only silence knows...
The Light and the Shadow whisper together,

I always know which way to go.
The lovely moment grows,

Ripples into the air like water
Away and away without sound,
And the little child from my prayers
The little one that plays, issues me a breeze

Proving all is ok.

The breeze assures me of grace

The love and preciousness he felt

One day. Assuring me of more times like this

In the clouds one day,