Adolescent Pregnancy, Essay Example

Adolescent pregnancy is typically defined as pregnancy in women age 19 or younger. There are many risk factors related to adolescent pregnancy. The characteristics of an individual that is susceptible to this condition includes young age, poor school performance, economic disadvantage, having an older male partner, and already being a single or teen parent. Fortunately, many communities and states are prepared to help individuals in these populations cope with this lifestyle alteration and provide young women with the resources they need to prevent themselves from becoming pregnant at a young age.

Albuquerque, New Mexico has many resources available to help women that have the potential to enter this situation or who are already experiencing an adolescent pregnancy. One such program is the New Mexico Teen Pregnancy Coalition that aims to educate adolescents about pregnancy risks and safe sex. The organization also provided counseling services to individuals already experiencing raising a child as a young parent. The state of New Mexico has Public Health Offices that offer programs that provide birth control, pregnancy testing, and prenatal services.

In my state, the teen pregnancy rate is 80 pregnancies per 1,000 adolescent woman (Vallez, 2014). This number is decreasing. Similar statistics are not available for the community, although it can be estimated to reflect this same rate. It appears that the number of adolescent pregnancies are decreasing due to an increased availability of educational programs in the area. As a consequence, many adolescents are now aware of the risks related to unsafe sex and have a comprehensive understanding of birth control options and how to access them.

References

Medline Plus. (n.d.). Adolescent Pregnancy. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001516.htm

Vallez K. (2014). Study: NM teen pregnancy rate improving. KRQE News. Retrieved from http://krqe.com/2014/04/29/study-nm-teen-pregnancy-rate-improving/