effect of abortion

Abortion information you can use...

Complications You can have With your abortion. Bladder Injury If your uterus is perforated, your urinary bladder can be perforated, too. This can also cause peritonitis (an inflamed, infected lining of the abdomen) with all of its pain, dangers and necessary reparative surgery. Bowel Injury If your uterus is perforated, your intestines can be perforated, too. This will cause nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fever, blood in stool, peritonitis (an inflamed, infected lining of the abdomen) and death if not treated quickly enough. A portion of the intestine may have to be taken out, and a temporary or permanent colostomy may be put in your abdomen. Breast Cancer Women who have aborted have significantly higher rates of breast cancer later in life. Breast cancer has risen by 50% in America since abortion became legal in 1973. Ectopic (Tubal) Pregnancy An ectopic pregnancy is any pregnancy that occurs outside the uterus. After an abortion, you are 8 to 20 times more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy. If not discovered soon enough, an ectopic pregnancy ruptures, and you can bleed to death if you do not have emergency surgery. Statistics show a 30% increased risk of ectopic pregnancy after one abortion and a 160% increased risk of ectopic pregnancy after two or more abortions. There has been a threefold increase in ectopic pregnancies in the U.S. since abortion was legalized. In 1970, the incidence was 4.8 per 1,000 live births. By 1980 it was 14.5 per 1,000 births. Effects on Future Pregnancies If you have an abortion: (1) You will be more likely to bleed in the first three months of future pregnancies. (2) You will be less likely to have a normal delivery in future pregnancies. (3) You will need more manual removal of placenta more often and there will be more complications with expelling the baby and its placenta. (4) Your next baby will be twice as likely to die in the first few months of life. (5) Your next baby will be three to four times as likely to die in the last months of his first year of life. (6) Your next baby may have a low birth weight. (7) Your next baby is more likely to be born prematurely with all the dangerous and costly problems that entails. Failed Abortion Failure to successfully abort the unborn younger than 6 weeks is relatively common. Sometimes, an abortionist fails to evacuate the placenta from the uterus. This means the pregnancy continues even though mother has endured the dangers and cost of an abortion. Hemorrhage One to fourteen percent of women require a blood transfusion due to bleeding from an abortion. Hepatitis This can occur if you have to have a blood transfusion after an abortion. Infection Mild fever and sometimes death occurs when there is an infection from an abortion. This happens in anywhere from 1 in 4 women to 1 in 50 women. Laceration of the Cervix About 1 out of 20 women suffer this during an abortion. This causes you to have nearly a 50/50 chance of miscarrying in your next pregnancy if it is not treated properly during that pregnancy. A high incidence of cervical damage from the abortion procedure has raised the incidence of miscarriage 30-40% in women who have had abortions. More Miscarriages Later Women who have had two or more abortions have twice as many first trimester miscarriages in later pregnancies. There is a ten-fold increase in the number of second trimester miscarriages in pregnancies that follow a vaginal abortion. Perforation of the Uterus Women suffer a perforated uterus in between 1 out of 40 and 1 out of 400 abortions. This almost always causes peritonitis (an inflamed, infected lining of the abdomen), similar to having a ruptured appendix. Placenta Previa Placenta previa occurs 6 to 15 times more often after a woman has had an abortion. In this condition your baby’s placenta lies over the exit from the uterus so that the placenta has to be delivered before the baby can get out. This causes the mother to bleed severely while the baby almost always dies, unless your obstetrician recognizes this condition and removes the baby by Caesarean section at just the right time in the pregnancy. Post-Abortion Syndrome Frequently after an abortion, women suffer a range of mental and psychological problems. These may include recurrent dreams of the abortion experience, avoidance of emotional attachment, relationship problems, sleep disturbances, guilt about surviving, memory impairment, hostile outbursts, suicidal thoughts or actions, depression, and substance abuse. These problems may occur days to years later. Retained Products of Conception If your doctor leaves pieces of the baby, placenta, umbilical cord, or amniotic sac in your body, you may develop pain, bleeding, or a low grade fever. Besides antibiotics and possible hospitalization, you may require additional surgery to remove these remaining pieces. RH Incompatibility Your doctor should be sure of your baby’s Rh blood type if you are Rh-negative, so that he can protect you and your next baby against future Rh incompatibilities. These Rh incompatibilities can: . require that future babies will need transfusions soon after birth, . cause future babies to be born dead because of the incompatibilities, . cause future babies to die soon after birth because of the Rh incompatibility. If your doctor doesn’t check the blood type of the baby you are going to abort, even in very early suction abortions done before eight weeks, fetal-maternal hemorrhage can occur, thereby sensitizing you if you are Rh-negative. Severe, Rapid Bleeding You may develop DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulopathy) from your abortion. This means your blood does not clot and you will bleed uncontrollably. DIC is extremely life threatening and difficult to treat. It occurs in 2 out of 1,000 second trimester abortions. Sterility After an abortion you may become sterile. This happens in 1 out of 20 to 1 out of 50 women. The risk of secondary infertility among women with at least one abortion is 3 to 4 times greater than that among women who have not aborted. Unrecognized Ectopic Pregnancy Your doctor may try to abort the baby but be unsuccessful because it is developing in your fallopian tube. Unfortunately this tubal pregnancy ruptures later and emergency surgery must be done to save your life. All women in their first trimester should have an ultrasound to make sure they do not have an ectopic pregnancy. Young Women Complication rates of abortion increase with younger, teen-age women. However, younger women who carry their babies to term have better births than older women if they get proper care. There is evidence that in 15 to 17 year old women, pregnancy may even be physically healthier than in women of older ages.   "In medical practice, there are few surgical procedures given so little attention and so underrated in its potential hazards as abortion. It is a commonly held view that complications are inevitable." - Dr. Warren Hern, world renowned abortionist http://www.abortionfacts.com/effects/effects.asp

PAS Youth: National celebrations causing baby dumping

PETALING JAYA: PAS is blaming Valentine’s Day and New Year celebrations as among the main causes of baby dumping in the country.

PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan said the occasions were celebrated in an extreme manner and en couraged liberal socialising and free sex, which resulted in the act of dumping babies.

»These celebrations put youths in situations involving alcohol and indecent behaviour« NASRUDIN HASSAN, PAS YOUTH CHIEF

“Baby dumping is rampant especially during the months of July to September – the months are dubbed the ‘baby dumping season’,” he said yesterday.

Nasrudin also said the party would hold a roundtable discussion with non-governmental organisations and political parties on Aug 22 to discuss ways in which all parties could contribute to solving the problem.

He said there had been 15 cases of baby dumping between July and yesterday.

“It is an indication that the ‘mating season’ occurred during the New Year celebrations. We expect more cases between now and September,” he said, adding that the high number of cases of couples caught for khalwat(close proximity) was recorded during carnivals including the Merdeka Day celebrations.

He said the celebrations, which originated from the West, did not “sit well with our country’s traditions.”

“These celebrations put youths in situations involving alcohol and indecent behaviour,” said Nasrudin, adding that the Government should control such celebrations and entertainment outlets.

“These babies are born out of wedlock from irresponsible actions through forbidden relationships. If the babies were born through marriage, they would not be thrown away,” he said.

Nasrudin was responding to a news portal report yesterday quoting PAS Youth deputy chief Azman Shapawi Rani that such celebrations in the country were the main causes of baby dumping.

He urged the Government to look into preventive measures and not only dwell on punishment against the youths.

“They must review the education system to teach youths how to apply their knowledge of subjects like morality in everyday life, rather than merely feeding them information all day in schools,” he said.http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/19/nation/6881507&sec=nation

Punca Gadis Hamil Di Luar Nikah

RABU, 09 JUN 2010 13:36

Oleh Abdul Ghani Nasir

BANGI, 9 Jun 2010 - Dengan anggapan ‘aku tak mungkin hamil’ sesetengah gadis remaja rela mengadakan hubungan seks luar nikah dengan lelaki yang baru saja mereka kenali.Tidak kurang pula mereka ini termasuk wanita berkerja yang tinggal di bandar-bandar diajak teman lelaki mereka menonton VCD lucah lantas kedua-duanya ghairah hingga terjebak dalam maksiat. Akibatnya wanita terbabit melahirkan anak di luar nikah.

Malangnya, bukan semua teman lelaki mangsa yang mahu bertanggungjawab akibat keterlanjuran mereka itu. Memang ada lelaki yang hendak berkahwin tetapi dihalang oleh keluarga wanita, ada yang yang enggan menerima kehamilan pasangannya manakala ada pula yang takut selain tidak kurang pula yang terus memutuskan hubungan yang mereka bina dengan gadis terbabit sebelum itu. Bagi gadis yang malang itu keadaan diburukkan lagi kerana pandangan serong masyarakat terhadap kehamilan diluar nikah. Ada pula yang berasa malu atau takut perbuatan terkutuk mereka diketahui keluarga. Ini akhirnya mencetuskan fenomena ngeri lain pula – dimana bayi tidak berdosa yang baru dilahirkan itu dibuang.

Demikian rumusan Profesor Madya Dr Fatimah Abdullah, pensyarah Program Kerja Sosial, Pusat Pengajian Psikologi dan Pembangunan Manusia, Fakulti Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, UKM mengenai isu hangat dewasa ini berdasarkan penyelidikannya mengenai masalah seks di luar nikah mengikut rekod yang terdapat di Jabatan Kerja Sosial Perubatan, Pusat Perubatan UKM.

Rekod juga menunjukkan hampir semua bayi itu kemudian dijumpai sudah mati setelah dibuang dalam tong sampah, dicampak dalam longkang atau ada ditanam dalam kubur cetek.

Statistik Ibu Pejabat Polis Bukit Aman menunjukkan 65 kes buang bayi dicatat pada tahun 2000 meningkat kepada 83 kes pada 2006.

Daripada 83 kes itu, 79 membabitkan pembuangan bayi yang baru dilahirkan dengan empat lagi masih janin.  Selangor mencatatkan kes tertinggi iaitu 22 kes (2000) dan 24 kes (2006).

Sebab bayi dibuang belum dapat dipastikan kerana belum ada kajian khusus dijalankan, kata Dr Fatimah. Beliau menarik perhatian satu laporan akhbar mendedahkan kes sebegini biasanya membabitkan remaja yang terlanjur tetapi malu berdepan dengan masalah. Keadaan ini diburukkan lagi dengan sikap teman lelaki yang tidak mahu bertanggungjawab.

Remaja yang mengandung luar nikah juga menghadapi pelbagai masalah seperti disisih keluarga serta dibuang kerja.

Dalam menjalankan kajiannya, Dr Fatimah turut mendapatkan data terperinci faktor kehamilan, sikap keluarga dan perancangan masa depan remaja hasil temu bual dengan penghuni di Rumah Nur Adwa dari 2004 hingga 2008.

Walaupun terdapat 81 gadis berusia 15-19 tahun, namun dalam masa tersebut golongan berumur 20 hingga 24 tahun mencapai 118 orang manakala ada juga melebihi 40 tahun iaitu seorang janda.

Sebanyak 190 orang daripada mangsa menamatkan persekolahan menengah, 39 STPM dan kolej, 53 tamat sekolah rendah dengan 10 orang tidak bersekolah.

Dengan pencapaian pendidikan agak baik itu, tidaklah menghairankan 177 daripada mereka mendapat gaji RM1,500 dan lebih sebulan dan  81 di antara RM1,000-RM1,499 sebulan.

Namun, apa yang agak membimbangkan, kata Dr Fatimah adalah hakikat kurangnya pengetahuan gadis terlibat ini dengan perkara-perkara berkaitan seksualiti. Ini kerana kebanyakan daripada mereka tidak prihatin apabila haid mereka terhenti walaupun ini salah satu tanda kehamilan.

Lebih buruk lagi ada gadis yang masih tidak tahu mengenai fungsi bahagian badan dan sistem reproduktif mereka sendiri seperti perbezaan kedudukan saluran kencing dan saluran peranakan.  Fakta ini didedahkan hasil kajian sebuah syarikat pengeluar alatl pencegah kehamilan.

Kajian rapi terhadap lapan gadis terlibat mendapati lima datang daripada keluarga tidak lengkap yakni keluarga ibu tunggal akibat penceraian atau kerana bapa telah meninggal dunia.

Dr Fatimah mencadangkan agar beberapa perkara diberikan perhatian dalam usaha membendung dan menangani masalah berkenaan.

Kebanyakan remaja atau wanita muda yang melanjutkan pelajaran tinggi atau bekerja di bandar dan jauh daripada keluarga biasanya tinggal bersendirian atau menyewa bersama rakan.

Ada kalanya, tegas Dr Fatimah, mereka ini tinggal serumah dengan teman berlainan jantina malah jika tidak menetap sebumbung pun kedudukan flat yang bersebelahan memudahkan teman lelaki atau wanita keluar masuk unit masing-masing.

“Sifat jiran tetangga khususnya di bandar yang sentiasa sibuk dengan pekerjaan masing-masing tidak dapat berfungsi sebagai sistem kawalan sosial tidak formal yang berkesan sedangkan majikan yang menyediakan kemudahan perumahan tidak prihatin mengenai hal tersebut,’ kata beliau.

Bagi pihak keluarga pula keengganan ibu bapa untuk membenarkan anak mereka berkahwin merupakan antara faktor remaja lari mengikut teman lelaki dan bersekedudukan sehingga hamil dan melahirkan anak.

“Perpecahan dan sikap keluarga ini kelihatan mempunyai kaitan dengan perlakuan devian remaja kita,” ujarnya.

Dr Fatimah juga berpendapat bahawa walaupun data yang ada tidak cukup untuk memberikan maklumat perkaitan antara didikan agama dengan penglibatan dalam hubungan seks sebelum berkahwin atau di luar perkahwinan namun pegangan agama yang kuat merupakan benteng utama dalam menghindari perlakuan devian.

Beliau turut menarik perhatian sungguh pun tidak ada maklumat mengenai pengaruh media dan hiburan terhadap masalah melahirkan anak di luar nikah, tetapi satu kajian pda tahun 2003 mendapati wujudnya hubungan yang rapat antara dorongan seks dengan gejala itu.

“Lantas kawalan dan saringan terhadap kedua-dua pengaruh dan dorongan itu juga amat penting,” kata Dr Fatimah.

Dalam konteks Malaysia, kata Dr Fatimah lagi, dasar dan program bersepadu untuk membantu remaja hamil diluar nikah hampir tidak ada.  Hal tersebut mungkin timbul kerana tidak adanya data lengkap megenai mereka khususnya berkaitan latar belakang sosio-ekonomi, pergaulan dan hubungan hetroseksual serta pengalaman hubungan seks sebelum berkahwin.

Apa pun gejala kehamilan remaja diluar nikah ini perlu dilaksanakan dengan penuh teliti kerana ia turut melibatkan isu agama dan budaya yang berbeza di antara satu kaum dengan yang lain.

Kaedah yang dilakukan di Barat seperti penggunaan kaedah kontraseptif bagi mencegah kehamilan tidak boleh digunakan bagi remaja beragama Islam.

Fenomena ini sebenarnya adalah manifestasi kepada isu yang lebih besar lagi tentang kekalutan dalam struktur dan organisasi sosial dalam masyarakat. Sehubungan itu profail yang lengkap mengenai mereka sedang dikumpulkan kerana ia penting dalam merangka pelan intervensi dan prevensi.

“Ini amat penting bukan saja kepada remaja yang terlibat tetapi anak mereka yang bakal dilahirkan, khususnya daripada segi nasab, penjagaan dan masa depan mereka,” kata Dr Fatimah http://pkukmweb.ukm.my/news/index.php/ms/berita-penyelidikan/345.html

Negative Effects of Having Sex Education In Schools

Having sex education in schools could bring more negative effects than the positive ones.One of the negative effect is it will trigger curiousity among students to find out about sex and eventually they will involve in free sex.It is true that sex education is likely introduced to prevent pregnancy among teenagers as the students will be taught about methods of preventing pregnancy,but it doesn't mean that pregnancy will never happens.It is afraid that if these teenagers got pregnant out of wedlock,they will dump the baby right after they gives birth and the cases of baby dumping will never decreased.Apart from that,sex education in schools could be offensive due to religion and custom.It is because,sex is considered something personal and yet not to be talked about in the publics.Sex is also considered as taboo in eastern society.

Malaysian teachers say ‘no’ to sex education 

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian teachers are saying “no” to teaching sex education in schools.

They lack professional training in teaching the subject, National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng said Tuesday.

She said while the union fully supported the Government’s move to provide sex education in schools, “sadly, the teachers lack formal training in the complexity and sensitivity of the subject and are not confident to teach it.”

Lok said the teachers were afraid they might be sued by the parents “if they were to make mistakes in imparting the knowledge of sex to the pupils.”

Malaysia is a multiracial, religious and cultural nation with each ethnic group having its own notion on the subject, which made the teaching more challenging, she noted.

The NUTP is the country’s biggest teachers union representing 160,000 teachers, which is approximately half the teaching profession.

Lok said the union wanted the Education Ministry to first hold discussions with stakeholders on the pros and cons of the move before making a firm decision.

Currently, the subject was taught in “bits and pieces” from the primary level to secondary level, in the absence of a proper structured course.

Of late, sex education has become a very important issue in the country, with an increasing number of unwed mothers, many of them students.

Meanwhile, a Bernama survey among students, parents and teachers showed that all groups were in favour of sex education but were unsure of the form and content of the course.

Teenage student Jayaraman said he was all for it, but was unsure what and how the teachers were going to teach because “we have more girls than boys in our class and most of our teachers are female.”

Abdul Raof Bidin, 38, who has two school-going children, felt that it was necessary to teach the subject.

“It should be handled with care as it could easily be misconstrued and do more harm than good, if wrongly imparted,” he said.

Another parent, M. Arumugam, 44, believes it was better for medical professionals like doctors and nurses to impart the subject to students.

”Maybe the Education Ministry should consult the Health Ministry and come up with some kind of arrangement for teachers to be provided with on-the-job training,” he said.

Betty Lee, who has been a teacher for 24 years, felt that the subject was best handled by “teachers who themselves are mothers and know how to handle such a complex subject.”

”With due respect, not all teachers can teach the subject, and the ministry should be very careful in selecting the right candidate for the job,” said the 50-year-old ---- Bernama   

 thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/3/2/nation/...sec...

School Of Hope's Student Gives Birth to Baby Boy

A baby boy weighed 3.6 kg was born on October 4th at Jasin Hospital.He became the first baby of School of Hope that was opened on September 17th. Melaka Chief Minister,Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam was told that the baby would be cared for by the student's family,Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam was the first who camed up with the idea of setting up this school for those who got pregnant out of wedlock.The school was also opened not just to protect the teenagers who got pregnant,it was also set up to curb the dumping of unwanted babies.

School of Hope

JASIN: The country's first school for pregnant teens, School of Hope, received its first enrolment of students here Monday.

The teens, accompanied by their parents, were first required to make their formal application at the Malacca Islamic Religious Department (Jaim) in Kompleks Al Azim in Peringgit, before heading to the school.

The first to be seen was a young Chinese teen, who arrived with her parents at the school's dormitory, House of Hope, located adjacent to it, around 9.15am.

Jaim's chief enforcement officer Rahimin Bani said prospective applicants were interviewed Sunday.

He said the four-stage application processs involved an interview of the girl and her parents, submission of medical reports, background check and counselling, before registration.

He said that Jaim would also liaise closely with the relevant government agencies, such as the state welfare and registration departments, and Syariah courts here, to ensure proper procedures were followed.

"They (the teens) want to continue their studies and sit for their examinations.

"This the main reason they are here to enrol," he said when contacted Monday.

On Sunday, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said families of five pregnants teens had sought to enrol their daugthers in the school here.

The five, four Malays and a Chinese, will begin Form Four and Form Five  

thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?sec=nation&file=/2010/9/20/..

Police to classify abandoned baby cases as murder and attempted murder

BERNAMA

Monday, August 16th, 2010 20:37:00

KUALA LUMPUR: Police are expected to classify abandoned baby cases under Section 302 of the Penal Code (murder), and under Section 307 (attempted murder).

Those responsible for babies who die would be investigated for murder while abandoned babies found alive would be classified and investigated as attempted murder.

Bukit Aman CID Director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said police would investigate according to the classification of the case because such cases are a serious crime.

However, the decision of whether such cases are classified as murder or not would be decided by the Attorney-General, he said.

Mohd Bakri said police were concerned with an increase in the number of abandoned baby cases compared with last year, especially those involving locals.

He said this year alone 65 abandoned baby cases were reported. "Last year 79 such cases were reported but this year, within the first eight months, 65 cases were reported and it is very disappointing," he told reporters at his office here today.

Mohd Bakri said statistics showed that from 2005 to yesterday, 472 babies were abandoned throughout the country, of which, 258 were dead and 214 were still alive.

He said the public must not turn a blind eye to such cases but instead cooperate with the police because individuals who abandoned their babies were normally from that very same area.

"We want the public to provide information to the police when they come across such cases so that police can identify the parents of such babies," he said

.http://www.mmail.com.my/content/46514-police-classify-abandoned-baby-cases-murder-and-attempted-murder

ways for us to curb baby dumping

  I think we should introduce this organisation or make a new organisation that has a similar function as this Bastard Nation organisation.
  Bastard Nation is a North American adult adoptee political advocacy and support organization. It was founded in 1996 by denizens of the Usenet newsgroup alt.adoption Shea Grimm, Damsel Plum, Marley Greiner and Lainie Petersen. The original intent of the organization was to support adult adoptees in gaining access their original birth certificates as a civil right, rather than as a vehicle for facilitating search, which had been the aim of prior open records organizations (See The ALMA Society The Adoptees' Liberty Movement Association - "Celebrating more 38 Years of Adoption Reunion and Reform, 1971 - 2009"]. It is also distinguished from search-and-reconnection focused organizations in that it supports the full spectrum of the adult adoptee experience, including adoptees who do not wish to search^[1] and adoptees whose reconnections were a bad experience^[2].

Besides advocating adult adoptee access to original birth certificates, Bastard Nation also launches campaigns against negative stereotypes of adoption and adoptees.^[3]

North American adoptee birth certificates were originally sealed only to non-family members in the early 20th century^[4] but after WWII most states^[5] sealed adoptee birth certificates permanently to all parties involved: the adoptee, the adoptive parents and the birthparents.

The group has been successful in getting several states in the United States to approve legislation to open sealed records, for example in Oregon by Ballot Measure 58^[6], described in the bookAdoption Politics: Bastard Nation & Ballot Initiative 58 ^[7]by E. Wayne Carp (2004). They have members throughout the United States, Canada and the world^[8].

The name is a reference to the fact that most adopted children were born illegitimate, hence are literally bastards. The term bastard is employed both for shock value, and in an effort to reclaim the term for common usage (as was done by the organization Queer Nation with the word queer).

Images of Baby Hatch

Baby Hatch

An NGO in Malaysia has introduced baby hatch in order to curb baby dumping.The first baby hatch was opened at OrphanCARE premises in Petaling Jaya.For all we know,these unlucky babies were dumped at the toilets,rubbish sites,bins,rivers and many more places.Thus,this baby hatch can be an alternative to the mother to leave her baby anonymously in a safe place to be found and cared of.This program has the support of Ministry of Women,Family and Community Development.The hatch has a small door which opens to an  to an incubator which a mother can place her baby.Once after the door is closed,an alarm bell will ring and alert the NGO staff to the baby presence right after the mother has left.

Effects on Teenage Pregnancy

Effects of teen pregnancies on the children involved. These children are far more likely to grow up in poverty, to have more health problems, to suffer from higher rates of abuse and neglect, to fail in school, to become teen mothers, to commit delinquent acts and adult crimes, and to incur failed adult marriages and other relationships.


The burdens of early childbearing on disadvantaged teens are undeniable. Trying to untangle the factors which contribute to teenage pregnancy from its effects, however, leads to a "which came first, the chicken or the egg?" dilemma. Educational failure, poverty, unemployment and low self-esteem are understood to be negative outcomes of early childbearing. These circumstances also contribute to the likelihood of teen pregnancy.

In general, teen mothers have much lower levels of educational attainment than other women, which severely limit their career options and sharply increase their likelihood of economic dependency. Only 70% of teen mothers complete high school or earn a GED, and far fewer
Risk Factors. Although it is not inevitable, some life circumstances place girls at higher risk of becoming teen mothers. These include poverty, poor school performance, growing up in a single parent household, having a mother who was an adolescent mother, or having a sister who has become pregnant.

Teenage pregnancies have become a public health issue because of their observed negative effects on perinatal outcomes and long-term morbidity. The association of young maternal age and long-term morbidity is usually confounded, however, by the high prevalence of poverty, low level of education, and single marital status among teenage mothers.

Children of teenage mothers have significantly higher odds of placement in certain special education classes and significantly higher occurrence of milder education problems, but when maternal education, marital status, poverty level, and race are controlled, the detrimental effects disappear and even some protective effects are observed.
Posted by: Priyaa (A134500)
               

Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancies are still the norm in much of the developing world. Each child born to a young girl normally is considered a blessing.
Despite the fact that the teen birth rate is slowly falling, there are still an estimated one million teen pregnancies in the United States alone. About 85% of these pregnancies are unplanned, which in any population can increase the risk for problems. The biggest risk for teen mothers is delaying prenatal care or worse, 7.2% received no care at all.

The reason for lack of prenatal care is usually delayed pregnancy testing, denial or even fear of telling others about the pregnancy. Most states have a health department or University clinic where prenatal care is free or low cost and patient confidentiality is very important, meaning no one can tell the teen mother's family.
Teenage mothers are less likely to gain adequate weight during their pregnancy, leading to Low Birth weight which is associated with infant and childhood disorders and a high rate of infant mortality. Low-birth weight babies are more likely to have organs that are not fully developed, which can result in complications such as bleeding in the brain, respiratory distress syndrome, and intestinal problems.
Children born to teenage mothers are less likely to receive proper nutrition, health care, and cognitive and social stimulation. As a result, they may have an underdeveloped intellect and attain lower academic achievement.

Posted by: Priyaa (A134500)