Since the early 1990s, the number of teen pregnancies in America has dropped by a lot. But 34 percent of American teenage girls still get pregnant before they turn 20. This is a fact about teen pregnancy. This means that the United States has one of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the world. As does England, where one out of every five babies is born to a teen. These are shocking numbers, and both adults and teens should do what they can to stop teen pregnancy.
Bringing up sexuality and pregnancy
When a child is about 13 years old, parents should talk to them about what they think and feel about sex and what might happen if they do it. Even though it can be embarrassing at first for both people, education and knowledge are the best way to stop teen pregnancy in the long run. Talk to your child about sexually transmitted diseases, the chance of getting pregnant, and ways to avoid getting pregnant, like abstinence and birth control.
Abstinence
Abstinence is the safest way to stop teens from getting pregnant. If you don't have sexual contact, you won't have to worry about getting sick or getting pregnant against your will, which could change your whole life. There will be a lot of peer pressure to have sex, but if you don't have sex now, you'll be completely ready when you do decide to take that step.
Contraception
The condom and the pill are the two most common ways to keep a teen from getting pregnant. The condom is a rubber latex glove that is put over the penis during sex to keep the sperm from going into the vagina. The condom will protect you not only from diseases that could be spread through the sperm, but also from getting pregnant at a young age. Facts about teen pregnancy show that a lot of teens now take the birth control pill, and that number is growing every year. Every day, you take the birth control pill, which causes hormones to be released in your body. These hormones stop your body from ovulating. If you don't ovulate, you won't release an egg. Without an egg, the sperm won't be able to fertilise one. If it's taken every day, the pill is a very good way to avoid getting pregnant. But the pill doesn't stop you from getting sexually transmitted diseases and infections, so you still need to be careful.
Teens are shown to have sex all the time in the media. You don't have to believe this, though. The media aren't real, and it's fine to wait to have sex until you're ready or until the right person comes along. The only way to stop a teen from getting pregnant for sure is to never have sex.
