The society has shaped the idea of teenage pregnancy as being a irresponsible act that young girls commit. Teenage pregnancy is looked down upon as a mistake that has many consequences. Consequences that mostly follows teenage pregnancy appear to be mothers being the caretaker for the most part, fathers not taking on any responsibility, financial issues, chances of not graduating from high school, and etc. Do you believe having a child at an early age is such a bad thing to do? Do you believe all teenage girls who become pregnant experience a struggle or just teenagers that come from a poor background? Have you ever thought about women at an older age may experience fertility issues that could possibly prevent them having children?
In chapter five of Luker’s book “The Politics of Teenage Pregnancy”, it shares information on how postponing pregnancy having its own costs. Older women face a greater risk of infertility. So what age do you consider to be too old and or too young for a woman to produce a child? Are you analyzing this age in more of what age is a woman fit enough to have a child or at what age a woman could be a good provider for her child? What is the ideal age you feel would be right for you to have a child? If you got pregnant at a young age would you keep your child despite your well-being at the time? If you were older and couldn’t produce children would you view teenage pregnancy as a bad choice considering teenage mothers makeup a proportion of women who put their babies up for adoption? What would you do if you postponed pregnancy for so long and became infertile? Adopt?
Victoria Harrison
Well. I think it is also good to think about the cultural context of adoption,abortion, and parenting. I think in our culture age is a huge argument about parenting. However, in cultures that don't really have college opportunities then having "teenage pregnancies" are not as serious. For example the articles about South Africa usually are around teens that have children around the ages of 14-17. These teens are just wanted to finish high school. In our culture we want teens to definitely finish high school but the thought that they can't, or have more difficulty going to college is also seen as disappointing.
ReplyDeleteI think there was an argument about teens not being physically able to have children, which I kind of think is a bit silly in the fact that people have been having children young for centuries, considering the average lifespan was usually around 50 or so. Now in our society, typically, it is now focused around the financial burden of having a kid, which still is kind of silly. The reason I say this is as demonstrated in multiple articles many times these teens that have children come from poor backgrounds so no matter when they have a kid the financial issue is still going to be present. Not to mention, the immense amount money that people put in for IVF. I would argue that because people give their money toward the doctors there has not been as much regulation on this fertilization process. The only time I remember there was a public uproar about it was when Nadia solamon? (excuse the spelling), had like 8 kids or something. The reason why this was an issue was the same argument about her not being able to afford the children she already had.
I think financial issues, maturity issues, physical issues, all play a part but because they all intermix to create different situations for parents that I don't think that just because someone doesn't have one or another they shouldn't be judged by the general public or made a show out of like in 16 and pregnant. Like I have said before, It takes a village to raise a child therefore it is a community effort not an individual effort.
Maegen Hahn
I dont think having a child is necessarily a bad thing, but i dont think it is the best choice to make. There are many things to factor in when you have a child; finances, maturity, school, social life etc. Some of these things are necessities in life for a teenager but having a child put these things on the back burner. Having a child at an early is not the easiest thing in the world for teenage parents, but a support system can make things much easier. Finances make parenting much more comfortable from that aspect but there are still other things that make parenting hard. So no i don't think poor families are the only ones that struggle. teenage parents especially struggle because most still try to go to school, have social life, and have to deal with baby daddy drama when boys are not mature, all while being the sole provider for their child in most cases. Im well informed that fertility rates go down as women get older and i think that age is 28 when there is a major difference in fertility rates. I feel like the ideal age for me to have a child is when i am married and if i had to pick a certain age it would be like 24 or 25. At this point in my life, if i had a child, i would definitely keep it unless there were health situations that could possibly harm me or the child. if i were to get to the point where i became infertile i think a show like 16 and pregnant Janelles case to be precise, would make me uneasy and feel like she didnt deserve the gift of a child.
ReplyDeleteJ'Quana Brown