Annotated Bibliography

Liberty University

HSCO 500

Introduction to Human Services Counseling

Author: Shawnreco Washington

Date: October 3, 2016

The term teenage pregnancy is used in everyday speech to refer to girls who fall within the ages of thirteen to nineteen becoming pregnant (Aubrey, Behm-Morawitz & Kim, 2014). Teenage pregnancies may result due to many reasons some of which include. First, it arises because of customs and traditions which encourage teenage girls to engage in early marriages. Secondly, it results because of peer pressure to engage in sexual activity. Lastly, the issue of adolescent sexual behavior that could also be encouraged by drug abuse has seen many ladies become pregnant at a teenage. Studies indicates that teenage pregnancies among girls can have adverse both socio-economic and psychological impacts on the mother, the child and her family.

Personal reasons for choosing the topic

The detrimental impacts and the continued rise in cases of teenage pregnancies in the society today have made me select the topic. The effects of teenage pregnancy not only affect the mother but also have indirect impacts to members of the society and the whole world. For example, most of the teenage mothers and their children continue to increase dependency ratio and put a lot of burden on their family (Leppälahti, Gissler, Mentula & Heikinheimo, 2013). After giving birth, they end up dropping out of schools to attend to the kids and finally they get married without any source of income.

Global reason for selecting the topic and how it applies to human services profession

Studies shows that pregnant teens are less likely obtain the prenatal care and as a result, the global incidents of premature births and low birth weights have significantly increased among the teenage mothers (Shah, Gee & Theall, 2014). The risks for medical challenges for girls aged fourteen years and below are greater since the undeveloped pelvis may cause complications during birth. Finally, human services profession needs professionals who understand the needs and the dynamics in the current society. This way, human service profession will equip individuals who offer can proper guidance to teenagers to prevent cases of teenage pregnancies.

References

Aubrey, J. S., Behm-Morawitz, E., & Kim, K. (2014). Understanding the effects of MTV's 16 and pregnant on adolescent girls' beliefs, attitudes, and behavioral intentions toward teen pregnancy. Journal of health communication, 19(10), 1145-1160.

Leppälahti, S., Gissler, M., Mentula, M., & Heikinheimo, O. (2013). Is teenage pregnancy an obstetric risk in a welfare society? A population-based study in Finland, from 2006 to 2011. BMJ open, 3(8), e003225.

Shah, M. K., Gee, R. E., & Theall, K. P. (2014). Partner support and impact on birth outcomes among teen pregnancies in the United States. Journal of pediatric and adolescent gynecology, 27(1), 14-19.