Background History of Teenage Sex
Teenage pregnancy otherwise known as Adolescent pregnancy is defined by the United Nation’s World Health Organization as the pregnancy of teenage girls who are in-between the ages of thirteen and nineteen; such girls are regarded not to have reached the legal adulthood age of getting pregnant and giving birth. Teenage pregnancies are not only common in the middle and low-income countries worldwide but also present in developed countries in Europe and the United States of America. In the modern world, where teenage sex is an everyday activity teenage pregnancy is a common sight. Teenage pregnancy dates back to hundreds of years ago, yet it was not an alarming issue since it was not considered socially unacceptable then. This paper is meant to discuss the background history of teenage pregnancy.
Teenage pregnancy has always been there ever since the world came into existence but was accepted socially since girls got married at tender ages; the issue of teenage pregnancy never existed. It was normal in the previous centuries and still common in developing countries up to date. The ‘teenager’ concept and youth culture emerged in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s when teenage pregnancy took active roles in literature and films in America. Teenage pregnancies and births became a serious problem that indicated a lack of self-control among the girls that inflicted shame to them. Over the years the numbers have greatly reduced owing to literacy and information of dangers of having teenagers pregnant.
In the 1950’s teenage pregnancy was at par with adult pregnancy; this is because teenage marriage was widespread in the 1950’s. The peak of teenage pregnancy was in the year 1957 during the Baby Boom period that risen intensely after World War II. In the 1970’s and 1980’s teenage pregnancies fairly decreased as a result of abortions and use of contraceptives. Teenage girls who got pregnant in those days opted to resolve their pregnancy issues through abortion. From the year 1990, teenage pregnancy drastically reduced due to the introduction of contraceptives to teenagers. Moreover, the trend was influenced by involving teen fathers to take up roles in the lives of their babies. By the year 1995, teenage pregnancies were low compared to the previous years. This is because more sexually active teenagers started using long term contraceptive measures that successfully enabled them not to get pregnant while others had less or no sex.
The declining teenage pregnancy trend that started in 1990 increased all through up to 2006 when it drastically rose again. In the year 2007 and the following years, teenage pregnancies reduced again. This is owed to increase the use of contraceptives among the teens, less teen sex and more information provided to teens about prevention of pregnancies. During the recent years to date teenage pregnancy has highly declined. The key reasons for the decline include, adults, send explicit messages to teenagers about their sexual behavior, and adolescents have easy access to family planning services, and more teens regard childbearing as an adult thing among other issues.
In conclusion, teenage pregnancy has been in existence since time immemorial. It became an issue when in the mid nineteenth century when childbearing was associated with adulthood. Its peak was in the 1950’s, but over the years it reduced. Less sex among teens, the introduction of contraceptive services, policies of involving teenage fathers and education on sex are some of the factors that have led to declining of early pregnancy. Currently, teenage pregnancy is still common in developing countries and among the developed countries, it is common in the United States of America.
