Reports claim that, of 500,000 teenagers giving birth each year, more than 80 percent

end up in poverty and reliant on welfare, many for the majority of their children's
critically important developmental years. Compared with children born to mothers
between the ages of twenty and twenty-one, the children of teenage mothers are
much more likely to suffer poor health, perform poorly in school, live in poverty, be
neglected or abused, and engage in criminal activity. The economic burden to society
of mothers under the age of seventeen, in terms of welfare,
medical care, increased foster care, and other costs, is $6.9 billion a year.

There’s a definite link between teenage pregnancy and many of society's most
serious problems, such as failure in school, child abuse, drug abuse, and crime.
According to Fields, Conservative columnist, the quest for instant gratification
among both girls and boys is the hear of the problem of teenage pregnancy.

Super Predators: that means that the increasing numbers of children born to
children are likely to repeat the devastating cycles of almost everything bad-teen-
age pregnancy, school failure, early behavioral problems, drug abuse, child abuse,
depression and crime. As the numbers of girls increase, so do the number of teen-
age boys. Many of them will be what John DiIulio, Princeton professor and
intellectual crime-fighter, calls "loveless, godless and jobless.” These young men,
says Mr. DiIulio, are likely to become "super predators, "violent young men without
the slightest conscience. No neighborhood will be safe from such foul children.

Teenage sex is dangerous not only for a young person's health but the health of
our society because trouble is reproducing trouble. Such raging hormones seeking
immediate gratification may even be addictive (without artificial additives). One
generation's sexual promiscuity becomes the next generation's crime wave.

Teen pregnancies have intensified poverty, poor health, crime, and other social
pathologies.

The social science evidence now available shows conclusively that children suffer
when they grow up in any family situation other than an intact two-parent family
formed by their biological father and mother who are married to each other.

Children who grow up in single-parent families invariably suffer. The greatest

suffering and deprivation, however-for both mothers and children-comes about from
unmarried teenage pregnancy.

The cost of Teen pregnancy: teenage pregnancy has costs to the mothers, to
the children, and to the larger society and nation. In 1987, more than 19$ billion in
public funds was spent for income maintenance, health care, and nutrition for
support of families begun by teenagers. Babies born to teenagers have a high risk
of being born with low birth weight, and low birth weight requires initial hospital care
averaging $20,000 per infant. The total lifetime medical costs for each low-birth-
weight infant average $400,000. For all adolescents (married and unmarried) giving
birth, 46 percent go on welfare within four years, and 73 percent of unmarried
teenagers giving birth go on welfare within four years.

Members of these single-parent-headed, welfare-receiving families are at very

high risk of remaining poor and ill educated throughout their lives. When married
women go on welfare, they tend to get off welfare within few years. When unmarried
women go on welfare, they tend to remain there permanently.

Numerous studies of child development have shown that growing up as the child
of a single parent is linked with lower levels of academic achievement (having to
repeat grades in school or receiving lower marks and class standing); increased
levels of depression, stress, and aggression; a decrease in some indicators for
physical health; higher incidences of needing the services of mental health
professionals; and other emotional and behavioral problems. All these effects are
linked with lifetime poverty, poor achievement, and susceptibility to suicide,
likelihood of committing crimes and being arrested, and other pathologies….

Nature equips humans with two differing timetables for maturity; physical and
sexual maturity comes first, and emotional and psychological maturity appears later.
Teenagers, particularly younger ones, are poorly equipped with the ability to
foresee the consequences of their acts and plan accordingly. Teens tend to see
themselves as invulnerable to risks. Moreover, this is a time of life when peer
pressure and media pressure for engaging in sex are especially acute.

There is reliable but anecdotal evidence that, at least for many inner-city and
other poor unmarried teenage girls, their pregnancies are not actually unplanned
but actively desired. These studies conclude that the girls are not ignorant about
contraception; they do not use it because they actually yearn for babies. Their
emotional and psychological immaturity, however, does not allow them to know or
understand the real consequences of motherhood, especially teenage motherhood.
This is the phenomenon commonly called "babies having babies "Typically, a poor
girl who has a baby while unmarried is especially vulnerable to becoming pregnant
again while still in her teens.

Technological solutions: the received approach to the problem of teenage

pregnancy has been "technological," in that it has relied on providing teenagers with
the technology for avoiding pregnancy, or, once pregnant, with abortions as a
technological solution to the pregnancy. But rising rates of teenage pregnancy,
abortion and births to teenage mothers show that these technological solutions
have been anything but effective. Advanced as the "realistic" answer to the out-of-
wedlock pregnancy problem, these interventions have come athwart the reality of
failure statistics. Abortion has reduced the overall adolescent birthrate, but the
unmarried adolescent birthrate has gone up dramatically since 1970. Adolescent
have become slightly more efficient users of contraception in recent years, but they
remain dramatically less so than the adult married population.

- Moral Grounds: Perhaps it is time to abandon technological solutions and

return to teaching abstinence on moral grounds. Although it sometimes failed,
teaching children to abstain was socially, psychologically, and medically far more
effective than any of the methods introduced by the sexual revolution-a revolution
that was supposed to offer us freedom but that seems instead to have failed us,
threatening our livelihoods, our civil order, and perhaps even our liberty itself.

- A Coping Mechanism: Unfortunately, many teen males and females do not

have the good fortune of living in [stable family] situations and do not see much of a
future for themselves. Most young people see little employment opportunity around
them and will probably face a life of low economic status, ever-present racism, and
inadequate opportunities for quality education…. Under such conditions, it is no
wonder that some young people, instead of becoming industrious and hopeful,
become sexually intimate for a short-term sense of comfort, and ultimately become
profoundly fatalistic. In such cases, intercourse is used as a coping mechanism.
Youth workers, teachers, and counselors must replace the use of that coping
mechanism with concrete and hopeful (not rhetorical) alternatives such as decent
employment, a bank account, improvement in school, a place in college, or a
meaningful career or vocational track. These are elements that produce desirable
outcomes in young people and reduce teen pregnancy, teen violence, and teen
substance abuse.

Michael A. Carrera, Siecus Report, August/September 1995.

- Teenage mothers view childbearing as the one thing they can do that is
socially responsible, gives meaning to their lives and offers hope for future.

- Sociologists sometimes use the term "life script" to refer to the sense
individuals have of the timing and progression of the major events in their lives. At
an early age, we internalize our life script as it is modeled for us by our family and
community. The typical middle-class American script is familiar to most readers:
childhood, a protracted period of adolescence and young adulthood required for
training in a complex society, beginning of work and, only then, marriage and
childbearing. The assumption is not merely that young adults should be financially
self-supporting before they have children. It is also that they must achieve a degree
of maturity by putting the storms of adolescence well behind them before taking on
the demanding responsibility of molding their own children's identity.

Factors contributing to teenage pregnancy:

1-Poverty
2-Welfare
3-Sexual abuse
4- Lack of parental influence.

How can teenage pregnancy be prevented?

1-Sex education
2-Teaching Abstinence
3- Increased educational and economic opportunity

Source: Teenage pregnancy opposing viewpoints

=============================
Study links depression, suicide rates to teen sex
By Karen S. Peterson, USA TODAY

A controversial new study links teen sexual intercourse with depression and suicide
attempts.

The findings are particularly true for young girls, says the Heritage Foundation, a
conservative think tank that sponsored the research. About 25% of sexually active
girls say they are depressed all, most, or a lot of the time; 8% of girls who are not
sexually active feel the same.

The Heritage study taps the government-funded National Longitudinal Survey of

Adolescent Health. The Heritage researchers selected federal data on 2,800
students ages 14-17. The youngsters rated their own "general state of continuing
unhappiness" and were not diagnosed as clinically depressed.

The Heritage researchers do not find a causal link between "unhappy kids" and
sexual activity, says Robert Rector, a senior researcher with Heritage. "This is really
impossible to prove." But he says that study findings send a clear message about
unhappy teens that differs from one portrayed in the popular culture, that "all forms
of non-marital sexual activity are wonderful and glorious, particularly the younger
(teen) the better," he says.

The Heritage study finds:

• About 14% of girls who have had intercourse have attempted suicide; 5% of
sexually inactive girls have.
• About 6% of sexually active boys have tried suicide; less than 1% of sexually
inactive boys have.

Tamara Kreinin of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United
States (SIECUS) says "we need to take depression among the young very
seriously." But it is a "disservice" to blame sexual activity and ignore "divorce,
domestic violence, sexual abuse, substance abuse, lack of parental and community
support and questions about sexual orientation," she says. SIECUS supports school
programs with information on birth control and abstinence.

Teenage Suicide

Most everyone at some time in his or her life will experience periods of anxiety,
sadness, and despair. These are normal reactions to the pain of loss, rejection, or
disappointment. Those with serious mental illnesses, however, often experience
much more extreme reactions, reactions that can leave them mired in hopelessness.
And when all hope is lost, some feel that suicide is the only solution. It isn’t.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, scientific evidence has shown
that almost all people who take their own lives have a diagnosable mental or
substance abuse disorder, and the majority have more than one disorder. In other
words, the feelings that often lead to suicide are highly treatable. That’s why it is
imperative that we better understand the symptoms of the disorders and the
behaviors that often accompany thoughts of suicide. With more knowledge, we can
often prevent the devastation of losing a loved one.

Now the eighth-leading cause of death overall in the U.S. and the third-leading
cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years, suicide has
become the subject of much recent focus. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, for
instance, recently announced his Call to Action to Prevent Suicide, 1999, an
initiative intended to increase public awareness, promote intervention strategies,
and enhance research. The media, too, has been paying very close attention to the
subject of suicide, writing articles and books and running news stories. Suicide
among our nation’s youth, population very vulnerable to self-destructive emotions
has perhaps received the most discussion of late. Maybe this is because teenage
suicide seems the most tragic—lives lost before they’ve even started. Yet, while all
of this recent focus is good, it’s only the beginning. We cannot continue to lose so
many lives unnecessarily.

Some Basic Facts

In 1996, more teenagers and young adults died of suicide than from cancer, heart
disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia and influenza, and chronic lung
disease combined.

In 1996, suicide was the second-leading cause of death among college students,
the third-leading cause of death among those aged 15 to 24 years, and the fourth-
leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 14 years.

From 1980 to 1996, the rate of suicide among African-American males aged 15 to
19 years increased by 105 percent.

It is a hopeful sign that while the incidence of suicide among adolescents and young
adults nearly tripled from 1965 to 1987; teen suicide rates in the past ten years
have actually been declining, possibly due to increased recognition and treatment.
(1996 is the most recent year for which suicide statistics are available.)

It is a sad fact that while many of those who commit suicide talked about it
beforehand, only 33 percent to 50 percent were identified by their doctors as having a
mental illness at the time of their death and only 15 percent of suicide victims were in
treatment at the time of their death. Any history of previous suicide attempts is also
reason for concern and watchfulness. Approximately one-third of teens who die by
suicide have made a previous suicide attempt. It should be noted as well that while
more females attempt suicide, more males are successful in completing suicide.

More recently, scientists have focused on the biology of suicide. Suicide is thought
by some to have a genetic component, to run in families. And research has shown
strong evidence that mental and substance-related disorders, which commonly
affect those who end up committing suicide, do run in families. While the suicide of a
relative is obviously not a direct "cause" of suicide, it does, perhaps, put certain
individuals at more risk than others. Certainly, the suicide of one’s parent or other
close family member could lead to thoughts of such behavior in a teen with a mental
or substance-related disorder.

It is estimated that 300 to 400 teen suicides occur per year in Los Angeles County;
this is equivalent to one teenager lost every day.

Evidence indicates that for every suicide, they are 50 to 100 attempts at suicide.

=========

U.S. TEENAGE PREGNANCY RATE DROPS FOR 10TH STRAIGHT YEAR

Rates Declined in Every State

In 2000, nearly 83.6 in 1,000 women aged 15-19 became pregnant-a 28% decline
from 1990, when the teenage pregnancy rate reached a high of 116.9 per 1,000
women. Declines also took place among all racial and ethnic groups and in every
state in 2000, according to new data from The Alan Guttmacher Institute. The
teenage birth and abortion rates also declined between 1990 and 2000.
(Pregnancies are calculated as the sum of births, miscarriages (including stillbirths)
and abortions.)

Declines also occurred among adolescents in all racial and ethnic groups. The
pregnancy rate among black women aged 15-19 declined 32% between 1990 and
2000 to 153 per 1,000 women; among white teenagers it declined 28% to 71 per
1,000. The rate among Hispanic teenagers fell 15% from 1992-2000 (following a
brief increase from 1990-1992) to 139 per 1,000.

Previous research suggests that both declines in sexual activity and increased use
of more effective contraceptives are responsible for the continued declines in
teenage pregnancy. An analysis by researchers at The Alan Guttmacher Institute
found that about 25% of the decline in teenage pregnancy between 1988 and 1995
was due to decreased sexual activity, while 75% was due to more effective
contraceptive practice. This analysis utilized sexual behavior data from the 1995
National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). The next NSFG has not yet been
completed.

Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States.

It was the 8th leading cause of death for males, and 19th leading cause of death for
females.

The total number of suicide deaths was 29,199 equals to almost 80 people per day
equals to nearly 3 people per hour.
1.3% of total deaths were from suicide. By contrast, 30.3% were from diseases of
the heart, 23% were from malignant neoplasm (cancer), and 7% from
cerebrovascular disease (stroke), the three leading causes.

Suicide outnumbered homicides (16,899) by 5 to 3.

There were twice as many deaths due to suicide than deaths due to HIV/AIDS
(14,802).

There were almost exactly the same numbers of suicides by firearm (16,889) as
homicides (16,599).

Suicide by firearms was the most common method for both men and women,
accounting for 57% of all suicides.

More men than women die by suicide.

The gender ratio is 4:1.

72% of all suicides are committed by white men.

79% of all firearm suicides are committed by white men.

Among the highest rates (when categorized by gender and race) are suicide deaths
for white men over 85, who had a rate of 59/100,000.

Suicide was the 3rd leading cause of death among young people 15 to 24 years of
age, following unintentional injuries and homicide. The rate was 10.3/100,000, or .
01%.

The suicide rate among children ages 10-14 was 1.2/100,000, or 192 deaths among
19,608,000 children in this age group.

The 1999 gender ratio for this age group was 4:1 (males: females).

The suicide rate among adolescents aged 15-19 was 8.2/100,000, or 1,615 deaths
among 19,594,000 adolescents in this age group.

The 1999 gender ratio for this age group was 5:1 (males: females).

Among young people 20 to 24 years of age the suicide rate was 12.7/100,000, or
2,285 deaths among 17,594,000 people in this age group.

* The 1999 gender ratio for this age group was 6:1 (males: females).

Attempted Suicides in the U.S. - 1999

No annual national data on attempted suicide are available; reliable scientific

research, however, has found that:
There are an estimated 8-25 attempted suicides to one completion; the ratio is
higher in women and youth and lower in men and the elderly

More women than men report a history of attempted suicide, with a gender ratio of 3:
1

The strongest risk factors for attempted suicide in adults are depression, alcohol
abuse, cocaine use, and separation or divorce.

The strongest risk factors for attempted suicide in youth are depression, alcohol or
other drug use disorder, and aggressive or disruptive behaviors

Source: National Institute of Mental Health

Depression during Pregnancy and Early Parenthood

During pregnancy and early motherhood, some women report that they feel:

Angry

Stressed

Guilty
Confused
Anxious
Resentful
Depressed
Fearful

Some women comment:

'I'm just so worried about everything'.

'I want to cry all the time’

'I can't concentrate; I don't seem able to do anything’

'How can I feel so bad when I've got this beautiful baby?'

'I'm confused and have no energy'.

'I'm tired so tired, but I can't sleep'.

'People are only interested in the baby no-one is interested in how I feel'.
 'I don't want to see anyone'.

If you frequently experience a number of these feelings, you may be suffering

depression.

Depression disrupts women's lives at a crucial time and can have effects on the
baby, older children and couple relationship. Levels of depression for fathers also
increase significantly in the year following childbirth.

Signs and symptoms of depression include:

Always exhausted or hyperactive.

Not being able to sleep even when you have the chance.
Crying uncontrollably or feeling teary.
Finding that your moods change dramatically.
Feeling very irritable or sensitive to noise or touch.
Constantly thinking in a negative way.
Unrealistic feelings that you are inadequate.
Anxiety or panic attacks.
Not being able to concentrate.
Becoming more forgetful.
Confusion and guilt.
Loss of interest in sex or other things you liked.
Feeling scared, alone, but also not wanting to be with other people.
Eating too little or too much.
Feeling unable to cope.
Preoccupied with obsessive or morbid thoughts.
Thoughts of self harm or harm to your baby.
Loss of confidence and low self esteem.
Inability to enjoy yourself.

Persistent low mood, together with some of these feelings, for a period of at least 2
weeks, may indicate clinical depression. This may require further assessment and
treatment.

Causes of Depression

Depression can occur at any time in your life. It is usually related to some major
event that needs to be coped with. These events can include:

Change in Family Relationships:

Divorce.
 Death.
Moving house.
Marriage.
Child or other family member moving away from home or 'leaving
home'.

Health Related Events:

Personal injury / illness.

Illness of close family member.

Work Related / Financial Events:

Changing job.
Being fired / losing your job.
Partner starting / stopping
work.
Debt or loss of property.

There are also a number of important risk factors that can make women more
vulnerable to depression both before and after birth. These include:

Family history of depression.

Previous depressive episode.

Poor relationship with partner / no partner.

Lack of perceived support from those close to you.

Difficult or unhappy childhood.

Delivery complications for mother or baby.

Premature, post mature or multiple births.

Negative feelings toward or limited bonding with baby.

Problems with baby's health.

Not the expected baby (appearance, gender).

Separation of mother and baby.

'Difficult baby' (temperament, sleeping habits, feeding behavior).

Socioeconomic disadvantage.

Unplanned pregnancy.

Past history of sexual abuse or assault.

The exact causes of depression before and after childbirth are not really known.
Different risk factors play a role for each woman but it's the combination of life
stresses that can precipitate depression, together with physical, hormonal and
social factors.

Depression following childbirth should not be confused with the 'baby blues'. Up to
80% of women experience the 'blues' which tends to peak three-to-five days
following delivery and is caused mainly by hormonal changes at birth. Women often
feel teary and a bit overwhelmed for a few days.

It is important to realize that depression is a treatable condition, one from which you
can recover given the appropriate treatment (e.g. medication and counseling),
support from family and friends and TIME.

Treatment Options

There are many options available to women with depression. We suggest in the first
instance telling your Doctor, Midwife, Child Health Nurse, Obstetrician or other
involved health professional that you are experiencing some of these feelings. In
some cases, being able to acknowledge and talk about your feelings, gives those
around you the chance to reassure and support you in finding the help you need.

Options include:

Individual counseling - the counselor listens to your problems in a non-judgmental

way and provides support to help you work through them.

Physical treatment - therapy aims to provide support and teach you strategies to
deal with symptoms while addressing the underlying factors that may have
increased your vulnerability to developing problems.

Couple counseling - the couple relationship changes during pregnancy and early
parenting and any communication difficulties between partners may be highlighted.
Counseling helps couples work effectively together and assists their adjustment to
the changes experienced before and after child-birth.

Support Groups - these include local self-help groups conducted by people who
have experienced the same sorts of problems, or support groups which provide an
opportunity to share experiences, obtain useful information and develop strategies
to overcome difficulties.

Medication - medication, whilst effective, generally shouldn't be used alone and

should be accompanied by counseling, therapy or other support ser-vices.
Medication may have annoying side effects. You should seek advice from your
Doctor regarding the use of medication and which antidepressants area safe to take
during pregnancy and/or breastfeeding.

Admission to hospital or mother-baby unit - occasionally a woman may experience

depression so severely that she may threaten to harm herself or her baby. In-
patient admission to a mother-baby unit or hospital is an important consideration.

If your State has a unit, they provide a safe place for a mother and her baby to be
monitored 24-hours a day.

Some centers also provide programs for women and their partners to deal with
couple issues, parenting skills and the mother-infant relationship.

Residential family care centers (Karitane and Tresillian) may also be able to offer in-
patient stay to resolve infant-related behavioral problems.

Useful coping Strategies for Pregnancy and Early Parenthood

There are many things that women and their partners can do to make the
experience of pregnancy and parenting easier. These are some suggestions:

For Mothers

Lots of things change during pregnancy and change can be stressful. Be aware of
this and talk about it.

Plan to have additional support in the first month or two by asking your partner or a
family member to stay at home with you.

Discuss with your partner the difference you think a baby will make to your lives and
the changes you'll need to make, e.g. negotiate ways to share household chores.

Try not to make major life changes (move house, change jobs) in the first few
months after you have your baby, or late in pregnancy.

Share your concerns with someone you trust.

Have regular health check-ups.

Trust your own judgment and remind yourself that things will become more
manageable as you adjust to your new role.

Keep a sense of humor!

Involve your partner in the care of your baby from the beginning.

Try to rest or sleep when your baby is sleeping.

Get to know your local Maternal and Child Health Nurse or mothers' group to extend
your support system.

Find someone reliable and trustworthy to baby-sit so you can spend time alone with
your partner.

For Fathers

Encourage your partner to seek professional help if needed and even ac-company
her.

Be aware of your own health and wellbeing and seek professional help yourself if
you feel depressed.

Provide reassurance and support to your partner.

Actively become involved in the care of your new baby.

Try to be understanding of your partner's needs and modify your expectations of

her.

Accept reasonable offers of help from others.

Plan some time together as a couple and do some activities together that you
enjoyed before you had your baby.
Be aware that women often have decreased sexual desire following child-birth. Show
affection and intimacy without the pressure for sex.

You can do something about it

Many women feel ashamed if they are not coping, believing this should be the
happiest time of their lives.

It is important to acknowledge to yourself when something is wrong and realize that

it's OK to seek help and tell people you are feeling depressed, anxious, angry or
confused.

Depression is not always something that you can get over by yourself and the most
difficult part is to reach out and ask for help. This booklet should help you make
those first steps to recovery.

Remember, depression is a treatable condition and one from which you can re-
cover.

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/