Positive Impacts of Sex Education on Teenage Pregnancies

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Newspaper overview
Education and Teenage Pregnancy
Conclusion
Reference List

Introduction

Sexual behaviors and attitudes have changed overtime, although not completely. These changes have been attributed to the cultural transformations that have occurred in societies. Some reasons for this include the increased emphasis on sex education especially in schools and in the mass media, the increasing concern on HIV/AIDS and STDs as well as the general formal education acquired by individuals in formal schools and churches, and other organizations.

These have helped change people’s perception on sexual behaviors. According to Gordon, Lottes and Weinberg (1997), education has played a key role in changing people’s sexual behavior, either positively or negatively. According to Baltzer and colleagues (2008), most teenagers seem to be responsible regarding the issue of sexuality, although some areas of concern still exist. Such areas include teenage pregnancy, AIDS and STDs infection, and their consequences on the health of the teenagers.

Newspaper overview

‘’CDC: One-third of sex ed omits birth control.’’ Written by Stobbe Mike on the 15^th of September, 2010.

According to Stobbe, most teenagers in the US have obtained formal sex education but not all have received formal education on matters of birth control methods. According to the government’s report released on 15^th of September, 2010, only two-thirds of those who have received formal education have the knowledge on birth control methods (Stobbe, 2010). Stobbe argues that most of the students do not absorb what they are taught in class about sex education.

Therefore, teenage pregnancies have increased, especially between 2005 and 2007, with a slight decrease in 2008. Most students argue that they do not obtain sex education in their earlier ages and they only get it at the age of 18. They also argue that much of the teaching content provided through formal education mainly deals with saying no to sexual advances and STDs but lesser attention is paid towards the use contraceptives and other birth control methods.

According to the data provided by the government, only two-thirds of teenagers acquire knowledge on birth control methods by the end of their high school education. The report released by the government also notes that most parents tend to discuss sex and birth control with their teenage daughters more than their teenage sons.

According to Stobbe (2010), other research studies carried out on sex education in US seem to suggest that sex education declined between 1995 and 2002 and has not improved since then. This was mainly attributed to the government’s policies on sex education that only stressed on abstinence.

The program only taught students about STDs but did not focus on how to apply birth control methods. However, over the last two years, much of the federal funding has focused on sponsoring teaching programs that discuss the use of birth control methods. A CDC report that was released at the beginning of this year show that teenagers attitude towards pregnancy and birth control methods have not changed.

Education and Teenage Pregnancy

Positive Impacts of Sex Education on teenage pregnancies

Teenage pregnancy may be defined as pregnancy in a girl or a young woman who has not yet celebrated her twentieth birthday regardless of whether the woman is married or not (Boyce et al, 2002). Education has played a major role in guiding teenagers to change their behavior and attitude towards sexuality.

They are able to understand themselves better and carry themselves in an appropriate manner. Most teenagers today play safe sex (Baltzer, et al.). According to Luong and Sen (n. d) and Sex Life Canada (2010), teenage pregnancies have reduced in Canada and British Colombia. This has been as a result of provision of a comprehensive sex education and health information to teenagers.

Sex Life Canada, (2010), states that teenage pregnancy in Canada and British Colombia reduced by 37% and 35% respectively from 1996 to 2005. Sex education has enabled teenagers in Canada to apply birth control methods of using contraceptives. Some public hospitals in Ontario, Canada, have reported low birth rates of about 9.5% for young women between the age of 15 and 19 (Chen, Fleming, Demissie, Rhoads, Wen and Walker, 2007).

The data above show that education can effectively help teenagers change their behavior and attitude towards sexuality and be able to avoid unplanned teenage pregnancies. According to Baltzer et al (2008) and Mackinnon (2002), majority of teenagers in Canada have acquired knowledge on sexuality and about 29% of boys are ready to abstain and wait till their get the right partners for marriage.

Failures of Sex Education in reducing teenage pregnancies

According to the article by Stobbe, education has not achieved much in terms of helping students change their attitudes and behavior on sex and use of birth controls. Although education has been perceived to help young women and girls avoid teenage pregnancies, it has not been able to fully achieve this goal.

According to Hana (2010), America has seen tremendous increases in teenage pregnancy for girls aged between 15 and 19, over the recent years. According to her, about 0.75 million teenage girls get pregnant every year and out of these pregnancies about 82% is unplanned. These teenage pregnancies have severe impacts on girls especially when they are not planned. These may include problems with their emotional, social, psychological and physical health.

The reasons for the failure of the formal sex education are varied. According to Stobbe (2010), formal education failed to have an impact on teenagers due to the lack of its comprehensive approach.

The policies on sex education laid by the government only focused on providing formal sex education on abstinence and awareness of STDs leaving out a very important part of birth control. This means that most students step out of high school with little or no information on application of birth control. Besides, According to Bruce (2001), the average age in which most young girls in America experience their first menstrual period is 12.

However, much education on sexuality is mostly concentrated on the upper secondary schools, thus neglecting most of the girls who are also vulnerable to teenage pregnancies. According to the United Press International, (2006), most teenagers do not use condoms while having sex. According to the article, only 28% of teenage girls use protection while having sex. Evidence has shown that young girls even with ages below twelve years have conceived and given birth under normal circumstances.

Researches have also shown that most parents do not find it appropriate to discuss matters of sexuality with their children. Only a smaller percentage has been able to this effectively. Most parents shy away from discussing matters of birth control with their children, especially the boys, assuming that boys are not psychological affected by young fatherhood (Dryburgh, 2002).

Effective sex education can not be achieved without reinforcement from the parents and those close to the teenagers. Most mothers prefer to take their children to doctors to discuss matters on sexuality rather than discuss it with them since most mothers lack the full information on sexuality to provide for their children (Baltzer et al 2008).

They also feel that the terminologies on sexuality are too strong to be discussed with their teenage children. However, according to the research carried out by the Paediatr Child Health to determine the extent of sex education among the youth in Canada, only 7% of the teenagers had acquired sex education services from doctors (Baltzer,et al, 2008).

Formal sex education does not cover all aspects that contribute to teenage sex and how to go about them. It has limited information on playing safe sex since much of the content provided only discusses about STDs and abstinence. They are also not taught how to deal with the influence from their peers who normally convince them into having teenage sex. Most teenage girls are pressured by their boyfriends into having sex. According to Treffers (2003), about 29% of teenagers are pressured by their peers into having sexual intercourse.

The education provided on sexuality also does not cover matters of post pregnancy psychological consequences on the young mothers and fathers. The content does not discuss on how to deal with post pregnancy trauma. Thus the impacts of pregnancies are really felt by those who become pregnant. Some knowledge about the risks and post pregnancy psychological consequences would better help the teenagers to adapt safe sex while having intercourse.

Conclusion

Education is very important in changing the adolescent’s attitude and behavior towards sexuality and teenage pregnancy in particular. It is therefore essential to identify factors that bar the youth from getting full information and knowledge about sexuality.

Therefore, providing a comprehensive formal sex education should be considered in order to reduce these cases of teenage pregnancies. Teachers, parents and health care professionals should provide a comprehensive and accurate sex education to teenagers. It is also important to ensure sexual health information is accessible to all teenagers.

Reference List

Baltzer, F, Elliot, A, Frappier, JY, Kaufman, M, Lane, M, McDuff, P and Pinzon, J. (2008). Sex and sexual health: A survey of Canadian youth and mothers. Pulsus Group Inc, Rockville Pike.

Boyce W, Doherty M, Fortin C and Mackinnon D. (2002). Canadian youth, sexual health and HIV/AIDS study. Web.

Bruce, A. (2001). Adolescent Pregnancy. In Alex Gitterman: Handbook of Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient Populations (2nd ed). Columbia University Press, New York.

Chen, X.K, Fleming N, Demissie K, Rhoads G.G, Wen S.W., & Walker M. (2007). Teenage pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes: a large population based retrospective cohort study. Int J Epidemiol.

Dryburgh, H. (2000).Teenage pregnancy. Health Reports. Web.

Gordon, L.E, Lottes I.L., & Weinberg, G. (1997). Social class background, sexual attitudes, and sexual behavior in a heterosexual undergraduate sample. HighBeam Business.

Hana, M. (2010). Psychological Effects of Teenage Pregnancy. Web.

Luong, M., & Sen, A. (n. d). Sex, Teen Pregnancies, STDs, and Beer Prices: Empirical Evidence from Canada.

Stobbe, M. (2010). CDC: One-third of sex ed omits birth control. The Associated Press.

Treffers, P. E. (2003). Teenage pregnancy, a worldwide problem. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd.

United Press International (2006). Report says teens don’t often use condoms. United Press International.

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