THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OREDO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF EDO STATE

 Abstract

This study is on the causes and effects of teenage pregnancy among secondary schools in Oredo local government of Edo state. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected secondary school in Oredo local government of Edo state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made principals, vice principals administration, senior staff and junior staff were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

The research exposes the cause and effect of teenage pregnancy in order to design effective solutions. The word teenage pregnancy cannot be further discussed without giving a brief detail of what it entails. Teenage pregnancy can be defined as when a teenage or underage girl between the ages of 13-19 becomes pregnant as a result of unprotected sexual intercourse. it can also be seen as the pregnancy of a young girl of 13-19 years mostly not married. Every year thousand of teenagers become pregnant at a very large population to themselves, their children and the society. While the facts are clear, the issues of teenage pregnancy are complicated by our conflicting attitude and behaviour. The burdens of early childbirth on disadvantaged teens are undeniable. Trying to entangle the factors which contribute to teenage pregnancy from it consequences however, leads to which comes first “the chicken or the egg”? (Florida Statutes. Public education, general provisions, definitions. Tallahassee, FL: Florida State Board of Education, 1995). Said that educational failure has been understood to be a negative outcome of teenagers becoming pregnant and early child birth. But how can teens avoid becoming pregnant when talk of sex fills the air waves, younger and younger girls are portrayed as sex objects and sex is used to sell everything from clothes to news. Yet we are shocked at the rising number of teens who are sexually active. If we are truly concerned about the welfare of babies, children, and adolescents then we must move beyond the moral panic and denial that so often distort the discussion to design an effective solution to these economic assumptions, wishful thinking and honest acknowledgement that is still yet not understood about the causes of this problem.

The causes of teenage pregnancy include the following:

1. In some places early pregnancy is seen as a blessing and a proof of the young woman’s fertility.
2. Adolescent sexual behaviour for example, 29% of teens reported feeling pressure to have sex, 33% of sexually they didn’t really want to do.
3. Lack of knowledge of contraceptives or access to it, fright and embarrassment to seek information abut contraceptives also cause teenage pregnancy.
4. Another cause is sexual abuse which studies have found that between 11-20% of pregnancy in teenagers is a direct result of rape while 60% of teenage mothers had unwanted sexual experience preceding their pregnancy.
5. Before age of 15, a majority of first intercourse experiences among, females are reported to be non voluntary and 25% of women who did not give birth as teens were molested.
6. Other causes of this problem includes, age discrepancies in relationship, dating, violence, social economic factors, poverty, childhood environment, greed, peer pressure etc.

Teenage pregnancy has become a public health issues because of its observed negative effects and cause on perinatal outcomes and long term morbidity. The association of young maternal age is usually confounded however, by the high prevalence of poverty, low level of education, which is our major and single marital status among teenage mothers. This research assesses the independent effect of teenage pregnancy on educational disabilities and educational problems in a total number of children and teens who are mothers. According to Angola, G. “Dilemma of African Child” the spokes man newspaper and printing cooperation, 1973), he said that the teenage is an important period of development in a females life, it spans from the pre-puberty stage to young adulthood. Girls (teens) have a questioning mind and want to know and be taught the right attitude (s) (Margaret, O. Childhood and adolescent studies for effective teaching, revised edition, 1999). Said that world wide range teenage pregnancy ranges from 143 per 1000 in some countries. In developed countries it is usually outside marriage and carries a social stigma in many communities and cultures, for these reasons, there have been many studies which attempt to uncover the causes and limit the number of teens who get pregnant. Data supporting teenage pregnancy as a social issue in Nigeria includes low educational level, higher rates of poverty and other poorer life outcomes. In some part of this country teenage pregnancy is usually within marriage and does not involve peer stigma. Being a young mother in a developing country like ours can affect ones education. Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of school in prior to becoming pregnant. Factors that determine which mother is likely to have a closely spaced reported birth includes, marriage and education, the likelihood decreases with the level of education of the young woman or her parents and increases if she gets married. These circumstances also contribute to the likelihood of teenage pregnancy for example; recent studies suggested that most adolescent mothers have already dropped out of school before they became pregnant. In conclusion, knowledge is power so let us salvage our future by being wise and seek to obtain and achieve success through education.