Teenage Pregnancy Research Paper

At the aggregate level, a high teenage pregnancy rate contributes to high population growth as teenage mothers will have considerably longer exposure to the risk of pregnancy than those who enter into marital unions at a later age.

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This paper consists of two parts: the first discusses data sources for the study of teenage pregnancy in general; the second part presents trends in teenage pregnancy in the Philippines, some correlates and an analysis of the drivers for the observed trend using a specific data source.

We will use data from the National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) conducted in the Philippines at 5-year intervals since 1968.

For example, completed charts on births occurring in a hospital over a given period can be the source of information for studying pregnancy outcomes, as these will normally contain basic demographic information: the mother’s age, the pregnancy order as predictor variables and factors like maternal complications, placental complications, medications administered in hospital and neonatal outcomes as outcome indicators.

The advantage of these data sets is that they provide reliable and valid reports on the pregnancy outcomes under study using medically accepted diagnostic criteria and are not based on the teenage mother’s self-report.

Data for the study of levels, trends, determinants and consequences of teenage pregnancy are usually derived from varied sources and using a wide range of data collection methods.

Dissertation Questionnaire Template - Teenage Pregnancy Research Paper

Studies on the consequences of early childbearing, particularly the risk of adverse outcomes normally use hospital-based records, using either prospective or retrospective designs.However, this paper observes a trend of increasing proportions of teenagers who are not poor, who have better education and are residents of urban areas, who have begun childbearing in their teens.Among the factors that could help explain this trend are the younger age at menarche, premarital sexual activity at a young age, the rise in cohabiting unions in this age group and the possible decrease in the stigma of out-of-wedlock pregnancy.In most developing countries, majority of births occur in non-hospital settings.To determine the level of teenage pregnancy in a given country, one potential data source is the Vital Registration System, which collects vital statistics such as births, death and marriages in the population.The optimal ages for successful pregnancy are in the peak reproductive years.At either end of the reproductive spectrum, that is at the youngest (below 20) and the oldest (40 and above) ages, there is a higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes.The risks follow an age gradient; they are generally higher at the younger end of the teenage years and diminish toward the latter teen years.Teenage pregnancy carries other significant non-health risks which are specific to this stage in the life course.and of limiting her chances of realizing her full potential by being burdened with child care when she herself is still, almost a child.If the teenager remains unmarried following a pregnancy, she risks social stigma from having an out-of-wedlock pregnancy and of having to bear its negative consequences.